The Great Woman: The Effects of Montessori Social Practice on Teacher Identity

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Montessori Education SIG Poster Session

Abstract

When developing her method of education, Montessori identified specific teacher qualities. These descriptions and directives have led to the development of a clearly defined Montessori social identity (e.g., Malm 2004). Social identities require one to act, look, and even speak in certain ways to be seen as such by others (Barker, 2012; Gee, 2014), creating a social practice and system of knowledge and belief shared with a larger group (Fairclough, 1992). Guided by Fairclough's theory of critical discourse analysis and Foucault's writing on power, truth, and knowledge, this post-intentional phenomenological (Vagle, 2014, 2018) research examined the ways in which the Montessori social identity has been established and reproduced over time through the lived experiences of six early childhood Montessori teachers.

Author

• Olivia Taylor Christensen, St. Catherine University