Polish Studies of Kyiv: works of International scientific conference, Kyiv, 23-25 of May, 2018. / chief editor R. Radyshevskyi. – vol. XXXV. – Kyiv: Talkom, 2019. – P. 436-443.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/psk.2019.35.436-443

Stasiewicz K. A.

THE MONTESSORI METHOD AND ITS CONTEMPORARY CONTEXTS

Abstract. The article is an attempt to sistetically present Maria Montessori’s activities and scientific achievements through the prism of her biography and to indicate the reception of the Montessori Methods in Poland. The first part indicates the key aspects of life that influence the worldview and research interests, such as the position of director at Casa de Bambini or the likely affiliation to the Theosophical Society. In particular emphasizes theme of migration, resulting on the one hand from geopolitical reasons, and on the other hand from the idea of disseminating its concept of education. It shows the emigration aspect – departure from Italy to Barcelona, associated with the then forming fascist movement, and then, to the Netherlands, determined by the anti-republican coup of General Francisco Franko. The text deals with issues related to the scientific and didactic activity of M. Montessori, including numerous foreign trips, including to the United States and India to popularize the method. It also indicates the main research inspirations influencing changes in education proposed by the researcher, i.e. the Montessori Method – influences of researchers: anthropologist Giuseppe Sergi, psychiatrist Andrea Verga, neuropsychiatrist and pedagogue Jean Marc Gaspard Itard and Édouard Séguin. It characterizes particular stages of the concept, from moral upbringing, through the system of freedom, to the concept of cosmic upbringing.

The second part of the article concerns the reception of the Montessori Method in Poland, starting from the pre-war period to modern times. It presents two currents – direct reception and attempts to synthesize freblizism and montessorian- ism in order to create a new, national upbringing system and indicates possible reasons for the rebirth of the idea after 1989, were related to the evolution of the educational ideal in Poland. It presents selected studies on the topic and points to the current activities of institutions and organizations that popularize the idea of Montessori. It presents manifestations of the contemporary, unflagging addressing with the figure of M. Montessori and her concept. The above considerations have been set in the context of today’s Polish pedagogy, determined largely by concepts that contest the current school system, largely congenial with the conservative educational ideology.

Key words: the Montessori Method, Maria Montessori, reception of the Montessori Method in Poland, pre-school education.

Information about author: Stasiewicz Katarzyna Anna, PhD student at the Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdańsk.