I chanced upon an exhibit of different pre-schools in Eastwood Mall today, and although Rafa is too young for regular pre-school, I picked up some brochures nonetheless. Leafing through the brochures got me more curious about the different philosophies of pre-schooling that are out there now.

Today, there are so many schooling options, compared to what we had when we were children. In early childhood education in particular, a wide variety of pedagogical philosophies are flourishing. A lot of pre-schools nowadays proudly proclaim to be "non-traditional," contrasting themselves with the lecture-heavy, direct-instruction kind of schools many of us attended as children.

Reading up on the different pedagogic methods, though, taught me that even among these non-traditional schools, there are many differences. The philosophies behind Montessori, the progressive movement, Waldorf, and the multiple intelligences approach are all different.

For this post, I'll just share what I've learned about Montessori and progressive schools, since those are two of the most popular non-traditional philosophies in the Philippines today. The two approaches have many similarities: they both believe in creating a physical environment suitable for learning; they both believe in child-centered learning; they both believe that children learn by interacting with their environment; they both deemphasize rote drills and traditional testing methods.

How are they different?

Montessori

• draws mostly from the philosophy of Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori
  
• popular in non-traditional schools in European countries
  
• Montessori believed in fostering the intellect as the foundation for developing imagination and social relations
  
• tries to teach independence ("Teach me to do it myself."), both in academics and in practical skills
  
• believes that children have a natural motivation to learn; formal education helps this natural motivation flourish
  
• activities: self-directed and structured; learning on one's own using Montessori learning materials, with the guidance of the teacher (Update: here are examples of how Montessori lessons are introduced for 3 to 6-year-olds.)
  
• Work Time is distinguished from play time. During "Work Time" the child is allowed to go to any of the five pre-prepared work areas in the classroom each of which has materials (manipulatives, etc.) meant to help the child learn a particular concept. The five areas are: art, practical life, sensorial, language, math, and culture. At the work area, the child can choose which materials he/she wants to work with. The child may stay with one set of materials for as long as he/she likes, but is expected to put the materials away before moving on to another set of materials. The teacher avoids interrupting the children, but observes and guides them as needed.
  
• assessment is by portfolio and teachers' written observations (source)

Progressive

• draws largely from the philosophy of American philosopher John Dewey and others in the Progressive Movement
  
• popular in non-traditional schools in the US; in the Philippines, UP Diliman's FLCD program is strong in the progressive approach (source: Teacher Tina's blog)
  
• Dewey believed in fostering imagination and social development first, and the intellect afterwards
  
• group approach/cooperative learning; tries to teach children to get along with one another
  
• aims to build a democratic and diverse society (source); values the individual child's interests and needs
  
• activities are divided into routines, and concepts are integrated into the activities (source: Teacher Tina's blog)
  
• "Activity Time" is planned by the teacher and seeks to strengthen the various domains (physical, emotional, social, cognitive). The activity may involve art, worksheets, or other activities suitable for the group. The activities are interdisciplinary and are typically focused on problems or projects (sources: here and here)
  
• assessment is by projects and performances/presentations and teachers' comments

It's important to note that not all schools that call themselves "Montessori" follow the Montessori method strictly. Similarly, not all schools that describe themselves as "progressive" strongly adhere to the principles recommended by John Dewey and other progressive educators. In fact, a lot of schools and educators mistakenly use the words "progressive" and "non-traditional" interchangeably. This can be confusing, because the "Progressive Stream" is just one kind of non-traditional educational approach.

To read more about these two approaches you can check out the Wikipedia entries on Montessori and Progressive education.

I'll update this post as I learn more about the different pedagogical philosophies, and I also hope to discuss other non-traditional approaches (e.g., Waldorf, etc.) in the future.

I've written updates here and here. In my updates, I describe my experiences visiting some schools for classroom visits.

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