Critical Montessori Education: Centering BIPOC Montessori Educators and Their Antiracist Teaching Practices

Abstract

While many BIPOC Montessori educators engage in anti-racist and culturally responsive teaching, Montessori education remains predominantly race-evasive. As a philosophy, it is rooted in colorblind perspectives in its focus on "all children" and lack of explicit centering of BIPOC students' experiences. Teaching must account for race and racial lived realities in order to better support BIPOC students' ways of knowing in culturally relevant and sustaining ways. This study seeks to center the voices of BIPOC Montessori educators and disrupt the pattern of Montessori research conducted without a critical racial lens. Framed by Critical Race Theory, this study focuses on the strengths, assets, and anti-racist teaching practices that one BIPOC educator brings to her classroom. I use critical ethnographic methods to better understand how a © Copyright by Genevieve O. D'Cruz Ramos 2023 I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Rossina Zamora Liu, without whom I would not have been able to even conceive of writing this dissertation. Thank you for your guidance and encouragement, especially when it came to putting the work aside and deeply reflecting on my objectives for my work and area of study. I could not have imagined having an advisor and chair who balanced me out so well. I would also like to thank my entire dissertation committee; you have all influenced my writing and work in various ways, and I am deeply grateful to you for your support, feedback, and expertise. This endeavor would not have been possible without the members of the Montessori community, especially the late Joen Bettmann, my trainer, who helped me open my mind to Montessori being practiced in various ways. Without a deep commitment to Montessori philosophy, I would not be who I am today. I am also incredibly grateful to my friends and peers in the Montessori community (you know who you are), including the teacher featured in this paper. It was through a multitude of experiences and conversations with you that I was able to make my way through this program with a sense of focus and purpose. Special thanks to my colleagues in the TLPL department who supported me, wrote with me, agonized over deadlines with me, and distracted me when necessary. My sanity would not be intact without you.I am extremely grateful to my family, who have encouraged me along every step of this journey, including the steps leading up to it. I may not have gotten here without the words, "sure, go for a PhD," ringing in my head. Finally, words cannot express my gratitude to my husband,Enrique, for all of your support. Thank you for attempting to understand the world of academia, celebrating and sharing in my wins, and committing to an undying sense of belief in my abilities.Everyone always told you to marry a doctor, and here we finally are.