Global Diffusion of Montessori Schools

Abstract

Montessori education is distinct for its implementation in 154 countries around the world. Lacking a Montessori trademark or comprehensive overseeing body, the expansion of the Montessori approach has often been diffuse and fragmented among competing organizations. The absence of centralized, accurate, and consistent accounting has made it difficult to document the scope, growth trends, and diverse populations of students served in Montessori schools. The primary objective of this study was to gather evidence to support a robust estimate of the number of Montessori schools worldwide. This estimate relies on national and regional organizations’ broadest definitions of what constitutes a Montessori program. The study included two components: a survey of regional and national Montessori organizations and supplemental sources, including other published estimates and direct inquiries within key countries. Multiple sources allowed for triangulating data to reach a more confident estimate for the number of schools in each country and for synthesizing global perspectives on significant elements of Montessori fidelity worldwide. Through these sources, we document a total of 15,763 Montessori schools around the globe, roughly 9% of which are government funded. Countries with the largest number of Montessori schools are the United States, China, Thailand, Germany, Canada, and Tanzania; the United States, Thailand, the Netherlands, and India have the largest number of government-funded or public Montessori programs. Results of the fidelity analysis identified six practices that emerge consistently as central pillars of Montessori implementation.

Understanding Circle Time Practices in Montessori Early Childhood Settings

“…Finally, our survey focuses disproportionately on private and independent schools (85% of participants) with only 11% of participants representing public or charter schools. A recently published Montessori census article reports a total of 2,728 Montessori schools in the United States with 579, or 21%, being publicly funded (Debs et al, 2022). While we invited public and charter Montessori schools to participate in the survey, many refused.…”

Making Sense of Montessori Teacher Identity, Montessori Pedagogy, and Educational Policies in Public Schools

“…Further, there is no one governing body that enforces the quality of all Montessori education in the United States or that ensures that the Montessori curriculum is followed in schools. Without copyright on the definition of Montessori education, any school can claim to use the Montessori Method (Debs et al, 2022;Whitescarver & Cossentino, 2008). Debs et al (2022) examined the inconsistencies of how the Montessori Method is defined by scholars and Montessori organizations.…”

“…Without copyright on the definition of Montessori education, any school can claim to use the Montessori Method (Debs et al, 2022;Whitescarver & Cossentino, 2008). Debs et al (2022) examined the inconsistencies of how the Montessori Method is defined by scholars and Montessori organizations. They noted that Montessori organizations around the world hold "varying degrees of adherence to Montessori's original ideas" (p. 2).…”

Between Chaos, Instability, Change and Antifragility. A Qualitative Study of Working Conditions and Everyday Reality of Polish Montessori Early Childhood Education Teachers

“…Montessori pedagogy belongs to a very limited group of educational, non-traditional approaches with a global range (Debs et al, 2022). This unique idea and practice of education has also been popular in Eastern Europe countries since the beginning of the 20 th century (see, e.g.…”

“…In this region of the world, it is Poland that is an unquestionable leader when it comes to the number of educational institutions, with approx. six hundred Montessori schools (Debs et al, 2022).…”