Discuss the Similarities and Differences Between the Montessori and Steiner Curriculum

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The Steiner and Montessori curriculum are educational approaches that both represent holistic philosophies which view the young child with respect and reverence. Within my essay I am going to discuss the similarities and the several areas of contrast between Steiner and Montessori’s approach including their approach to play, fantasy, toys, social development, structure and order, and intellectualism. The Montessori Curriculum was published in 1912 by an Italian educator, Maria Montessori. The method harnesses the child’s natural ability to learn and contribute to the notion that children develop and think differently to adults (Lillard, 2011). As a result, the curriculum aims to develop the child’s potential and is based upon recognising and responding to the child’s developmental needs. The Montessori Model is a model of human development which has been transferred into an educational approach. The first basic element of the model is that it allows children to engage in psychological self-construction through the interaction with their environments. Secondly, younger children (under the age of six) are believed to have an innate path of psychological development, therefore Maria believes that children should be given the opportunity to chose and act freely within an environment that has been prepared in harmony with her model to allow for spontaneous optimal development (Montessori, 1995b). “From the moment the child enters the classroom, each step in his education is seen as a progressive building block, ultimately forming the whole person, in the emergence from childhood to adulthood. All focus is on the needs of the child” (Hainstock 1997). Maria introduced a curriculum that was characterised on independence, freedom, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development as well as other advancements in society such as the child’s personal and

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