Montessori education's effectiveness: a quasi-experimental and explorative study

This article presents three studies investigating Montessori education (ME) in Italy, filling a crucial research gap in European and specifically Italian contexts. The first and second quasi-experimental studies assess ME’s impact on academic and nonacademic outcomes, considering variables like teacher effect, gender, age, Socio-Economic Status, and prior ME exposure. The third study offers an exploratory analysis of practices within Italian primary Montessori schools, enabling control for teacher effects in the earlier studies. Academic results, based on a substantial sample (N = 535-710), consistently demonstrate that Montessori students achieve comparable or higher scores than non-Montessori counterparts, with notable variability in mathematics. The nonacademic outcomes study, concentrating on eighth-grade students (N = 85), highlights significantly elevated empathy scores among Montessori students. Noteworthy from teacher surveys (N = 328) are three distinct profiles, with only half faithfully implementing ME practices. These findings underscore the incomplete implementation of Montessori principles in Italian primary schools, emphasizing the need for comprehensive reforms within the existing educational framework to fully incorporate and endorse Montessori practices as valuable alternatives for comprehensive child development.