Koen Schaap and Tina Booth - Knowing the Facts: What Data-Informed Research Tells Us about Learning to be a Montessori Teacher, A Comparative Study Across Two Continents.
Becoming a Montessori teacher is a lifelong journey of personal and professional growth. This journey often begins with formal teacher training, where the foundational competencies for Montessori teachers are introduced. But what are these key competencies? What supports successful study and mastery of them? Do gender, prior Montessori experience, or cultural background influence outcomes in teacher training? In this oral presentation, Tina Booth and Koen Schaap will explore these questions through the lens of data-driven research. In 2023, the University of Hartford and the Montessori Study Center Amsterdam developed an AMI-approved global competency model for Montessori teachers. Building on this model, the teacher trainers of Train Montessori (USA) and the Montessori Study Center (The Netherlands) have aligned their 12–18 curricula and collected comparative data on program design and participant characteristics. This presentation will share insights from this research, highlighting similarities and differences across cultural contexts. The findings will shed light on what it takes for students and professionals to become, and continue becoming, effective Montessori teachers.
