EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

Lesson 14: Contributions of Western Philosophers to Early childhood education

Biographical note

Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in Italy. She was working with mentally retarded children and was influenced by the work of a French Psychiatrist O. Eduoard Seguin, who had developed didactic materials for mentally retarded children for learning of discrimination skills.

She achieved many accomplishments as a doctor, anthropologist and educator. She was a scientist as well as democrat. She laid stress on the development of the child’s individuality to the maximum. She did not believe on external motivation for accelerating learning. She pointed out that child gets satisfaction out of his work, but not through fear of punishment or hope of reward. She advocated education as a development process.

After her post graduation in psychiatry she worked as a Directress of Rome Orthophrenic school for mentally retarded children.