부산대학교 도서관

As educators in the public sector confront the challenge of guiding all students toward academic success, policies and practices associated with prevention, early screening, and identification of learning needs have moved to the center of the enterprise of schooling. This article is about the lessons that accompany that challenge, and their particular applicability to Montessori educators. Historically, Montessori theory and practice have influenced the development of special education pedagogy. In some cases, as in Ireland, Montessori training and special education training have been explicitly combined. In other cases, Montessori practices, such as child study, the use of manipulative materials, and a focus on choice and individualization, have made their way into special education pedagogy through subtle cross-fertilization among practitioners. More recently, however, developments in special education policy have begun to influence Montessori practice. This article examines why and how that influence has evolved as it has. More important, the author probes the potential of recent developments in special education policy to enhance Montessori practice. What are the natural affinities between special education and Montessori practice? What specific pedagogical moves lie at the core of following the child? How might Montessorians more effectively leverage the unique properties of the prepared environment and the prepared adult to better serve all children? The answers to these questions illuminate how progressive, data-centered approaches to identifying and responding to students with learning differences can make the process of following the child more transparent, more equitable, and more successful. (Contains 2 figures and 1 footnote.)