An expansion of practice: special education and Montessori public school

ABSTRACT

The choices for public school education in the United States have evolved to include Montessori programmes. As a result, special education practices have become visible in Montessori, making collaboration essential. The exploration of how Montessori and special education teachers collaborate through the identified constructs of (a) shared planning, (b) frequent communication, (c) shared vision, (d) mutual respect, and (e) joint trust despite the evident philosophical differences is important for students in inclusion. Data sources included in-depth interviews with teachers to identify patterns related to collaboration in Montessori public schools. Findings indicated that there is a need to establish a clear plan for connecting philosophies and for collaboration for students in inclusion, not only in the context of United States public Montessori programmes, but for Montessori practitioners in other regions and school settings. Recommendations include using a terminology comparison activity in teacher professional development and implementing an Inclusion Professional Learning Community to address the barrier of time to proactively create deep collaborative relationships built upon the established collaborative constructs.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• collaboration
• special education
• Montessori education
• students with special needs
• professional learning communities
• disability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dena AuCoin

Dr. Dena AuCoin holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching and has almost 20 years of experience in early childhood education through high school and higher education. She works to stay relevant in the field of special education and early childhood through her involvement in NAEYC and the American Montessori Society. She is involved in research surrounding collaboration in special education and the Montessori classroom, Response to Intervention in early childhood, and in faculty mentoring and ePortfolios in higher education.

Brian Berger

Dr. Brian Berger holds a doctorate in special education and is an instructional designer for Purdue University Global, an adjunct professor for multiple universities, is a former special education classroom teacher of elementary and high school students, and a former Director of Special Education.