Montessori Strategies in Higher Education

<p>The present study asks whether the Montessori method benefits undergraduate students’ critical thinking skills and self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in one’s abilities), as well as emphasizes a collectivistic orientation over an individualistic orientation. Participants were female undergraduate students from a society undergoing structural and social changes, whose scholastic background had been molded by experiences with a didactic, instructor-centered pedagogy. Students were enrolled in courses whose curriculum focused on Islamic and Arabic Culture (AC) and its applications to everyday life. The Montessori-based activities took place over four weeks, during which students were asked to address sociocultural issues presented in a case study format. There were no marked differences between the students who completed the activities and those who did not. However, among the former, self-efficacy and critical thinking performance improved from pre- to post-assessment. Students’ appreciation of group cohesion (GC) (a collectivistic orientation index) and independence (an individualistic orientation index) also increased. It was concluded that Montessori-based activities can benefit students with a didactic, instructor-centered educational background by fostering the expression of dispositions linked to students’ resilience and academic success. However, the role of students’ individual differences in shaping the observed benefits remains to be examined.</p>