An examination of the psychological resilience of preschool children with and without Montessori education

Abstract

This study aims to compare the psychological resilience of children who receive Montessori education with those who do not receive Montessori education(the group attends a school where education is provided according to the Preschool Education Programme of the Ministry of National Education). The study used the Relational Scanning Model Comparison Types to compare the psychological resilience of children who received Montessori education with those who did not. The research involved 99 children aged 3–6 years who received regular preschool and Montessori education during the 2021–2022 academic year. It is reported that no developmental or neurological defects were observed in any of the participants. The study group comprised 50 children aged 3–6 years from a private kindergarten affiliated with National Education in Nilüfer district and 49 children aged 3–6 years from a private Montessori kindergarten in Nilüfer district. According to the study, children who received Montessori education demonstrated comparatively higher levels of psychological resilience than those who did not receive Montessori education. It has been observed that there exists a weak but meaningful correlation between the psychological resilience of children and their social relationships/social performance, particularly in those who have received Montessori education for an extended duration. As a result, it can be inferred that Montessori education positively impacts children's psychological resilience.