蒙特梭利教學法與單元教學法對幼兒發展影響之比較研究

The Effects of the Montessori Method and Thematic Method on Children's Development- A Comparative Study

本研究以準實驗研究的方法比較蒙特梭利教學法與單元教學法對幼兒發展──包括個人──社會、生活適應、動作及認知領域──的影響，並探討教學法與年齡、性別的交互作用。研究對象共57名，蒙氏班28名其中男生15名、女生13名，單元班29名其中男生16名、女生13 名。本研究前後測中間相隔七個月，以比西量表及Battelle發展量表為研究工具以考驗教學法之實施成效；教學法、性別、年齡為自變項，智力分數及各項前測分數為共變量，進行共變數統計分析。結果發現二種教學法各具特色，在幼兒發展不同領域的各項目中各有影響力，但整體而言，二種教學法之教學效果未具顯著的差異。詳細的研究發現與討論在文中陳述，並就本研究結論提出建議，期能透過比較分析目前台灣幼稚園、托兒所最普遍實施之兩種教學法對幼兒發展的影響，提供幼兒教育學術、實務界及幼兒家長之參考。

A pretest - posttest quasi-experimental research was designed to study the effects of the Montessori method and thematic method - the two widely used early childhood teaching methods in Taiwan- on children's development. Sixty children (three dropped out at the end of the study) were matched in age, sex, length in the program, parental education and social class, teachers' personality and teaching style. Programs lasted for seven months, and the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) was used as the instrument to assess children's developmental performance including personal - social, adaptive, motor and cognitive domains, to test the effects of the teaching methods implemented. The IQ score and the pre-test scores of each domain of the BDI was served as covariates. The analysis of covariance statistic method was conducted to test the significant difference of the method effects. The results showed that the Montessori method had better effect in some domain or subdomains of development; the thematic method showed better effect in other domain or subdomains of development; and in the rest of the areas of development, there were no significant differences found in terms of the method (program) effects. In conclusion, neither method was found to be consistently superior to the other. Based on the results, several recommendations are made for the teachers, parents educational administrators and early childhood researchers.