CREATIVE COOPERATION OF H.PARKHURST AND M.MONTESSORY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL PEDAGOGY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY

Abstract

The evolution of Parkhurst’s philosophy provides the valuable insights in the progressive period of the American and European experimental pedagogy. It is stated that Parkhurst was Montessori’s associate and the period of their cooperation was of the greatest influence. The originator of The Dalton Plan and the founder of the prestigious Dalton School in New York was internationally known and honored for the contribution into the education. The purpose of the article is to highlight and analyses the creative cooperation, career and scientific biographies of an American educator H.Parkhurst and an Italian educator M.Montessori. The particularities of their creative cooperation at the beginning of the 20th century are studied. It is noted that both educators are the originators and founders of the efficient pedagogical models dated back to the beginning of the last century. Individualised education, the principles of freedom and cooperation are examined as the basic ones in Parkhurst’s and Montessori’s methods. The original model of the Dalton plan is based on the three critical components. They are The Assignment, The Laboratory and The House. Using comparative analyses, descriptive, historical and analytical methods it was states that the methods of M.Montessori teaching and the Dalton plan are the examples of the reformation ideas’ implementation of experimental pedagogy. . It is proved that methods of M.Montessori teaching influenced pedagogical ideas of H.Parkhurst and it resulted in the Dalton Plan’s origin. The study and analysis of the legacy of the outstanding teachers give us the opportunity to enrich knowledge that can be used to introduce innovative ideas into the educational process, especially with the condition of reforming contemporary Ukrainian education.