Alternative Education Research Articles

Maria Montessori: A Visionary Whose Insights Align With Neuroscience

Maria Montessori’s approach, based on observation of and experimentation with children’s learning processes, remains one of the longest-standing and widely embraced forms of alternative education. Contemporary neuroscience research increasingly validates Montessori’s principles, yet a robust bridge between these two fields remains elusive. Factors such as differing goals, terminology and the lack of a collaborative framework hinder their synergy. This literature review explores the intersection between neuroscience findings and Montessori’s educational philosophy, structured into five key areas. The Perspective first presents various neuroscience insights: an exploration of aspects related to learning, brain development and cognition. Second, a brief background on Maria Montessori’s contributions: a historical overview of Maria Montessori's life, work and educational methodology. Third is the identification of the areas where neuroscience and Montessori principles intersect, including the importance of movement, emotional development, social learning, the role of the prepared environment, the transition from concrete to abstract concepts, self-regulation, sensitive periods and memory. Finally, while acknowledging the challenges and limitations in researching Montessori education, this review emphasises the growing evidence that supports the alignment of Montessori principles with neuroscience findings. This underscores the enduring relevance of Montessori’s holistic education approach and highlights the potential benefits of a deeper collaboration between these fields, to enhance educational practices and promote comprehensive learning experiences for children.

Historical geographies of alternative, and non‐formal education: Learning from the histories of Black education

AbstractShining a light on the various non‐formal education spaces that have garnered attention in geographies of education over the past two decades, this review takes stock of how historical spaces of education and learning have become a key focus of this body of work. In so doing, the review signals prominent and emergent themes around which scholarship in this subdiscipline has cohered: most notably, geographies of citizenship and morality in informal education spaces, and the radical pedagogic practices of alternative education spaces. As well as looking back, the review also signals two areas that scholars in the field should consider engaging with more closely: Black education and decolonial education. Analysing literature in history and sociology on the Black education movement in Britain, the paper calls for geographies of education to engage more closely with work published in cognate disciplines and not to overlook the relational nature of decolonial education in global north contexts.

Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy – A Complex Relationship

Waldorf education (Steiner e ducation) is one of the most well-established and largest alternative education approaches in the world. This educational approach was created out of the Anthroposophical worldview founded by Rudolf Steiner and relies on the teachings of Anthroposophy. However, the relationship between the educational practice in Waldorf kindergartens and schools and the worldview behind it is complex and multi-faceted, both from the internal point of view of those who work from within Waldorf education and from the critical point of view of external researchers. Indeed, Waldorf education has been criticized and attacked in many ways over the years, particularly for these reasons. In this article, I shall attempt to throw l ight on this connection and explain it from different aspects. First, I shall briefly present Rudolf Steiner's life path and teachings, i.e. the anthroposophical worldview, and then I shall show how Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, viewed the connection between Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. Subsequently, I shall explicate why and how this connection has been subject to criticism from various sides. Finally, I shall present two ways that try to elucidate this connection and justify it before its critics.

How Institutional Investors’ Alternative Funding and Investment Opportunity Impact Education System? The Case of Saudi Arabia

How Institutional Investors’ Alternative Funding and Investment Opportunity Impact Education System? The Case of Saudi Arabia

Prosumers of Hybrid Entertainment-Educational Communication in a Media Convergence Environment

Communication technology is changing the way of interacting by combining face-to-face classroom and online meetings. The YouTube channel is an alternative learning center where participants can share educational content. Participants act as producers and consumers of all knowledge products and simple technology. This paper discusses the involvement and characteristics of producers-consumers (prosumers) in producing, distributing, and consuming entertainment-educational content on Social Network Sites (SNS), especially YouTube. This paper also discusses changes in the educational landscape from and for fellow participants in online media as a consequence of media convergence by promoting a hybrid-learning alternative education model that combines informal contexts and formal education. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is used as a research method to analyze several dimensions related to entertainment education, such as student and teacher knowledge and skills, antecedents, hybrid-learning cycles, Bloom's level of taxonomy, enactment, and prosumer outcomes in a model. YouTube content for prosumers is an entertaining sharing of knowledge for a safer, healthier, and happier life. Specifically, prosumers make YouTube and other social media as online classroom channels for completing school and university assignments and as fun learning centers to achieve the best academic performance. The existence of prosumers in hybrid education refers to the Flipped model by considering Bloom's taxonomy as practice and reflection in the cycle. The highest level in Bloom's is "creating" after prosumers did "evaluating," "analyzing," "applying," "understanding," and "remembering" as the lower levels. The implications of this research reflects the importance of development of entertainment-education contents as an alternative educational channel.

Notions of Non-Mainstream Educational Provision: Understanding the Indonesia Equivalency Programs Among Established Alternative Education Throughout the World

This article presents the overview of literature regarding the notions of non-mainstream education provision. The main purpose is to provide an overview of how the Indonesia Equivalency Program as an alternative education links to similar systems of education provision around the world. The literature shows variations in the terminology of non-mainstream education for out-of-school youth used interchangeably among countries. The notions of non-formal education, alternative education and second change education are often used and relevant in order to established well-defined axes along which to situate thinking about Indonesia Equivalency Programs. Through alternative education that offers democratic educational experience, the Indonesia Equivalency Programs is an alternative education system, based on the belief that people can make their own choice regarding mainstream or alternative schooling. The Equivalency Programs fits with the notion as a second chance education to caters students who failed in their first attempt. The aims of participating can be varying, from seeking remedial support to help in getting employment, or pursuing lifelong learning.

Formulation of Alternative Islamic Education Through the Multiple Intelligences Approach at Boarding School

Pesantren, as future Islamic education institutions, is based on community needs based on the dynamics of the morality of the developing generation. This study aims to reveal alternative Islamic education's hierarchy, formulas, and formulations in pesantren with a multiple intelligences approach. This research was conducted at Pondok Pesantren Puncak Darussalam Potoan Dajah Palengaan Pamekasan, which is capable of producing graduates with national and international contributions and achievements. The characteristics of this pesantren are able to accommodate the potential of santri through the multiple intelligences approach with varied activities representing the multiple intelligences of the santri. The chosen research technique employs a descriptive qualitative approach, specifically utilising a case study design. The data collection process encompasses various methods, including observation, interviews, and documentation. The study yielded findings about the hierarchical structure of alternative Islamic education, which was analysed through multiple intelligences theory, incorporating integrative, creative, and adaptive principles. The formula is organised in a systematic manner, incorporating many supporting materials that encompass the stages of input, process, output, and outcome. The formulation is evident in the design of learning activities that serve to strengthen and enhance the nine different types of intelligence.

Re-engaging Youth Who Have Been Pushed Out, In The Science Classroom

Providing opportunities for youth who have been ‘pushed out’ of traditional schools to re-engage is an issue of social justice. The lack of equitable learning opportunities in the traditional science classroom is a contributing factor to youth being pushed out. Alternative education programs have the potential to support youth who have been ‘pushed out; to re-engage in science. This study investigated the factors that may contribute to the academic achievement of students in their class-based science courses at Xinaxtli Charter School, an alternative education program for youth who have been ‘pushed out’ in Southern California. A phenomenological research study using interviews was conducted. Students identified the Xinaxtli science classrooms as a critical and equitable science learning space with these components: educators who develop authentic relationships with students, a learning space that embodies an epistemological pluriverse inclusive of multiple perspectives and values the knowledge students bring to the classroom, the use of culturally relevant science that empowers students to make informed decisions, a localized-critical-action-based curriculum, and a wide array of equitable learning practices to re-engage students. Findings from this study underscore that a paradigm shift must occur in science education for critical and equitable learning opportunities to become commonplace.

Montessori education's impact on academic and nonacademic outcomes: A systematic review.

Montessori education is the oldest and most widely implemented alternative education in the world, yet its effectiveness has not been clearly established. The primary objective of this review was to examine the effectiveness of Montessori education in improving academic and nonacademic outcomes compared to traditional education. The secondary objectives were to determine the degree to which grade level, Montessori setting (public Montessori vs. private Montessori), random assignment, treatment duration, and length of follow-up measurements moderate the magnitude of Montessori effects. We searched for relevant studies in 19 academic databases, in a variety of sources known to publish gray literature, in Montessori-related journals, and in the references of studies retrieved through these searches. Our search included studies published during or before February 2020. The initial search was performed in March 2014 with a follow-up search in February 2020. We included articles that compared Montessori education to traditional education, contributed at least one effect size to an academic or nonacademic outcome, provided sufficient data to compute an effect size and its variance, and showed sufficient evidence of baseline equivalency-through random assignment or statistical adjustment-of Montessori and traditional education groups. To synthesize the data, we used a cluster-robust variance estimation procedure, which takes into account statistical dependencies in the data. Otherwise, we used standard methodological procedures as specified in the Campbell Collaboration reporting and conduct standards. Initial searches yielded 2012 articles, of which 173 were considered in detail to determine whether they met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of these, 141 were excluded and 32 were included. These 32 studies yielded 204 effect sizes (113 academic and 91 nonacademic) across 132,249 data points. In the 32 studies that met minimum standards for inclusion, including evidence of baseline equivalence, there was evidence that Montessori education outperformed traditional education on a wide variety of academic and nonacademic outcomes. For academic outcomes, Hedges' g effect sizes, where positive values favor Montessori, ranged from 0.26 for general academic ability (with high quality evidence) to 0.06 for social studies. The quality of evidence for language (g = 0.17) and mathematics (g = 0.22) was also high. The effect size for a composite of all academic outcomes was 0.24. Science was the only academic outcome that was deemed to have low quality of evidence according to the GRADE approach. Effect sizes for nonacademic outcomes ranged from 0.41 for students' inner experience of school to 0.23 for social skills. Both of these outcomes were deemed as having low quality of evidence. Executive function (g = 0.36) and creativity (g = 0.26) had moderate quality of evidence. The effect size for a composite of all nonacademic outcomes was 0.33. Moderator analyses of the composite academic and nonacademic outcomes showed that Montessori education resulted in larger effect sizes for randomized studies compared to nonrandomized studies, for preschool and elementary settings compared to middle school or high school settings, and for private Montessori compared to public Montessori. Moderator analyses for treatment duration and duration from intervention to follow-up data collection were inconclusive. There was some evidence for a lack of small sample-size studies in favor of traditional education, which could be an indicator of publication bias. However, a sensitivity analysis indicated that the findings in favor of Montessori education were nonetheless robust. Montessori education has a meaningful and positive impact on child outcomes, both academic and nonacademic, relative to outcomes seen when using traditional educational methods.

‘Islamic Epistemology’ in a Modern Context: Anatomy of an Evolving Debate

ABSTRACT This paper critically analyses how Islamization of Knowledge (IOK), Radical Reform (RR), and Maqasid Methodology (MM), three distinct Islamic intellectual projects, attempted to develop discourses of Islamic epistemology in facing contemporary developments of natural and social sciences. Mainly, the paper focuses on similarities, differences, and potential contributions of all three projects respectively. Initially, this paper observes that IOK, RR, and MM have solid agreements among themselves in defining the core crisis of the modern Islamic intellectual tradition, as well as in highlighting the importance of inclusion of Islamic primary sources and its normative guidance in the process of reorienting modern knowledge. Equally, each of those projects presents itself as a new reflection of Islamic primary texts considering current intellectual challenges. Nevertheless, this paper further finds that all three projects have deep disagreements among themselves in terms of defining the scope of epistemic authority of revelation, reason, and spirituality and thereby offer three different visions of Islamic epistemic schema in facing modern knowledge. Finally, this paper reflects how these differences could potentially impact visions of an alternative education system from an Islamic worldview.

Halk Eğitimi Merkezi Eğitimcilerinin Sorunlarının İncelenmesi

Alternative education opportunities are needed outside of formal education institutions to train individuals, develop skills, and sustain lifelong learning. Adult Education Centres, which have a priority and predominant position among institutions that support lifelong learning in Türkiye, are among the leading institutions that help individuals’ personal, professional, and social development. For this reason, identifying and solving the challenges of Adult Education Centres instructors positively contributes to the quality and traceability of adult education. In this context, the study aims to determine the opinions of adult instructors in Adult Education Centres about their challenges and to develop suggestions based on the findings. For this purpose, to obtain in-depth information about the challenges of adult instructors in Adult Education Centres, the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred in the study, and the study group was formed from thirty-six participants determined by maximum diversity sampling, one of the purpose sampling techniques. The research data were collected with a semi-structured interview form. According to the findings, the challenges of the instructors were in the themes of institutional challenges, professional challenges, and trainee challenges; trainers’ approaches to coping with problems were in the themes of the support-seeking approach, the planned approach, and the reactive approach; Adult Education Centres directors’ approaches to the challenges of trainers have gathered the themes of the supportive and insensitive approach. When the results of the study are evaluated collectively, the Adult Education Centres should create institutional solution strategies for the problems of the instructors; It is recommended that the trainers be employed permanently, that the unfavourable conditions they work in are corrected and that the psychological and social, technological, and physical support they need is provided.

Fishing Community Homeschooling Management PKBM Baiturahman Kabupaten Pekalongan

Introduction: this study aims to: (1) analyze alternative education in the suburbs, especially in the West Coast area: 2) how the implementation of education is done at home; (3) formulate community empowerment strategies to realize Independent Business; (4) formulate Community Empowerment models to realize Independent Business. Methods this study uses primary data collected through interviews to respondents and key-persons. With multi-stage sampling as tutar in the center of teaching and learning activities located in wonokerto District, Pekalongan Regency, in addition, data on the same or related matters are also collected, from relevant sources of journals, books, and previous research results. Descriptive statistics are used to describe the profile of people who cannot carry out formal education due to economic influences. Implementation methods pay attention to (a) Analysis of the planning of the potential development of students in the fishing community homeschooling; (b) analysis of the implementation of the potential development of students in the fishing community homeschooling; (c) analysis of the supervision of the potential development of students in the fishing community homeschooling. Conclusion: planning the development of potential students in the fishing community homeschooling; implementation of the development of potential students in the fishing community homeschooling; supervision of the development of potential students in the fishing community homeschooling.

Integrating Trauma-Informed Practices Into Check-In/Check-Out for Use in Alternative Education Settings

A majority of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), particularly those served in alternative educational settings, have a history of trauma exposure before placement. Evidence-based interventions such as Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) may be more effective for these students if the interventions are systematically adapted to include trauma-informed principles within intervention features. In this article, adaptations to CICO to benefit students with EBD with a history of trauma exposure are presented.

The low FODMAP diet in clinical practice: where are we and what are the long-term considerations?

A diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) improves functional bowel symptoms and is a second-line dietary management strategy for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The diet is complex and involves three stages: restriction, reintroduction and personalisation and clinical effectiveness is achieved with dietitian-led education; however, this is not always available. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the evidence for using the low FODMAP diet, with a focus on the impact of FODMAP restriction and reintroduction considering long-term management of IBS in a clinical setting. Randomised controlled trials have assessed symptom response, quality of life, dietary intake and changes to the gut microbiota during FODMAP restriction. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently report that FODMAP restriction has a better symptom response compared with control diets and a network analysis reports the low FODMAP diet is superior to other dietary treatments for IBS. Research focused on FODMAP reintroduction and personalisation is limited and of lower quality, however common dietary triggers include wheat, onion, garlic, pulses and milk. Dietitian-led delivery of the low FODMAP diet is not always available and alternative education delivery methods, e.g. webinars, apps and leaflets, are available but remove the personalised approach and may be less acceptable to patients and may introduce safety concerns in terms of nutritional adequacy. Predicting response to the low FODMAP diet using symptom severity or a biomarker is of great interest. More evidence on less restrictive approaches and non-dietitian-led education delivery methods are needed.

Towards numeracy literacy development: A single-case study on the use of the living book homeschooling model

Public schools are not always believed to be able to support the development of an individual's potential comprehensively. Homeschooling, an educational program where students learn from home, is currently an alternative education. This study aims to reveal why parents choose to homeschool their children and describe how a homeschooler parent as a single tutor develops her child’s numeracy literacy skills in living book homeschooling. This research is a holistic single-case study with two subjects: a homeschooler (J) and his mother (UPL) as the tutor. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis of J’s learning activities. Thematic analysis with Atlas.ti software was employed. Findings reveal that the parents’ main reasons for homeschooling are dissatisfaction with public school instruction and flexibility to comprehensively develop homeschoolers’ skills. In addition, the integration of RME (Realistic Mathematics Education) in the living book homeschooling model is a very powerful support to students’ literacy numeracy development. Practically, there are three main strategies implemented; the use of real contexts and concrete teaching aids, as well as an emphasis on conceptual understanding and high-order thinking skills.

‘This felt more like a conversation’: challenging gender norms in electronic music production through alternative education programs

ABSTRACT This article argues that problematic gender norms in electronic music contexts – namely, their association with masculinity and overrepresentation by cis men – can be subverted through alternative education methods. We use the case study of the Electronic Music Accelerator (EMA) program, run by youth organization The Push in Melbourne, Australia, to illustrate this. Specifically, we evaluate strategies used in the EMA program to teach Ableton and related skills on building electronic music production careers. The EMA s program was designed to increase the numbers of women and gender non-conforming or gender diverse people involved in electronic music production, in response to evidence that these groups continue to be underrepresented in this area. We focus on how so-called soft skills, as opposed to the strictly technical skills normally the main focus in an Ableton course, were taught in this program. In the EMA, rather than insisting that the participants take up a ‘masculine’ attitude to adapt to the existing electronic music scene that is dominated by men, the course presented ways of working with, and even reclaiming, traits perceived as feminine, such as humility and community-mindedness. This approach offers possibilities for reconfiguring expectations in electronic music spaces.

NATURAL SCHOOLS: ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS IN 21ST CENTURY LIFE SKILLS

These 21st-century skills must be developed early on in students through education so that at their productive age, they can live properly in the world community. School of Nature is used as an alternative education in 21st-century life skills. The purpose of this study is to inform Indonesian people, especially the government, educators, students, and child observers about the importance of schools that carry child-friendly concepts, and the existence of the JIGS Medan Nature School in providing educational facilities for students in 21st-century life skills. This research is interpretative qualitative research. In this study, primary data was taken from observations and interviews at the Natural School from observations and discussions at the JIGS Natural School in Medan, and secondary data was obtained from a literature study. The analysis of the text used is qualitative in nature. The results of the research are that the concept that is presented carefully makes Sekolah Alam worthy of being an offered solution for child-friendly schools, consisting of anti-bullying programs such as Network People and Nursing which are implemented in almost all Natural Schools, for example, is a form of objective in a child-friendly concept.

요양보호사 양성 과정 교육생의 대체실습 교육 경험 연구

The purpose of this study was to improve the educational process to strengthen the professionalism of caregivers known to play a key role in the long-term care service system for the elderly. Therefore, in the process of fostering nursing care workers, characteristics of perceptions of those who experienced alternative practice were identified, typified, and explored through the Q methodology to confirm the meaning. In order to form the Q population, four study participants were interviewed in advance. Q samples on a total of 34 trainees' alternative practice education experiences were extracted through interview content and literature analysis. Q classification was conducted for 22 study participants. P samples were male and female trainees educated at the caregiver training center, 22 caregiver trainees with nursing assistant and social worker licenses corresponding to long-term care workers, and caregiver trainees corresponding to the general new class. Three recognition factors extracted by analyzing the data collected in Q sorting with the PC QUANL program explained 40.6% of the total variance. They were ‘rational inquiry’, ‘critical analysis’, and ‘realistic satisfaction’. According to implications of research results, this study proposes that it is important to improve the curriculum that can strengthen the professional competency of caregivers who respond to the era of integrated care in the community.

Eleştirel Pedagoji ve Eğitim Programlarına Yansımaları

Education is seen as the most important tool of social change and reform. It is known that education has economic, political, social and cultural reflections. In the increasingly globalized world with the developments in science and technology and social movements, the meaning attributed to education and the expectations of the individual and society from education also differ. This situation causes the existing educational practices and pedagogical understandings to be questioned and brings with it the fact that alternative solutions are produced. Critical pedagogy is one of the approaches that have been discussed in education in recent years and that offers an alternative understanding of education. Critical pedagogy is an approach that advocates the liberation of the individual by gaining critical awareness, the provision of equal opportunity in education, the development of the individual as a whole, contributing to the individual's self-realization, considering the education as the center of social change and the individual as a pioneer in social change. It offers various educational practices to democratize education and provide equal developmental opportunities. In this research, it is aimed to examine critical pedagogy, which is one of the alternative education approaches, and its reflections on learning environments. It is thought that this study will contribute to the related theoretical literature and be a source for the development of educational programs.

PENGURUSAN PENDIDIKAN KANAK-KANAK PELARIAN ROHINGYA DI MALAYSIA: ISU DAN CABARAN

The education issue continues to plague the lives of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. They had to face this from the beginning of their arrival up until now, the third generation of this ethnic group, as they did not have the opportunity to follow the formal education system in Malaysia. This will impact the development of this generation's human capital if it continues to be side-lined and is not immediately tackled. Therefore, this study aims to identify the educational background of Rohingya children in Malaysia, especially in alternative education centres, and to analyse the challenges faced by the education centres in managing the education of Rohingya children in Malaysia. This qualitative study uses the focus group interview technique in six selected alternative education centres as the data collection method. The result revealed that the Malaysian government allowed stakeholders to channel aid and protection to the refugees on a humanitarian basis, including managing refugee education, even though Malaysia did not ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. The operation of alternative education centres is one of the efforts to help the refugees flooding Malaysia. However, these centres have to face various challenges, including weak governance and regulation, discrepancies in the curriculum used, a lack of financial funds, difficulty managing Rohingya children who finish school, as well as the commitment to Malaysian legislation. Accordingly, comprehensive planning and synergy among all parties are required, including the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local communities and the Rohingya community, to improve education management and support efforts to empower the education of refugees in Malaysia.