Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Action Research Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education, Montessori

First Advisor

Patricia Barton

Department/School

Montessori Early Childhood

Abstract

This study explored the effectiveness of grace and courtesy lessons in teaching a specific set of social skills to young children as well as how this approach impacts children’s ability to navigate related social situations successfully and independently. Research took place over seven weeks in a Montessori primary environment, comprised of 26 children aged 33 months to six years of age. The school is located in an urban, low socioeconomic area and is a hybrid private early childcare center and K-6 charter school. Research data was gathered in the form of field journal notes to record the presenter’s general thoughts and feelings after each lesson, a tally sheet to record the number of children present at the lesson versus the number who repeated, a tally sheet for the number of interactions observed during morning observation periods, and an observation log for those observed interactions detailing who was involved and what happened. Results point to the effectiveness of this intervention as language was not only retained, but implemented independently by children in naturally occurring social interactions. More research should be done in how this method translates to other early childhood settings as well as how it translates across age groups.

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