Annual Montessori Research Retreat planned Oct. 13-15

LAWRENCE – The Center for Learner Agency Research and Action (CLARA) will host the annual Montessori Research Retreat at the University of Kansas from Oct. 13-15, including a KU Community Invited Session for local scholars and educators to engage with the latest research findings in Montessori education.

The Montessori Research Retreat is a cornerstone event for researchers in the field of Montessori education. The retreat is designed to achieve several important objectives:

• Build a diverse Montessori research community.
• Mentor early career researchers.
• Foster research collaborations.
• Advance Montessori research initiatives.

The first day of the three-day retreat is dedicated to the Montessori Research Symposium, which includes the KU Community Invited Session and a Doctoral Student Session. Individuals are encouraged to RSVP. Unless otherwise indicated on the schedule, events will take place at Joseph R. Pearson Hall.

Speakers include:

• CLARA Director Angela Murray, opening the session and discussing current news in the field of Montessori research.
• Angeline Lillard, University of Virginia, presenting her talk “Montessori Outcomes: A Meta-analysis, and a Study of Long-term Well-being”
• Solange Denervaud, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), “Neuroscience of Montessori Education.”

The doctoral student session will offer participants a unique chance to interact with the nearly 30 national and international scholars attending the broader Montessori Research Retreat.

“Over the past nine years of hosting the Montessori Research Retreat, I have seen the Montessori research community expand both in terms of the number and diversity of scholars involved and the quality and quantity of work produced. The collaborations developed through the Montessori Research Working Group and Retreat have been instrumental in these efforts,” Murray said.

Murray cites a Montessori Education Special Interest Group within the American Educational Research Association, the Montessori Bibliography Online and the Bloomsbury Handbook of Montessori Education as accomplishments in the Montessori research community that are due, in part, to the retreat.

This event is made possible by the support of the Wend Collective and is organized by the Montessori Research Working Group.