"Of all the things I have read about Maria Montessori so far, this book is without doubt the best. Based on thorough research in archives, it examines the significance of Montessori and her movement, especially in her homeland of Italy, but not without including the international context of her career. For without the latter, the political relationship with fascism cannot be properly understood. From this perspective, the book offers many new insights and important nuances and justified corrections to all previous studies on the legacy of this leading lady in the history of education, whose name is inextricably linked to the "Casa dei Bambini". It is in these "houses for children" that she, as an Italian doctor, educator and innovator, sought to apply her educational method that built on the way children learn naturally - an adventure that set in motion a whole series of adepts, followers, imitators, defenders, etc., here superbly handled by Christine Quarfood."
—Marc Depaepe, Emeritus Professor in the History of Education at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and Leading Researcher at the University of Latvia.
Christine Quarfood
Maria Montessori Montessori education sensory gymnastics pre-school history psycho-pedagogical perspectives peace education Montessori-Mussolini cooperation Montessori movement
"Of all the things I have read about Maria Montessori so far, this book is without doubt the best. Based on thorough research in archives, it examines the significance of Montessori and her movement, especially in her homeland of Italy, but not without including the international context of her career. For without the latter, the political relationship with fascism cannot be properly understood. From this perspective, the book offers many new insights and important nuances and justified corrections to all previous studies on the legacy of this leading lady in the history of education, whose name is inextricably linked to the "Casa dei Bambini". It is in these "houses for children" that she, as an Italian doctor, educator and innovator, sought to apply her educational method that built on the way children learn naturally - an adventure that set in motion a whole series of adepts, followers, imitators, defenders, etc., here superbly handled by Christine Quarfood."
—Marc Depaepe, Emeritus Professor in the History of Education at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and Leading Researcher at the University of Latvia.
“Christine Quarfood describes the history of the Montessori movement during the interwar years and manages to create a detailed and balanced picture… The combination of biography, history of international reception and social-historical contextualization is a much-needed supplement to the Montessori research so far.” —Christina Rothen, University of Zurich, Switzerland
“This study expands the historiography on Montessori as a single actor to the diverse movement that surrounded her, and shows how pedagogical considerations, cultural critic ideas and the political will to change society intersected in an international educational movement.”
—Emma Wikström, Örebro University, Sweden