THE ENVIRONMENT AS THE CHILD’S PRIMARY INTERLOCUTOR

The environment organization is one of the Montessori pedagogy milestones which in recent decades has been revised by international scientific literature [1]. The environment organization is a primary interlocutor for the child [2] because, as Montessori says, the child "absorbs" and embodies it in himself [3]. This self-transforming work is a natural process that takes place spontaneously and it mostly depends on the experiences made in the environment, especially in the first years of life when the child's mind is predisposed to absorb a quantity of non-quantifiable information. In "Self-education in elementary schools", Montessori [4] even describes a "constant reaction" whereby, in certain circumstances, a "crystallization point" is formed around which the surrounding chaotic mass becomes uniform by means of "extraordinary inner qualities" which allow the child to reveal himself. Assumed this awareness, developed by the intersection between Montessori’s medical-scientific studies, the method experiential application insight the “Casa dei Bambini” and the child’s careful observation of his spontaneous manifestations, it is necessary to subject the space to a detailed process organizational so that it can reflect and stimulate the "natural development of the child"[5]. Therefore, taking the Montessori perspective, it is possible to affirm that the structuring of the environment favours natural learning, the development of skills related to practical life, the error self-correction, the channelling of attention and many other elements to determine a high-quality level of the training offer. The macro-characteristic of the environment, outlined by Montessori, provide having clear, understandable, manipulable, and organized boundaries so that the child can feel the active protagonist of his development (autonomy and freedom) and can also find in it the meaning of what he/she learn (naturalness and continuity). In doing so, the child develops his individual self and his social self, creating that harmony that binds him to himself, the environment, and the adult [6]. All this translates into large, bright, and minimal environments; in the division of the classroom into thematic areas; in the use of light and proportionate furnishings to the physical development of the child [7] to ensure the manipulation, order, and personalization of learning [8]. Many recent studies have reiterated the environment importance and the effectiveness of the Montessori method. A strong connection between pedagogy and architecture is evident, to create environments that are cared for and attentive to the natural development of the child [9][10]. Some ergonomic studies have confirmed the need to use teaching aids (with particular attention to chairs and tables) that are diversified and harmonious to the physical-evolutionary development of the child [11]. In addition, important implications have emerged compared to the long-term student results for which the Montessori method manages to raise or equal students belonging to discordant socio-economic-working groups or statuses [12]. The environment can also determine important influences on the behavioural task’s development [13] and self-regulation skills, as well as independence [14]. The paper reports an ongoing interpretative investigation, developed starting from the Montessori methodological system, aims to understand how kindergarten and primary school teachers know and are inspired by the Montessori Method to determine quality learning. The tools used are a semi-structured questionnaire administered to teachers of kindergarten and primary school in the Sicilian territory in 2021 for which it is expected to have a sample of about 400 people; and a semi-structured interview intended for teachers of the Montessori differentiated method primary school sections of Trapani. It is expected that, after the data collection phase, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the same will determine a good knowledge of the principles governing the choices of the teachers in the structuring of the internal and external environment.