Course summary

Develop your early years Montessori practice and professionalism and advance your knowledge of young children’s learning on one of the first Montessori Master’s degrees in the UK. A Montessori education program is an increasingly recognised approach to early childhood learning and development. It is a child-led method of learning that despite being more than a century old as a philosophy, is only recently becoming a considered educational approach for the developing of skills and learning in young children. Through the exploration of areas of Montessori in early childhood education and care you’ll enhance your research skills and be one of the first Montessorians to hold a Montessori Master's degree. You'll be an active learner developing skills at Masters level to enable you to share your knowledge and develop others. The unique design of our course will give the opportunity to develop your own learning journey through optional module choices in Trimester 2, making your MA journey truly unique. On our MA Education with Montessori, you will explore and deepen your knowledge of the interconnectedness of the three elements of the Montessori triangle - the child, the environment and the teacher - to flourish as an active learner, prepared to lead in the practice of early childhood education and care. By exploring and analysing Montessori’s theories of cosmic education, social justice and the child as an agent for change, you will develop your early years practice and professionalism. You will be given the freedom to take a critically creative approach in your thinking in order to develop your own pedagogical view and follow your own personal cosmic task. Your research skills will also be enriched through modules specifically designed to increase your knowledge of research and inquiry before you embark on your Montessori focused major project. You’ll be supported by academics who are also qualified Montessori practitioners offering you a knowledgeable and reflective teaching team. We will work together with you to create opportunity to flourish as an active learner, prepared to lead practice and learning at a Masters level. Our MA team have strong links to local authorities, Montessori nurseries and schools. These links will allow you to attend events such as guest lectures, giving you access to renowned Montessorians and early years experts in practice – previous topics have included working in the Erdkinder, Classrooms without Walls, policing and forest schools, sustainable education and Schema play. Our Early Childhood Research Group also organises events such as conferences and seminars that you can get involved with. You will also have opportunities to take part in work experience, live briefs and visits to educational settings and forest schools. We have a Montessori classroom on campus to support youe Montessori curriculum knowledge. Studying in our friendly community, collaborating alongside other postgraduate education students from a range of backgrounds and careers, will allow you to learn from their experiences, share best practice and extend your professional network. You’ll also be able to practice your teaching techniques in our Montessori classroom. You can join the course full-time in either January or September, but if you have credits from a PG Cert or PGCE you can choose to take it part-time from September. You can study either in Chelmsford on campus or via Distance Learning. Our MA Education with Montessori course will support you, as a current educational professional, to develop your expertise in Montessori as well as your professional practice for progression in management, mentoring, curriculum design, lecturing and consultancy. If you are an early career teacher you could progress to become a specialist coordinator.