| This study documents a Montessori teacher education program in three Nicaraguan villages. In each village, the researcher observed the implementation of a teacher education program designed by Montessori Phoenix Projects, and carried out research conversations with local participants. The data collection process spanned a period of one and one-half years.; The resulting framework is designed to inform the implementation of grassroots teacher education courses serving resource-limited communities. The framework presents learning points essential for teacher education programs appropriate to childhood education within the Montessori tradition in resource-limited communities. These points include creating context, identifying breakdowns, generating possibility, and using a mimetic construct of time in curriculum development.; Additionally, the results of this research offer insights for evaluation, arguments for the essential incorporation of tradition in socioeducational development, and methods in which collaboration with community members, NGOs, and educational authorities can move beyond the limitations of traditional forms of development.; The works of Arendt, Gadamer, Geertz, Habermas, Herda, and Ricoeur inform the research and analysis. The research framework is comprised of the theoretical constructs of breakdowns (Arendt 1961), mimesis (Ricoeur 1984), and dissipation (Janstch 1980). Within this framework ontological resources are brought to light and serve as the progenesis to make new the old environment and bring imagined worlds of possibility to life. By converting breakdowns into new, recognizable forms through everyday language, options carrying hope for the future become visible. A critical aspect of these options involves understanding another's world.; This study presents a unique model for making a difference in the lives of people who live in culturally diverse communities. Moreover, the model is not burdened by the traditional budget and personnel restraints associated with most development models. The framework presented in this dissertation may assist education reform consultants who work in developing countries and who are committed to give a voice to those people who commonly are not heard. |
