author
Maria Montessori
1870–1952
A doctor turned educator, she changed the way the world thinks about childhood learning. Her work grew into the Montessori method, an approach built on independence, careful observation, and respect for each child’s natural development.
5 Audiobooks
Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook
by Maria Montessori
Pedagogical Anthropology
by Maria Montessori
Spontaneous Activity in Education
by Maria Montessori
The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author
by Maria Montessori
The Montessori Elementary Material The Advanced Montessori Method
by Maria Montessori
About the author
Born in Chiaravalle, Italy, in 1870, Maria Montessori became one of the country’s first women physicians before turning her attention to education. Her medical training shaped the way she studied children: closely, practically, and with unusual respect for their abilities.
She became widely known after opening the Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1907, where she developed learning materials and classroom practices that encouraged children to explore, concentrate, and work independently. Those ideas became the Montessori method, which spread internationally through her teaching, lectures, and books on education.
Montessori spent much of her later life refining and promoting her approach around the world. By the time of her death in 1952 in the Netherlands, she had become one of the most influential figures in modern education, and her ideas continue to shape schools and families today.