Research 

The debate about whether or not religious education should be included in early childhood education is a longstanding one. Even those who believe that Religious Education should be included in early childhood programs cannot agree about the content or method for including it. The phenomenon of religious education in Montessori pre-primary schools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa is explored in this study, using a qualitative research approach. More specifically, the study explored the goals of their religious education; the level of awareness of Montessori's approach to religious education and finally looked at how they were implementing religion in their schools. A sample of 4 pre-schools was selected from the 90 Montessori pre-schools in the Western Cape. These included a Non-Denominational, Muslim, Christian and a Jewish School. The Muslim and Non-Denominational schools are full Montessori schools, while the Christian and Jewish schools have incorporated Montessori alongside other curriculums, namely the Jubilee Excellence School Curriculum and Reggio-Emilia approach, respectively. A collective case study approach was adopted and data were collected through observations and interviews. While the findings cannot easily be generalized, it is significant in providing a starting point to understanding the phenomenon of religious education in Montessori pre-schools in the Western Cape. The study highlighted Dr Montessori's personal and professional struggle with religion and found that the struggles Dr Montessori faced in terms of Religion have still not been resolved today. The schools in the Western Cape still grappled with the essence of Montessori's struggle, i.e. where to place religion and how to integrate it in the Montessori method and philosophy. Dr Montessori's beliefs about the importance of spirituality in the early years were found to be consistent with the contemporary views of scholars around the world. The religious schools followed guidelines of their own religions when deciding on which values to focus on. At the Jewish school, the focus was on the community, while at the Muslim school the focus was on the individual and self-etiquette. The focus of the Christian school was on discipline and obedience. The schools had various commitments to spiritual and ethical development of the children. Finally, the study found that the Montessori method was ideal for teaching the practices of religion, but when schools delved into issues of faith or love of God, they switched to other modes of teaching (e.g. preaching). This disjuncture between teaching faith and practices was ultimately Dr Montessori's reason for abolishing religious education from her method. 

Thesis (MSocSc)--University of Cape Town, 2017