The Impact of Montessori Teaching Method on IQ Levels of 5-Year Old Children

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the Montessori approach on the IQ of 5-year old children. To do this, a sample of 80 5-year old children (40 children from the traditional kindergartens and 40 ones from a Montessori-regulated kindergarten) were randomly selected from different kindergartens in Shiraz, Iran, based on a simple random selection (for Montessori system) and a multi-stage selection (for the traditional system). Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RMP) test was used to measure participants’ IQ levels. Then Vineland Social Maturity scale was used. The data collected for testing hypotheses was then analyzed using the independent-samples t-test on dependent samples. Results showed that the IQ and the level of the 5-year old children educated through the Montessori approach was substantially higher than that of the children educated based on the traditional approach. The study suggested that education system (Montessori or traditional) had affected the children's IQ and social maturity growth level.