THE MONTESSORI ADVANTAGE IN HOLISTIC CHILD DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF CHILD AGENCY, TEACHER AGENCY, AND LEARNING ACROSS MAJOR EARLY CHILDHOOD PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Montessori education is frequently described as a holistic, child-centred system, yet claims of its superiority are often made without distinguishing pedagogical philosophy from empirical evidence. This critical integrative review examines how Montessori education conceptualises holistic development, child agency, teacher agency, learning, and the prepared environment, and compares these constructs with Piagetian constructivism, Vygotskian sociocultural theory, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, and the Reggio Emilia educational approach. A targeted and transparent evidence-identification strategy prioritised peer-reviewed reviews, meta-analyses, lottery-based comparisons, and foundational theoretical texts published or available through August 2026. The strongest secondary quantitative evidence is a Campbell systematic review of 32 baseline-equivalent studies contributing 204 effect sizes and 132,249 data points. It reported effects favouring Montessori for combined academic outcomes (Hedges’ g = 0.24, 95% CI [0.13, 0.36]) and combined nonacademic outcomes (g = 0.33, 95% CI [0.16, 0.50]), with substantial heterogeneity. A 2025 national lottery-based trial additionally reported end-of-kindergarten advantages in reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function, while finding no notable impacts at earlier preschool endpoints. The synthesis indicates that Montessori offers a distinctive integration of purposeful choice, sequenced materials, movement, concentration, mixed-age community, and indirect adult guidance. However, available evidence does not justify universal superiority claims; outcomes depend on implementation fidelity, teacher preparation, context, measurement, and selection processes. The review proposes an ecological-relational account of Montessori agency and identifies priorities for culturally responsive implementation and future comparative research.