Scott Eacott

Dating back to at least the work of Martha Simpson at Blackfriars Practising School in 1915, Montessori education has a long history in Australia. Despite this lengthy history, Montessori school-based education has struggled to build scale in the Australian context. Despite 29 per cent growth since 2008, Montessori schools still only make up 0.5 per cent of all schools, and 0.1 per cent of all students. Put simply, Montessori schools exist on the margins. This keynote builds on the 2022 report Montessori education in Australian schools: Charting a path to highlight some of the major challenges for Montessori education including what exactly is Montessori education, building the collective, and evidencing quality education. Rather than a doom and gloom overview, this presentation will offer potential quick wins, short- and longer-term ideas as stimulus for dialogue and debate on what is needed to better to tell the story of what Montessori based schooling has to offer education in Australia.