Thailand is viewed as the centre of Montessori education among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Ms. Megan Tyne, project manager of the International Montessori Congress 2021 and of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI).
 
The Montessori model has been in place in Thailand for 12 years, witnessing rapid growth “in both quality and quantity”, Ms. Tyne said.
 
A key to the organization’s growth, she noted, was the support it received from the Thai government.
 
“At present, there are more than 600 teachers in more than 500 public schools in Thailand who have passed training requirements and are qualified Montessori teachers, as well as an additional 100 teachers in private schools,” she said.
 
Thailand will be the first country in Southeast Asia to host the international congress. The first event was held in 1999 and organized in Asia only once — in Japan.
 
The AMI selected Thailand based on the strength and growth of the country’s current program. The 2021 congress will highlight Thailand’s role as the hub of knowledge-sharing in Montessori education in Southeast Asia as well as the Asia-Pacific region, including China.
 
The Montessori method of education provides a child-centred approach based on scientific observations of children. Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, it’s been in use for more than 110 years in countries across the world.
 
 
“The Montessori method is based on understanding how the child develops at each stage and provides the best possible environment to support that development,” Ms. Tyne said.
 
The Montessori method can be applied at every stage of a child’s educational development, covering elementary, primary and secondary schooling, and is broken down into several age segments — from birth-to-age 3, ages 3-to-6, 6-to-12, and 12-18.
 
The classroom at a Montessori school prepares a learning environment geared to the development of the whole child — physical, social, emotional and cognitive. Students are encouraged to learn concepts through working materials, not merely through direct instruction. Teachers are there to observe and guide the students along the road of educational development and discovery.
 
Ms. Tyne said the AMI has high expectations for Thailand’s role in supporting the continued growth of the Montessori method throughout Asia, which is why the country was chosen to host the International Montessori Congress 2021. Educators from other countries also will benefit from observing Thailand’s successful programs, as well as developing relationships for international and intercultural networking.
 
“These relationships, these sharing of ideas could have a huge impact, allowing for a big step forward in the world’s understanding of the Montessori method. We at headquarters are very committed to supporting the organization’s sustainable development goals not only around education, but also human culture,” Ms. Tyne said.
 
A key to achieving these goals is by receiving support from governments in order to reach more children through an individual country’s expansive public school system, she said. For this, Thailand serves as an outstanding model, she said.
 
Mrs. Kannekar Butt, an educator with the Thailand Montessori Association, noted that the Montessori method was introduced in Thailand by Dr. Kasama Worawan Na Ayutthaya, former secretary of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) to help solve the problem of inadequate staffing levels at some schools. There simply was not enough teachers to go around, Mrs. Kannekar said.
 
Dr. Kasama believed that the Montessori education method would solve that problem, a belief enthusiastically supported by the Thai government, which at the time allowed the AMI to train Thai teachers in the Montessori method.
 
The "train the trainers" program was successfully implemented resulting in more than 600 teachers passing the Montessori education program who were spread among more than 500 public schools in Thailand, in addition to other trained Montessori teachers in private schools.
 
The congress will be held by MAT joined hands with NCC-PCO who is the leading PCO in Thailand. MAT and NCC-PCO thanks for the full support from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau and BITEC, our official partners. MAT and NCC-PCO also believe that the mutual collaboration between us and our partners can guarantee an extraordinary conference in Thailand.