Research Committee
A dynamic group of educators, university faculty, and others, the AMS Research Committee is actively engaged in encouraging, supporting, and disseminating research about Montessori education. Among other responsibilities, its members stand ready to field questions and engage in dialogue with fellow Montessori researchers.
The committee brings together individuals with diverse research interests, each experienced in university or professional-level research. Ideally, its members also represent a variety of geographic regions.
Committee members serve a 3-year term and meet monthly via teleconference. For more information, contact the committee co-chairs.
Committee Members
Carolyn Daoust, PhD, Co-chair
Associate Professor, Montessori Elementary Coordinator, and Director of Interns, Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
Recipient, AMS 2005 Dissertation Award
Research interests: Montessori teacher practices
Ann Epstein, PhD, Co-chair
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI
Recipient, AMS 1997 Dissertation Award
Research interests: Accommodations for young children with exceptionalities; collaborating with parents of young children; technology and early childhood
Janet Hall Bagby, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology, Baylor University, Waco, TX
Recipient, AMS 2002 Dissertation Award
Research interests: Problem solving; executive function; connecting educational theory to Montessori practice
Sharon Damore, EdD
Adjunct Faculty, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Executive Director, Association of Illinois Montessori Schools
Coordinator, Administrators Program, Seton Montessori Institute
Research interests: Teacher collaboration; student assessment; professional development schools
Maureen Harris, MEd
Early Learning, Dept. of Education, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Recipient, AMS 1994 Dissertation Award
Research interests: Indigenous research; Montessori music; contemporary issues in early learning
Jamilah R. Jor'dan, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood/Primary Bilingual Education, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL
Research interests: Childhood exposure to violence; family strengthening practices; family child care
Ginger Kelley McKenzie, EdD
Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood & Literacy, Montessori Program, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH
Secretary
Research interests: Emergent readers: visual spatial literacy; public Montessori public schools; secondary Montessori programs; Montessori public and private educational leadership
Michelle Moody-Frazier
Formeer Grants Manager, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL
Research interests: Montessori implementation; transformational professional development; Montessori best practices implemented in mainstream education
Anna Perry, MEd
Executive Director, Seton Montessori Institute, Clarendon Hills, IL
Adjunct Faculty, Erikson Institute, Chicago, IL
Research interests: Public policy and advocacy; teacher education and adult learning; child and family relations
Ginny Riga, EdD
Former Educational Associate, Montessori Programs, South Carolina State Department of Education, Columbia, SC
Research interests: Public school issues: reading by grade 3; alternatives to grade repetition; reducing drop-out rates; teacher job satisfaction (retention); multiage grouping and looping; closing achievement gap; assessment of "whole child"
Richard A. Ungerer, Ex Officio
AMS Executive Director
Keith Whitescarver, EdD
Director, Grantify, Hartford, CT
Historian, Educational Consultant, Hartford, CT
Research interests: History of literacy; history of Montessori
Linda Zankowsky, EdD
Head of School, Wilmington Montessori School, Wilmington, DE
Adjunct Faculty, University of Delaware
Research interests: Literacy; assessment; collaborative learning communities; leadership; Montessori public schools
With support from a team of external proposal reviewers, this subcommittee recommends recipients of AMS research mini-grants, which support Montessori research.
Subcommittee Members
Keith Whitescarver, Chair
Ginger McKenzie
Alyssa Moore
Angela Murray
The AMS Research Committee is supported by the work of Angela Murray, AMS research coordinator.
The Committee gratefully acknowledges Dr. Marlene Barron, Kathy Carey, Dr. John Chattin-McNichols, Dr. Betsy Coe, Dr. Jacqueline Cossentino, Dr. Margaret Loeffler, Dr. Phyllis Povell, Dennis Schapiro, and Martha Torrence for their involvement in an advisory capacity.