The pedagogical practices utilized in the Pestalozzi Method, the Montessori Method and the Freinet teaching methodologies, all focus on pupil-centered education (Freinet, C., 1990; Montessori, M., & Gutek, G. L, 2004; Hewes, D., 1992). In the Pestalozzi Method, the goal is to educate the whole child and in doing so, it is important to continually balance the hands, heart and head. The Montessori Method contains a wide range of self-motivational methods and materials. This approach stresses learning through all five senses, with pupils in Montessori classes learning at their individual pace and by choosing activities from countless possibilities. The Freinet teaching methodologies are immersed in the natural method, a process that requires pupils to learn through trial and error to encourage collaborative learning. All three methodologies center around early childhood education. This research project aspires to explore how teachers use these specific methodologies to create successful educational outcomes for pupils aged 6-13. This present study is situated in the context of Italian public schools. Since the teachers involved in this study show a critical pedagogy profile, this study also explores relations between Montessori, Freinet, Pestalozzi’s rationale and critical pedagogy (Ball, 2000).

In Italy, schools continue to treat migration and multicultural issues as a sort of emergency that requires both specific education intervention (Granata, 2016). Since the teachers involved in this study are all working in multicultural classroom environments, the study also explores the relationship between the use of Montessori, Freinet, Pestalozzi and intercultural competence. This study takes into account that pupils from migrant families may face particular learning and integration challenges. Therefore, this study was an opportunity to reflect on how a critical pedagogy approach and specific Montessori, Freinet, Pestalozzi’s methodologies can contribute to successful educational outcomes for pupils in multicultural learning environments.

Ball, A. (2000) Empowering Pedagogies That Enhance the Learning of Multicultural Students. Teachers College Record, v102 n6 p1006-34 Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2). pp. 77-101. Caritas Migrantes (2016). Immigrazione Dossier Statistico 2016. XVI Rapporto. Roma: Edizioni Idos. Denzin, NK. (1978). Sociological Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill. Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Freinet, C. (1990). Cooperative Learning and Social Change: Selected writings of Celestin Freinet.(D. Clandfield and J. Sivell Eds.& Trans.). Translated excerpts with historical introduction. Toronto: Our Schools Our Selves/O.I.S.E. Press. Granata, A. (2016) Pedagogia delle diversità. Come sopravvivere un anno in una classe interculturale. Roma: Carocci. Hewes, D. (1992). Pestalozzi: Foster father of early childhood education. Paper presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) History Seminar, New Orleans, LA. Horlacher, R. (2011). Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, v47 n1-2 p65-75 2011 Montessori, M., & Gutek, G. L. (2004). The Montessori method: The origins of an educational innovation: including an abridged and annotated edition of Maria Montessori's The Montessori method. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Pestalozzi, Johann Heinrich. (2016). In P. Lagasse, & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Tielman, K. A., Brok, den, P. J., Bolhuis, S. M., & Vallejo, B. (2012). Collaborative learning in multicultural classrooms : a case study of Dutch senior secondary vocational education. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 64(1), 103-118.