The Programs

Montessori Western Teacher Training Pro­gram offers a unique, process-oriented ap­proach to early childhood teacher prepara­tion, with an overall emphasis on student responsi­bility for self-directed learning, com­munication, and the dynamics of human rela­tionships. 

The Early Childhood Course pre­pares the teacher candidate to conduct classes for young chil­dren between the ages of 2½ – 6 and to serve as director of a preschool, daycare center, or other child development facility enrolling children in this age range.  

This year-long program has two parts: the summer/academic phase—an intensive 8-week session (320 hours), followed by a two-semes­ter practicum phase (940 hours, minimum), which includes supervised student teaching in an approved site, field observation, seminar sessions, and super­vised directed study pro­jects.

MWTEP is licensed by the California Bureau of Post Secondary Education (#93198001), MWTEP course work is ac­cepted by the California Department of Social Services as an alternative prepa­ration for the required units of postseconda­ry educa­tion required to quali­fy pre­school teachers and directors in the state. Thus, the Early Child­hood course serves as a portal of entry for high school and college graduates who intend to seek employment as preschool teachers or directors in California. Teachers from other public or private schools who hope to apply Montessori principles to their own teach­ing situations may be enrolled for just the summer phase of the course, without student teaching and without AMS certification.

Our Philosophy

MWTTP operates on the basis of a philos­ophy developed out of the writ­ings of Maria Montes­sori, Carl Rogers, Arthur Janov, and Jean Piaget. 

The following statements reflect both this back­ground and the staff's continuing study and experience of participation in the education­al lives of both adults and children:


• Learning is part of the process of living.


• Each person is responsible for her/his own learning.


• To learn, one must participate!


• Montessori teacher preparation pro­vides a context in which to study both child and self.


• Relationships with others in the learning envi­ronment must provide a basis for acceptance and mutual support to create a safe space for knowing and being.


• Clear objectives and organization of mate­rial and environment facilitate the tasks of both teacher and learner.


• Educational methods which encourage active student participation in the in­struc­tional pro­cess result in more com­plete and effective learning.


• Evaluation is an integral part of learning activity; it provides an ongoing clarifica­tion of responsibility and facilitates expan­sion of personal goals.


• Effective assistance for the child de­pends on the establishment of a helping partner­ship between educator and parent 


Our Goals

This list includes the intents and purposes of the program with regard to the general content of the course work, the approach to training, results with students, involve­ment with the professional commu­nity, and influ­ence upon American educational practices:


• to provide a related group of varied edu­cation­al experiences that are con­gruent, on an adult level, with the ch­ild's experi­ence and growth in a Mon­tessori setting;


• to convey clearly a conception of the Montes­sori method as an open-end­ed system designed to foster auton­omy;


• to facilitate the development of person­al com­munication skills within a frame­work for understanding the dynamics of human relation­ships;


• to communicate an accurate and effec­tively organized picture of con­tempo­rary knowledge about the sequence of human development from birth through the ele­mentary years and its relation to the Montes­sori system;


• to encourage, support, and provide oppor­tunity for methodological and professional compe­tence in the teac­her;

• to serve as a consultation resource for early childhood programs in pub­lic and private schools;


• to support ongoing professional educa­tion for Montessori teachers;


• to support and encourage member­ship in the American Montessori Society by both schools and teach­ers as a means of sup­porting and promoting the sharing of Montessori ideas as an influence on the educa­tion of all children.