AEDI Research

Success in school and life can be influenced by the outcomes in early childhood. The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a national measure of the progress of early childhood development in Australia. The AEDI is an attempt by the council of Australian governments to measure how children are developing in communities throughout the country. The AEDI collected data on a number of quantitative and qualitative data sets, following physical health and well being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills and communication skills and general knowledge. The study was conducted throughout the country, surveying 261,203 children, making up 97.5% of aged five in Australia.

Montessori Educated children outperformed the national average for five year olds in all developmental domains. The most significant variance between the national average and children educated in the Montessori system were in Language and Cognitive Skills and Communications Skills and General Knowledge. While some controls in such socio-economic advantage must be considered, as the number of developmentally vulnerable children in Montessori was less than the National average, the performance of Montessori education relative to the national average is statistically significant. The study verifies the legitimacy of the Montessori Method for achieving real positive outcomes for children’s education and development.