Abstract

Purpose: The impact of two fields of study in psychology, i.e. behavioral psychology and cognitive psychology, on education in a general sense and teaching method in a specific sense has attracted the attention of many experts in the field of opinion and practice. Behaviorists such as Skiner, Pavlov, Watson, influenced by positivists such as Auguste Comte, Francies Bacon, Carnap and the approach of modernity dominated education for many years and The teaching and training methods are mostly transparent, clear and channelized, and like the production line of factories, they are step by step, linear, staged and static, but However, cognitive psychologists such as Wundt, Piaget, influenced by non-positivist views such as John Lock, Descartes, Husserl, emphasized the vagueness, non-transparency and dynamism of education and teaching methods and And they believed that educational realities should be sought in the aesthetic art of teaching and in the social activism of educators. Based on what was stated in the field of education, desire, active motivation and influencing interpersonal skills, it is necessary to adopt effective methods and approaches in teaching that provide the context of understanding, desire and activity in relation to such trainings. In this context, two educational approaches can be mentioned. The reason for adopting these two approaches is that they both pay attention to activity, desire and social growth, but Montessori is concerned with individual independence and Reggio Emilia is concerned with social relationships. (Hosseini, Heydari & Saadatmand, 2018). Considering the background and the problem of the research about the effectiveness of Vergio Emilia's two Montessori methods on the acquisition of interpersonal skills, it can be concluded that these two methods are very important and necessary for children to enter society, including the early years of entering education. especially the first grade of elementary school. The Montessori method is linear and the Reggio Emilia method is non-linear. The importance of the Montessori method is that based on a specific program, the teaching work is directed. A very important point in this method is that each child develops based on his individual abilities, and its benefit and application is that the child learns how to handle personal tasks and daily activities of his life. But the importance of the Reggio Emilia method, unlike Montessori, is that it does not have a specific program for teaching children, in other words, the Malagasy curriculum is event-based and non-linear, and all children's educational programs in this system are based on the children's reaction and interest in a subject. And it develops over time. According to this difference, the question arises whether there is a difference between these two methods in acquiring interpersonal skills? And if so, which method is more effective?

Method: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with experimental groups one and two The statistical population was first elementary school boys in one district of Kerman and the sample was 60 people in three experimental groups of 20 people 1 and 2 and the control group. Matson et al.'s interpersonal skills questionnaire was used as a pre-test and post-test (Boland Raftar, Hajati, 2024). In The curriculum two sessions were dedicated to teaching children according to the educational content of Montessori and Reggio Emilia for three months and every week. It is necessary to mention that 5 experts in the teaching method approved the validity of these training sessions, the Montessori method (Hashemi et al, 2019) including life skills: Sensory skills: Calculation skills. Language: culture. which includes from simple to complex skills during three months. The method of Malagatsi or Reggio Emilia (Soltani, Aghdasi & Hashemi, 1400) includes game (running game, shadow game), project (volume building, communication with matter, light rays, projecting insects, plants, stones and recycling), painting using Natural materials (making color by changing the materials collected by breaking, pulverizing, sieving, pounding, grinding, etc.), producing sound using natural materials is called sound.

Findings: findings showed that there is a significant difference between the variable scores of the interpersonal skills of the experimental group 1 and the variable scores of the control group, because the significance level of the group was 0.001, which is less than 0.05. . As a result, it can be said that children who received the Montessori educational method have more social skills than the group that did not receive interventions. To answer the second hypothesis, the post-test scores showed that there is a significant difference between the interpersonal skills variable of the experimental group 2 and the interpersonal skills variable scores in the control group, because the significance level of the group was 0.001, which is less than 0.05. As a result, it can be said that children who received the Reggio Emilia educational method have more interpersonal skills than the group that did not receive interventions. To answer the third hypothesis, scores showed that the significance level of interpersonal skills variable in groups is less than 0.05. This means that there is a significant difference between the indicators of the experimental groups (Montessori and Malagasy) and the control group, as well as between the two experimental groups. Also, the average difference between the two test groups shows that the test group 2, i.e. Reggio Emilia, has more effectiveness on interpersonal skills than the test group 1, i.e. Montessori.

Discussion And conclusion: In general, the results show that the Montessori educational method has an effect size of 0.846 on the social skills of primary school children. These findings are in line with research (Ahmadvand & Shekh Kolahdoz, 2016, Brewer, Claver & van der Zee, 2023). One of the main goals of the Montessori approach has been to create an environment suitable for children to raise independent and self-directed children. According to Montessori, if a suitable environment is provided for a child, his social behavior will develop. (Aljabarin, 2020). The third hypothesis showed that the children who received the Malagasy educational method have more social skills than the group that did not receive the interventions. These results are consistent with the findings of Soltani, Aghdasi and Hashemi, 1400, Mohammadi and Mastry, 2016, & Yanko, 2019). Malagasy's educational approach is based on an event curriculum, not a linear and mechanical one, in which the curriculum is gradually formed and presented in the form of projects and through interaction with the learner (Rankin, 2004). This curriculum works in such a way that the social communication of learners increases and can strengthen their interpersonal skills, which confirms the third hypothesis of the research that the Malagasy method has a greater impact on social skills than the Montessori educational method.