Call for Engagement
The Courage to Continue: Following the Child, Reimagining the Future
Call for Engagement Opens 4 September 2026
The conversation begins with you.
The Montessori Europe Congress 2027 will bring together educators, researchers, school leaders, teacher trainers, students and advocates from across Europe and beyond at the Goethe University Riedberg Campus in Frankfurt, Germany, from 1–3 October 2027.
At the heart of the Congress is our theme:
The Courage to Continue: Following the Child, Reimagining the Future
Montessori education has always asked us to observe carefully, think deeply and respond courageously to the needs of children and young people.
Today, as education and society continue to change, that responsibility remains. How do we preserve what is essential while remaining open to new knowledge, new challenges and new possibilities? What are we learning in our classrooms, schools, training environments, communities and research? And what questions do we need to explore together as we look towards the future?
The Montessori Europe Congress is a place to exchange ideas, question assumptions, share experience, explore evidence and learn from one another.
We therefore invite you to help shape the 2027 Congress by submitting a proposal through our Call for Engagement.
Two Pathways. One Conversation.
Meaningful professional learning takes many forms. For 2027, the Call for Engagement offers two distinct pathways, each designed to support a different kind of contribution while bringing practice and research into the same wider conversation.
Professional Engagement
The Professional Engagement pathway is for those wishing to share practice, experience, ideas and perspectives with the Montessori community.
We welcome contributions from educators, school leaders, teacher trainers, students, organisations, community practitioners and others whose work can stimulate reflection, offer practical insight or open new conversations.
Different ideas are best explored in different ways, contributors may propose a range of Engagement Formats, including Interactive Practical Workshops, Interactive Presentations, Insight Sessions, Symposia and Facilitated Open Spaces.
We particularly welcome contributions that connect meaningfully with the Congress theme and encourage participants not simply to receive information, but to think, question, reflect and engage.
Research Engagement
Research has an important role to play in the continued development of Montessori education.
It deepens understanding, challenges assumptions, strengthens the connection between evidence and practice, and helps us examine both longstanding principles and emerging questions with greater clarity.
Through our Research Engagement pathway, we invite established researchers, emerging scholars, postgraduate students and practitioner-researchers to share scholarly work related to Montessori education and other relevant child-centred educational contexts.
We welcome completed research as well as work in progress and emerging inquiry, creating opportunities for researchers and practitioners to meet, exchange perspectives and strengthen the dialogue between research and educational practice.
Research proposals will follow a separate submission and academic review process, with full requirements provided within the Research Engagement Guidelines.
Which Pathway Should I Choose?
If your contribution is primarily about sharing professional practice, experience, innovation, ideas or facilitating dialogue, the Professional Engagement pathway is most appropriate.
If your contribution presents formal research, scholarly inquiry or research findings, please submit through the Research Engagement pathway.
There will naturally be areas of overlap. Practitioner research, for example, may sit comfortably within either pathway depending upon the purpose and nature of the proposed session. If you are uncertain which route best suits your contribution, please contact us and we will be happy to advise.
Who Do We Hope Will Contribute?
The strength of the Montessori Europe Congress lies in the breadth of experience represented within our community.
We encourage proposals from experienced international presenters and researchers, but we equally welcome new voices and first-time Congress presenters.
You do not need to arrive with all the answers.
A powerful contribution may begin with an idea, an experience, a piece of research, an innovative approach or simply an important question that deserves to be explored with others.
What matters is that your proposal can contribute meaningfully to our shared exploration of:
What makes a strong proposal
- Connection to the Congress theme and courageous reflection
- Practical insight that invites participation, not just presentation
- Openness to questioning assumptions and sharing experience
- Evidence, stories or questions from classrooms, training or communities
- Willingness to learn with others — new voices warmly welcomed
- Different ideas are best explored in different ways — workshops, presentations, insight sessions, symposia and facilitated open spaces all welcome.
Key Dates
Be Part of the Conversation
Every Congress is shaped by the people who contribute to it.
By sharing your practice, research, experience, questions and ideas, you help create the conversations from which our profession continues to learn and grow.
We invite you to bring your voice to Frankfurt in 2027.