意大利著名儿童教育家玛利亚·蒙台梭利(1870—1952),是罗马大学第一位获医学博士学位的妇女。她从研究病残儿童的治疗中发现了教育对改善低能儿生理、心理状况的重要作用,从而立志投身于儿童教育事业。后来她转入研究正常儿童的 Maria Montessori (1870-1952), a famous Italian child educator, was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Rome. From the study on the treatment of sick and disabled children, she found that education plays an important role in improving the physiological and psychological conditions of the under-aged children and thus determined to devote themselves to children’s education. Later she transferred to study normal children