The research, published in the journal Science last week, evaluated the social, behavioural, cognitive and academic impact of Montessori education at the ages of five and 12 years old.
Montessori education is growing in popularity in America, with more than 5,000 schools using the method.
The study compared a total of 59 children attending a Montessori school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which serves an inner-city area, with a control group of 53 children who attended schools using mainstream teaching methods. The five-year-olds comprised 25 children from a control group at non-Montessori schools and 30 Montessori children.
Parents in both groups had similar average annual incomes between $20,000 and $50,000.
Observing five-year-olds in the playground, researchers found the Montessori children 'significantly more likely to be involved in positive shared peer play and significantly less likely to be involved in rough play'.
Montessori five-year-olds also did significantly better on tests related to 'readiness for school' - letter-word identification, phonological decoding ability and maths skills.
As part of the evaluation, the children were asked what they would do in certain situations, for example, if a child was playing on a swing and not letting others use it. Forty-three per cent of the Montessori children said that they would try to persuade the child that this was unfair, compared with only 18 per cent of the control group.
Psychologists Professor Angeline Lillard of the University of Virginia and Professor Nicole Else-Quest of the University of Wisconsin concluded, 'When strictly implemented, Montessori education fosters social and academic skills that are superior to those fostered by a pool of other types of schools.'