The Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education

As I learn more about the intricacies of teaching, and the more people I speak to, I find that I’m being introduced to so many new concepts - so many ideas - so many philosophies… and it’s great!

One afternoon recently I was having a chat with one of the teachers at my local area school, about class layout and how much of an impact the learning environment has on both the kids, and the class dynamic as a whole. This teacher has a wonderfully huge learning space available for her Reception class, and the classroom is big, bright, airy and colourful, with displays of class work featuring everywhere. This room always has a fun and positive feel to it, and the way she has zoned areas within the room (reading, playing, quiet time, etc) makes it both fun and functional. It really is my favourite learning space in the entire school.

On this particular day, when I popped my head into the classroom I was surprised to see the bright surrounds being replaced by more neutral tones, with natural, textural materials taking their place instead. This normally very vibrant classroom was being transformed into a more soothing, neutral space. The teacher explained that she was keen to trial a new way of approaching her learning space, based on a method called Reggio Emilia.

Reggio who?

I'd heard the name Reggio Emilia before, but really knew nothing about it. As I listened to Josie talk about her plans for her classroom, and her thoughts on the Reggio Emilia approach, my interest grew and I became curious to know more. So afterwards, I headed straight to the library to find a few books on the topic.

The Reggio Approach derives its name from its place of origin. Reggio Emilia is a city located in Emilia Romagna in Northern Italy. Shortly after World War II, Loris Malaguzzi, a young teacher and the founder, joined forces with the parents of this region to provide childcare for young children. Inspired by the need for women to return to the workforce, this education system has developed over the last 50 years into a unique program that has caught the attention of early childhood educators worldwide.

The Reggio approach acknowledges many of the fundamental aspects of the work of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, David Hawkins, Jerome Bruner, Howard Gardner and other world-renowned scientists and philosophers (Gandini et.al., 2008, p.25). It is a system that greatly values collaboration among children, teachers and parents, the co-construction of knowledge, and the interdependence of individual and social learning.

As I worked my way through some of the literature, I discovered a number of key values and principles underlying this educational approach that strongly resonate with my own ideas about teaching and learning. Following is a brief summary of some key points:

Partnerships

Strong partnerships between teachers, students and families are common practice in Reggio Emilia. Teachers learn alongside their students, and parent contributions to children’s education is highly valued.

Image of the Child

Children, are viewed and valued as individuals capable of possessing curiosity and potential, having interest in relationships, and actively constructing their own learning.

The Environment

A child’s education is viewed in relation to their micro (for example - family, other children, teachers) and macro environments (school, the community, and wider society).

Parent partnerships

Parents are viewed as essential to successful learning, and considered as co-responsible partners whose right to participate with children’s education is both expected, and supported.

Physical space

The layout of the physical classroom space is highly regarded, with organized spaces that support the engagement of small groups to provide quality learning experiences.

Reflective practice

Teachers observe and listen to children, to discover their interests, ideas and theories. They take this knowledge, and collaborate with other teachers to design learning experiences that promote a spiral progression - using both reflective and reflexive practice - to knowledge.

Assessment

Documentation, work samples and photographs are displayed and used for three key reasons: to let children know that their efforts are valued, to encourage parents to actively participate in their child’s learning, and to have a record of each student’s learning journey, that can be used to plan further learning experiences.

Art and multimodal expression are viewed as an integral part of learning, fostered through a partnership between the teacher and ‘atelierista’, or teacher with a background in visual arts. The atelierista’s tools, resources and past projects are drawn upon to engage children in creative expression.

Projects

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon a strong conviction that ‘learning by doing is of great importance and to discuss in groups and to revisit ideas and experiences is essential to gain better understanding, and to learn’ (Gandini, et. al., 2008, p.27).

Being a big fan of an authentic approach to teaching and learning, it’s not hard to see why I became excited about the Reggio Emilia approach. With more and more literature espousing the importance of discovery learning and co-construction of knowledge, I find the key ideas underpinning the Reggio Emilia approach an exciting development. In the meantime, with our new Reggio-inspired classroom at my own local school, I am very much looking forward to seeing this approach in action.

REFERENCES:

Gandini, L., Etheridge, S., & Hill, L. (2008). Insights and Inspirations from Reggio Emila. Davis Publications, Inc. Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.