Loris Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia and Democratic Alternatives to Early Childhood Education Assessment

In this colloquia the author responds to Richard Johnson's ‘Colonialism and Cargo Cults in Early Childhood Education: does Reggio Emilia really exist?’ ( Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 1, pp. 61–77). The colloquia paraphrases Richard Johnson's article, examining the metaphor of power and prestige and extending it in this textual interaction. The author argues that while Richard Johnson makes many valid points about ‘cargo cultism’ in early childhood education, he may have misread the literature on Reggio Emilia, and has failed to adequately deconstruct his own perceptions of Reggio Emilia programmes, and his own position as a member of a professional elite.

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THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE REGGIO EMILIA PHILOSOPHY

Revista Contrapontos ◽

10.14210/contrapontos.v16n2.p321-350 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 321

Author(s):

Daniela Fenu Foerch ◽

Flavia Iuspa

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Soft Skills ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Educational Approach ◽

Childhood Education ◽

The World ◽

National Organizations ◽

Fundamental Values

This article presents the history and framework of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, an educational approach to early childhood education that places children as the main participants and protagonists of the curriculum. It also showcases the growing influence of the Reggio Emilia philosophy around the world, through key regional and national organizations. The association of the Emilia fundamental values of the Reggio Emilia with the globally competent soft skills helps this philosophy to overcome the growing need worldwide. Ultimately, the internationalization of this approach has inspired teaching practices all over the world. Within different nations, organizations that advocate the application of Reggio Emilia principles in various schools has grown, prompting a need to educate children to that they will develop emotionally and cognitively, in making thinking visible.

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Space speaks: A portrait of an early childhood centre and the affordances provided by the learning environment

10.18296/ecf.0084 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 26-34

Author(s):

Katrina McChesney ◽

Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Learning Environment ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Children And Families ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Education And Care ◽

Early Childhood Learning

The quality of early childhood education and care fundamentally depends on teachers’ wise practice. However, the environments in which that education and care occur can influence, inform, and shape teachers’ practice, and children’s and families’ experiences. This article draws on a written “portrait” of the learning environment created at one New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) centre, capturing both physical and non-physical aspects of the environment and highlighting the affordances the environment offered to children and families/whānau. A Reggio Emilia lens is used to inform analysis of the learning environment and the associated affordances. The portrait (McChesney, 2020) and this article may support practitioners by providing a vision of what can be in terms of early childhood learning environments, and by providing a possible framework for self-review and inquiry.

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Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia: A Comparative Analysis of Alternative Models of Early Childhood Education

International Journal of Early Childhood ◽

10.1007/s13158-020-00277-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Haifa Aljabreen

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Narrative Analysis ◽

Traditional Education ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Cultural Appropriateness ◽

Childhood Education ◽

History Of ◽

Rich History

AbstractMontessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia education remain three of the most popular models for alternative early childhood education. Each of these approaches has developed globally, with a rich history of supporting children’s educational freedom. This narrative analysis provides a means for early childhood educators and scholars to understand the aims, philosophical and theoretical frameworks, historical development, benefits, and challenges in these models and their methods of practice. As early childhood education evolves with technology and as re-conceptualizations about early education occur, an understanding of these alternatives to traditional education models is important. While adaptive options of these models may emerge in education systems across national contexts, this review allows educators to consider their applications and cultural appropriateness in specific local and community contexts.

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Play and Learning in Early Childhood Education

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education - Early Childhood Education From an Intercultural and Bilingual Perspective ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-5167-6.ch010 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 147-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dalila Maria Lino ◽

Cristina Parente

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Free Play ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Early Years ◽

Learning And Development ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Hands On ◽

Learning Through Play

The key role of toys and play in early years education has been highlighted by several childhood pedagogues such as Froebel, Montessori, Weikart, and Malaguzzi, among many others. It is consensual among the international educational community that children now spend far more time being instructed and tested in literacy and math than they do learning through play and exploration exercising their bodies and using their imagination. This chapter aims to reflect on the power of play for children's learning and development and to analyze how three pedagogical models—the High Scope, Reggio Emilia, and Montessori—integrate play through their curriculum development. The chapter is organized in several topics, namely (1) the role of play in early childhood education (0 to 6 years); (2) the High Scope curriculum and opportunities given to children to engage in free play and play with purposes; (3) the Reggio Emilia approach: play through 100 languages; (4) the Montessori method, from hands-on activity and self-directed activity to collaborative play; (5) final remarks.

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Investigation on the Applicability of Reggio Emilia Approach in Teaching Early Childhood Education: An Intensive Comparison between China and Tanzania

Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology ◽

10.5539/jedp.v6n2p29 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Sarah Vincent Chiwamba

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Early Childhood Teachers ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Social Needs ◽

Interactive Approach ◽

Early Child ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Reggio Emilia Approach

<p>There have been rapid economic and social demands that have continued to challenge the traditional teacher, child and parent interactions in early child education programs. Many developed countries have strategized several approaches to counter these challenges. However, third world countries are still formulating policies which can be sustainable in their present economic statuses. The Reggio Emilia (RE) Early Childhood Education (ECE) approaches has been instrumental in increasing the levels of interactions between teacher, child and the parent in developed countries. Nevertheless, a more dynamic and comprehensive approach is needed to cater for the economic and multiethnic social needs of early childhood education in developing countries. This study investigated the level of teacher, child and parent interaction in China and Tanzania with the aim of establishing the workability of Reggio Emilia (RE) in these two diverse countries. Carefully designed questionnaires based on the core values of Reggio Emilia approach has been used to obtain data from a sample of 60 early childhood teachers from China and 60 early child hood teachers from Tanzania making total of 120 early childhood teachers. Both private and public early childhood schools of China and Tanzania were involved in this study whereby from China a total of 8 schools were involved and Tanzania a total of 12 schools were involved. Both quantitative and qualitative design has been employed in this study with the use of questionnaire and interview methods in data collection from the field while social statistical software (SPSS 15) and Origin 7.0 has been used to analyze data and making of charts and graphs for visualization of the results. Result obtained from this study revealed that, Reggio Emilia interactive approach was applicable and welcomed by significant number of teachers and policy approaches; However on the other side, the findings revealed poor relationship between parents and the role of emergent curriculum to its fully meaning was not well fulfilled as most of early childhood schools in China and Tanzania found to practising the whole class teaching where by teacher knows everything. It was concluded that, the way children’s are being taught in one country will be totally different from another country although the basic outcome of the learners should be similar. The important aspect to put into consideration is people’s culture, environment, and their economic status accordingly. Hence there is a need for both countries of study to review their early childhood education policies in order to create better learning opportunities for all children.</p>

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Colonialism and Cargo Cults in Early Childhood Education: Does Reggio Emilia Really Exist?

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood ◽

10.2304/ciec.2000.1.1.8 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 61-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Richard Johnson

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Preschool Education ◽

Learning Processes ◽

Reggio Emilia ◽

Education Systems ◽

Cultural Icon ◽

Childhood Education ◽

The World ◽

The Usa

The Reggio Emilia, preschools in Italy, have been called one of the best preschool education systems in the world. This is witnessed by the proliferation of people who have made a pilgrimage to Reggio to study this system and bring it to the USA. This article uses Reggio as a now familiar cultural icon in an attempt to problematize larger issues in the field of early childhood education. Beginning with a brief overview of some of recent Reggio discourse the author interprets this phenomenon using Foucault in an attempt to illustrate the extent to which “power reaches into the very grain of individuals … inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives' (1980, p. 39). Assisting with this interpretation, the popularity of Reggio is positioned against cargo cult theory and the normative, hegemonic practices of colonization.

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