The Municipal preschools of Reggio Emilia, in Northern Italy, are renowned world-wide for the excellence of their provision. This approach provides a unique collaboration between children, parents, teachers and the wider community. Loris Malaguzzi and the Reggio Emilia Experience brings together the history and context of the Reggio Emilia experience, and explores the principles espoused by Loris Malaguzzi and the Early Years' Educators of the Reggio Emilia Municipality. It critically evaluates the emergent curriculum and quality provision and offers new insights into the powerful and dominant discourses of the Reggio movement. It will provide students and educators with a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon that is Reggio Emilia.
Loris Malaguzzi was one of the most important figures in 20th century early childhood education, achieving world-wide recognition for his educational ideas and his role in the creation of municipal schools for young children in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, the most successful example ever of progressive, democratic and public education. Despite Malaguzzi’s reputation, very little of what he wrote or said about early childhood education has been available in English. This book helps fill the gap, presenting for the first time in English, writings and speeches spanning 1945 to 1993, selected by a group of his colleagues from an archive established in Reggio Emilia. They range from short poems, letters and newspaper articles to extended pieces about Malaguzzi’s early life, the origins of the municipal schools and his ideas about children, pedagogy and schools. This material is organised into five chronological chapters, starting at the end of World War Two and ending just before his death, with introductions to each chapter providing background, including the historical context, the main events in Malaguzzi’s life and the rationale for the selection of documents. The book provides a unique insight into the background, thinking and work of Malaguzzi, revealing, in his own words, how his thinking developed, how he moved between theory and practice, how he border-crossed many disciplines and subjects, and how he combined many roles ranging from administrator and campaigner to researcher and pedagogue. Academics, students and practitioners alike will find this landmark publication provides rich insights into his life and work.
Bringing Reggio Emilia Home is the first book to integrate the experiences of one American teacher on a year-long internship in the preschools of Reggio, with a four-year adaptation effort in one American school. The lively text includes many "mini-stories" of preschool and kindergarten-age children, teachers, and parents who embark on journeys of learning together. These journeys take shape in language, in drawings, in tempera paint and clay, in outdoor excursions, and in the imaginations of both the children and adults. This informative and accessible work features photographs of the children (both in Italy and the United States) and samples of the childrens work, including some in full colour. During the past 10 years there has been a tremendous interest among early childhood educators and parents in the innovative approaches to teaching pioneered in the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Reggio Approach! Teachers, especially those in early childhood, teacher educators, policy makers, administrators, and parents will find it invaluable.
This book explores the contribution of and art and creativity to early education, and examines the role of the atelier (an arts workshop in a school) and atelierista (an educator with an arts background) in the pioneering pre-schools of Reggio Emilia. It does so through the unique experience of Vea Vecchi, one of the first atelieristas to be appointed in Reggio Emilia in 1970. Part memoir, part conversation and part reflection, the book provides a unique insider perspective on the pedagogical work of this extraordinary local project, which continues to be a source of inspiration to early childhood practitioners and policy makers worldwide. Vea’s writing, full of beautiful examples, draws the reader in as she explains the history of the atelier and the evolving role of the atelierista. Key themes of the book include: • processes of learning and knowledge construction • the theory of the hundred languages of childhood and the role of poetic languages • the importance of organisation, ways of working and tools, in particular pedagogical documentation • the vital contribution of the physical environment • the relationship between the atelier, the atelierista, the school and its teachers This enlightening book is essential reading for students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers in early childhood education, and also for all those in other fields of education interested in the relationship between the arts and learning.
"Loris Malaguzzi (1920 - 1994) was the pioneer of the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children. An ever-increasing number of teachers and educationalists from all over the world now come to study the Reggio pre-school's unique methods, and this is largely due to Malaguzzi's devotion, work and commitment over 45 years, and the small group of teachers and educators he trained and with whom he developed his methods. The principles that underpin the Reggio Emilia approach are fundamental to the way in which Early Childhood Education is being shaped around the world today. The work of Loris Malaguzzi was rooted in a strong sociocultural framework, meaning it was a considered response to what was needed for particular communities and their needs. Sandra Smidt here considers the life of this remarkable man, and through a pedagogical perspective explores his approach on topics including: - Relationships; - Observation; - Creativity; - Questioning; - Justice; - Equality; - Politics. Accessible and informative, this introductory yet in-depth look at Malaguzzi's life and work will be of huge benefit to anyone working with young children in an educational capacity, including parents, and will be essential reading for students on early childhood education courses"--
This book offers a collection of Rinaldi's most important articles, lectures and interviews between 1994 to the present day, organized around a number of themes and with a full introduction contextualizing each piece of work.
The Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education is celebrated in this exploration of the famed philosophy. Words and images from classrooms across North America describe the values and principles at the core of this educational system. Full color.
This critically acclaimed, lavishly illustrated book will help educators create the highest quality learning opportunties for a new generation of children. The Second Edition features substantial and important changes, including the addition of new chapters by pioneers of the work that happens in the atelier who draw on several decades of experience. The atelier of studio is a key element of the renowned preschools and infant-toddler centres of Reggio Emeilia, Italy. This beautiful, full-colour resource explores how the experiences of children interacting with rich materials in the atelier affect an entire school's approach to the construction and expression of thought and learning. The authors provide examples of projects and address practical aspects of the atelier, including organizing the environment and using materials. No other book presents a more thorough examination of the philosophy, practice, and essential influence of the Reggio-inspired studio.
Providing an overview of the historical and social background of the Reggio Approach, this book encourages practitioners to look at their individual settings and existing practice in relation to the approach.
The documentation of young children's learning plays a vital role in the pre-schools of Reggio Emilia. This leading edge approach to bringing record-keeping and assessment into the heart of young children's learning is envied and emulated by educators around the world. This unique, accessible and inspiring book is based upon a documentary approach successfully implemented by Stirling Council in Scotland, whose pre-school educators experienced dramatic improvements in their understandings about young children, how they learn and the potential unleashed in successfully engaging families in the learning process. This approach, which is based on careful listening to children and observation of their interests and concerns, centres around recording and commentating on children's learning through photos, wall displays, videos and a variety of different media. The authors, both experienced educators include chapters here on: why early years’ educators should use documentation as a means to enhance young children's learning the values, principles and theories that underlie the 'Reggio' approach how to implement documentations into any early years setting, with real-life case studies and hints for avoiding common pitfalls how to involve, inspire and enthuse families and the wider community
