The Reggio Emelia Approach : An Educational Philosophy

On the opposite side of the continuum, the Reggio Emilia approach is a programme that is centred on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community. It is based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum with no early learning goals or inspections.

The Reggio Emilia approach is an emergent curriculum because it is developed and shaped by the interests of the child, through negotiations between the child, parents and teachers. This is done in a Reggio classroom by in large and small group projects in which the children engage. The projects involve planning, hands-on activities, research, and representation through a variety of visual media. The observant teacher collects documentation which is a vital component of the Reggio philosophy in the form of written anecdotes, samples of children's work, photographs and videos. This information is used to reflect on the

Early years frameworks in the U.K emphasise the importance of a personal and individual approach to learning and development:

I believe that each child is unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invite a sharing of ideas. There are three elements that I believe are conducive to establishing such an environment namely, the teacher acting guide, allowing the child’s natural curiosity to direct his/her learning, promoting respect for all the things and all the people.

This essay will discuss Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and their theories as well as critical points from their theories and explain how they relate back to each theory. It will discuss how both of these theories can be applied to work in relation to a role in the Early Childhood sector. It will include Dr. Rangimarie Pere’s studies in education and how they compare to those of Piaget and Vygotsky. This essay will also link the chosen theories back to Te Whāriki and the New Zealand early childhood curriculum.

Although the framework is slightly different for every nation, the development of early years curricula has been significantly influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, the Montessori

Loris Malaguzzi was Born in Corregio, Italy in 1920. He lived in a city called Reggioi Emmilia in Italy, which is recognized worldwide for its approach to education. After years past he then developed preschool and primary education in Italy after World War2. In 1976, the parents and the community confirmed their support for the guiding principles of the Reggio Approach to early childhood education. After his unexpected death, the community of Reggio Emilia carried on, implemented his dreams, and fulfilled the Reggio mission, which enhanced the potential of all children. Soon A foundation was named “The Reggio mission” and was established as the “International Centre for the Defense and Promotion of the Rights and Potential of all

The Reggio Emilia Approach was founded by Loris Malaguzzi in Reggio Emilia, Italy in the 1960s. An Educational Psychologist, Malaguzzi created an approach to education that put the child at the center of it all (Reggio Emilia Approach). The Reggio Emilia Approach considers the child to have strong individual talents and potentials. The students are the most active, involved, and important members of the classroom. Students in Reggio Emilia schools learn about themselves in relation to other people and their environment. The child is seen not as an empty vessel that needs to be filled with facts and data, but an autonomous individual capable of great potential (Kelemen,

Therefore emphasis on the Reggio Emilia approach is placed upon children’s many ‘symbolic languages’; these languages help the child explore and being to develop their own view of the world. These languages are based on: drawing, sculpting, dramatic play and writing, in order to achieve the best in a child and basing activities on aspects of: creative thinking, exploration and discovery, free play, following the interests on the child, valuing and encouraging all ways children express themselves, allowing children to talk about their ideas and then to re-visit them. A child’s environment has always been considered important in their learning and features in the Reggio Emilia approach; this philosophy claims that a child’s environment is known as a ‘third teacher’ as children must be able to learn through their experiences of senses: touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing; which all

Reggio Emilia is a child driven methodology where children are enriched within their environment as well as communication from their peers. Reggio Emilia schooling is an innovative approach for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Teachers are considered co learners with the children. The classroom environment is considered a “third teacher” while the children are seen as obtaining a “hundred languages”. Reggio Emilia schooling can be viewed as an out of the box and unorganized approach to learning due to excluding a written curriculum. Reggio Emilia has been viewed as highly unstructured with a high chance of bullying to develop. Reggio Emilia is an unconventional way of providing students with a manipulative environment including co-learners

– Reggio believed in ‘self-guided learning’ which is where a child is learning using what they are interested for example if they have a keen interest in cooking then you can use this to help with maths by helping them count while sorting out the ingredients, this fits in because it is with in the Early Years Foundation Stage where it states ‘ children

Maria Montessori founded an education system which is called Montessori and still bares her name, her system is based on belief in the child’s creative potential, (Douglas, n.d.). Her first Casa Dei Bambini (Children’s house), where Maria was using her approach of teaching was opened in 1907 in Rome. She was great educator who believed that children are learning through their personal experience at their right time and their own pace. (Ridgway, 2007). Children rather than learning largely from what the teachers and the textbooks say, learn from “doing”,(Douglas, n.d.). To provide for children an effective, independent learning process, and that they become a competent and confident learner, Teacher had to provide for children a healthy, clean, well-prepared and well organised environment in which children could develop. Maria Montessori came up with idea that if children have to work and play independently, they have to be comfortable and need appropriately sized tools and items that fit their small hands (Mooney, 2000). Montessori believed that children learn through sensory experiences. Teacher has a responsibility to provide wonderful sights, textures, sounds, and smells for children. Sensory

2012). The environment and classroom space are separated into ten center areas that help enhance hands on activities with learning materials and manipulatives. These centers include: blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, art, sand and water tables, library (reading center), discovery (science), music and movement, cooking, and outdoor activities. Activity areas are designed to support the specific learning objectives. Similar to Reggio Emilia’s approach teachers assess the students learning and base curriculum off their interests and pace. The creative curriculum approach measures incremental progress to communicate the child’s growth through benchmarks through the learning objectives.

The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori Maria Montessori passionately reveals to us the inner workings of children as they develop into their full potential in an effort to assist adults in understanding and supporting this process. The ideas and methods shared have become the foundation for the Montessori model of education. In the introduction, Maria Montessori asserts “there is no real place for children” in today’s modern society where parents are working, cities are crowded and deemed dangerous, and the home is often filled with furnishings off limits to children. We are asked to consider where children feel they belong and are understood. Though Maria believed that great progress was underway when writing this book, with an

“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher 's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.”