How did a municipal school in a small Italian town become a worldwide educational philosophy?
What is the Reggio Emilia learning philosophy?
Reggio Emilia is the educational philosophy that believes all children have extraordinary potential with many ways to express themselves through communication. The Reggio philosophy believes that every child is unique, capable, competent, and creative.
It is an educational idea that can be adapted to suit the needs of the children and the community. In a Reggio classroom, every child has rights and grows in relationship with others. The Reggio Emilia principles emphasize building and sustaining relationships to enrich learning. It advocates for using all of the children’s senses to enhance their learning.
There are no certifications that make a school a Reggio Emilia school. Instead, it is an approach to the classroom that encourages a lateral relationship where teachers learn with students. It is not a structured model but a philosophy that inspires educators to support learning in their own context. A Reggio approach is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 6.
A brief history of Reggio Emilia
Imagine a town devastated by war, where communities were coming together to rebuild after a period of destruction. This was the reality of the Reggio Emilia town in Italy after World War 2.
The parents there, along with psychologist Loris Malaguzzi, were searching for a way to educate their children and reconstruct their war-torn lives. They wanted to raise their children in a new and progressive way that encouraged critical thinking, collaboration, and skills-based learning.
Named after the town where it began, Reggio Emilia developed as a community-orientated educational philosophy that could be found in many municipal schools throughout the area. In 1991, Newsweek featured Reggio preschools and named them one of the top 10 schools in the world. This exposure led to the spread of Reggio ideas for early childhood development, and in 1994, Reggio Children was founded in response to requests for professional growth and exchange .
Reggio schools today look quite different from the original ones in Italy as they are community specific. Reggio curriculums are adapted to suit the needs of the children and the community they come from.
What does a Reggio Emilia classroom look like?
A Reggio Emilia classroom is considered the Third Teacher after the Parent and Teacher. It is a welcoming space filled with purposeful materials that are culturally representative. It is a space that aims to be responsive to the needs of the children as they learn together.
The classroom flow tries to promote communication, collaboration, and exploration through group learning. It is also a space for creativity, problem-solving, and open-ended play. This non-traditional classroom design aims to empower students as they direct their education. There are no assigned seats, and students have easy access to supplies.
The classroom has separate intentional areas designed to stimulate the senses. An area of loose parts, a sensory space, and an area for building, writing, and math can all be found in a Reggio classroom. The teacher will create provocations in each area. These are teacher-planned invitations that are student-led. Access to real-world materials and natural elements means children can explore creatively and use their imaginations as they develop cognitive, social, and language skills.
Pillar 1: Emergent curriculum
An emergent curriculum is based on the child’s interests and engages them as they learn. It allows students to construct their knowledge and build on it. It’s a two-way relationship of understanding and respect between the teacher and student.
This kind of learning allows for spontaneous inquiry and is not just a transmission of information from teacher to student. Teachers take time to actively discover the interests of their students and can creatively guide activities based on these interests. That means there is no set curriculum but an ever-evolving system that develops with the children. Some practical applications of an emergent curriculum are interest-led bulletin boards and letting the students decide on a theme for different learning areas.
For example, students play a game about spiders on the playground. The teacher sees the spark of interest and gathers books and resources for the classroom. The teacher might even bring a live spider to class. An email to the parents lets them know that spiders are a particular area of interest so that parents can continue this learning at home. Spiders might not have been on the curriculum plan, but a simple playground discussion has become an immersive learning experience.
Pillar 2: In-depth projects
Collaborative projects can begin as early as 2 years old in a Reggio classroom. Project-based learning is a holistic way to approach new information and aims to help children learn about the world and express themselves. It is a guided exploration that involves drawing and modeling in a multimodal learning approach. Project-based learning is a spiraling process that involves teachers and students working together to discover new and exciting information.
A simple project can turn into an investigative group discovery. For example, teachers came up with ideas for learning about water. After a discussion with the students, it was clear that they were only interested in water color. This led to an in-depth study involving many sensory experiences. The class went far beyond the original question by comparing pond and tap water to mixing water with other materials and painting with water. 3 months later and a fun family water day shows exactly how child-led, project-based learning can engage learners and capture their imaginations.
Representational development
Reggio Emilia’s philosophy encourages graphic arts and symbols for cognitive, linguistic, and social development. Different mediums such as print, art, drama, music, puppetry, and shadow play offer diverse learning experiences. Children all learn in a unique way, and using sensory tools incorporates different learning styles into the classroom.
The concept of children having ‘100 languages’ is vital to understanding a Reggio Emilia approach to learning. Malaguzzi believed that children learn in a variety of ways and that symbols were associated with emotions. Learning should aim to allow children to choose the medium that suits them best.
Teachers often ask students to explain their drawings or artwork and clarify their ideas. Children can discover new interpretations and ideas by exploring the meaning behind their art. A Reggio Emilia classroom will have areas where students can smell new scents, taste new flavors, listen to surprising sounds and move their bodies.
Collaboration
The history of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is grounded in the need for community collaboration and rejuvenation. These ideals have carried through into modern Reggio classrooms.
There is a collaboration that takes place between students, teachers, and the environment. It is connection-based learning that focuses on problem-solving and communication. The teacher is a guide who learns with the children, and the parents and teachers work together. Parents are active participants in their children’s education by engaging in classroom activities, volunteering to teach specialized modules, and engaging in parent book clubs and community councils.
Malaguzzi believed that children learn through social interaction and become aware of their talents while playing in a group. Reggio classrooms aim to encourage social engagement and respectful play. The ever-evolving curriculum involves the children in directing their learning. This aims to encourage feelings of respect and encourages self-worth.
The phrase ‘I am us’ is often used by Reggio teachers, and it captures the sentiment behind the collaborative classroom environment.
Strengths and weaknesses of a Reggio-Inspired classroom
Reggio Emilia students are often confident problem-solvers who welcome new experiences. The adaptive curriculum means that learning is student-led, which may make them more engaged in the classroom. With a focus on collaboration and community engagement, a Reggio approach aims to create empathetic, kind, and respectful students who enjoy learning together.
This child-led approach also has drawbacks, as you can’t consistently see the results of learning. The emergent curriculum means that children learn on a different timeline than mainstream schools and can seem disorganized. Reggio Emilia can be challenging for teachers because they need to be highly observant and creative to facilitate learning for their students. Reggio Emilia is also a philosophy, so teachers can interpret it differently. The quality of education is determined by the creativity and engagement of the teachers, as there are no formal rules or curricula to follow. However, despite its advantages, it does also mean that the quality of the education could be inconsistent, and it is difficult to identify the efficacy of the teacher.
Case Study: Riverside Magnet School
When you walk into Riverside Magnet School in Connecticut, USA, you will see a classroom filled with wonder.
There are visual invitations in the form of arts and crafts for children and not your average crayons but watercolors, clay, chalk, charcoal, brushes, sponges, and many other art supplies. There is a section full of musical instruments that reflect cultures from around the world. Child-sized play kitchens and bedrooms are waiting for imaginative games and roleplay.
This preschool classroom gives you a sense that it caters to a diverse range of students. It is a space where children can come together to express themselves and learn as they play and engage with their environment. But this might look different from other Reggio-inspired classrooms. The personalized nature of this philosophy means that the students and teachers at Riverside have actively created a space based on their needs.
