Reggio Emilia's educational approach for children

Reach, the Reggio Emilia Approach for Children, is one of the hundreds of courses offered by the Comenius 2.2 programme. It enables educators from European countries interested in the teaching and learning of very young children to meet and learn about what children should be learning and doing at pre-school.

The course is held at Pabo University in Arnhem, in the Netherlands. I was most impressed by the way this university supports students and schools to develop and learn. Far from being theoretical, the university offers a perspective on different learning programmes. This is supported by actual learning apparatus for student use (for example Montessori, Reggio, etc.) and by hands-on methodology at schools.

Pupils can actually see excellent, albeit different, teaching programmes. They can go to school as often as they wish and participate in lessons and school activities. The faculty itself is inundated with children's work. This shows that there is a close link between the theory at university level and school practice, between the lecturer and the teacher, between methods and methodology.

Reggio Emilia Educational Approach for Children is so particular because of the commitment of Emilia Romagna to early childhood built upon a widespread cultural value of shared responsibility for young children. The location and the organisation are excellent, particularly since schools that practise the Reggio principles are within reach of Pabo University, where meetings are held.

Debates on educational goals and content are older than the concept of schooling itself. The image that society has of children is reflected in the opportunities it provides for them. This was most obvious when participants shared their own country's vision for children. Countries like Finland, with a long tradition of children's rights, have excellent provision for the pre-school years and their families.

The Reggio principles are well infused in the child care and education system. At the other end of the spectrum, there are other European countries where children are 'adults in waiting', where the 'knowledgeable' adult makes all the decisions, and where young children's time is wasted in repetitive rote exercises, thus killing the enthusiasm that nourishes the love for learning.

Most participants came from the same school or had other teachers from their school who had attended the course. This made communication easier, because people could support each other in implementing Reggio principles. Participants from Eastern Europe however felt that cultural differences and financial difficulties will make this programme difficult to implement in their own country. Most of us felt that change takes time, effort and perseverance. But we all know that children are children today. They cannot wait.

REACH is an educational model used in infant centres and pre-schools in Italy's Emilia Romagna region. The philosophy took root in 1945, when women and men recently freed from Fascist dictatorship wanted to change education to create a new and more just world. Initially, schools were supported and managed by parents themselves. In 1967 Reggio schools began to be administered by the government.

Loris Malaguzzi, one of the leaders of the Reggio approach, noted that the approach is a "declaration against the betrayal of children's potential" and a "warning that children had to be taken seriously and believed in." He demonstrates Reggio Emilia in action when he describes how children encounter a puddle after a storm and the learning opportunity that it presents. "If the adults do not place limits and instead play the game, the puddle then becomes an entire universe for the children to observe."

The Reggio philosophy

Reggio schools practise an emergent curriculum which develops along with children's interests and needs. In developing this curriculum, practitioners engage in continual observation, reflection and discussion. It is based on the practitioner's knowledge of the children's development levels and observation of children's interests. Teachers have goals for each child but do not decide what each child will do next.

The guiding question is not what to teach but what and how children can learn from a certain situation. Therefore, learning is constructed in situations that are really significant for children. The Reggio is interested in the process of learning and not in the product. Mistakes are a part of that process along with critical thinking, exploration, analysis, reviewing and decision making.

Children are helped to appreciate language as a means of communication rather than an exercise of letter and word recognition. In this way, language sustains children's evolution by helping them verbalise their ideas and communicate with others and the symbol system becomes the tool needed to put forth thoughts and ideas. In Reggio schools, practitioners do not give answers but provoke thought and guide children into constructing knowledge. Teacher-talk scaffolds learning rather than informs or posits obvious questions that require an obvious answer.

One of the most important principles of the early childhood programme in Reggio Emilia is the image practitioners have of children. It centres round the conviction that children have an enormous potential and curiosity and strive to understand the world and how it functions. They are seen as powerful constructors of their own knowledge. Children are taken seriously, listened to, respected, and appreciated in their uniqueness. This has a profound impact on how teachers start, conduct and end projects. This approach embodies a great deal of respect for children and their worth.

Creating a stimulating, inviting and calming learning environment is at the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach. The environment respects children and the adults who work with them. After parent and teacher, the environment is the child's 'third teacher'. Practitioners in Reggio continually assess and observe each aspect of the environment with fresh eyes. They are continually asking: How can we make this space aesthetically pleasing? What is the intent of this area in this particular room? How can we take advantage of a space to stimulate inquisitiveness and a desire to find out? How can we make space reflect our culture? How do we make learning visible? How can we make a learning area pleasing and comfortable for ourselves to share and enjoy?

Projects are the core of the children's learning experiences. Children learn by doing and by reflecting on experiences in a group setting. Projects give children the opportunity to become researchers and explore a problem, question or topic that is of interest to them. Projects cover all areas of learning - literacy, the arts, science, social studies and maths, and can last from a few days to several months.

Professional development is highly regarded in Reggio centres and time is set for various kinds of training and study. Carlina Rinaldi, a prominent promoter of the Reggio Emilia approach, emphasises that good professional development is not something that is undertaken every now and then but a vital daily aspect of the practitioners' work, of their personal and professional identity.

She further perceives professional development as "change, as renewal and as an indispensable vehicle by which to make stronger the quality of our interaction with children and among ourselves." She maintains that working within a group gives each participant the right to think, plan, work, interpret, and share with others. This is a new way of thinking, working and co-constructing together towards a common interpretation of educational goals.

All children are entitled to quality pre-school education. Malta will join the European Union in 2004. Most European countries provide high-level quality provisions for their pre-school years, including professionally trained practitioners. Literature suggests that high quality provisions depend more on high quality professional practice than on any other single environmental circumstance.

Educational reforms in Malta over the last few years have dramatically raised expectations for teachers and pre-school practitioners who are being called upon to learn new roles and ways of teaching. They are being asked to upgrade their knowledge and skills, master new strategies and responsibilities and change their practice so as to ensure that all children achieve and perform better.

Educators are expected to be responsive to children's learning and developmental needs and to bridge these needs by attainable but challenging learning goals. They need to be well aware of children's different learning styles, family situations and background.

Practitioners' knowledge and ongoing understanding of the pedagogical content is being looked upon as a vital component of pedagogy, not only for teachers of school-age children but also for those responsible for the pre-school years. Yet these adults, to whom we entrust our children's thinking, formation, and crucial beginning are still addressed as 'assistants'.

The Reggio Emilia approach for children cannot be imitated or transferred to another culture. Staff ratios, the cultural background, lack of supporting professional staff, parents' expectations, time and budget may make the Reggio approach impossible to adopt.

However, some Reggio perspectives are within our reach as long as we are ready to change our beliefs about children and confirm our commitment to educating our young. Reggio can be an excellent model of effective early years practice. It can be an inspiration to individuals and schools to apply its child-focused principles within the contents of their own interests, aspirations and values as it inspires practitioners to:

¤ Learn about children in order to teach them well
¤ Consider the process rather than the product
¤ Believe in children's ability to think critically and explore
¤ Believe that child-directed activity helps language skills
¤ Nourish long-lasting enthusiasm about learning
¤ Scaffold learning rather than inform
¤ Learn and discover together rather than isolate the learner
¤ Respect the child and his family
¤ Extend his/her experiences by providing beautiful and challenging environments
¤ Be a model: share your writing, reading, enthusiasm and love of learning. It is contagious.

Ms Azzopardi is head of Mqabba primary school