All You Need To Know About The Reggio Emilia Approach To Early Childhood Education

Reggio Emilia is a unique approach to early education because it puts the child firmly at the centre of their own learning.

It’s unlike any other educational approach for preschool and primary school aged children and is actually often described as a philosophy of learning, teaching and advocacy. Thousands of early education centres around the world take their inspiration from this innovative and inclusive approach which was started by educational psychologist, Loris Malaguzzi in post-war Italy.

How do you define the Reggio Emilia approach?

This article explains the key elements of Reggio Emilia in easy-to-understand language and describes how it differs from more conventional approaches to early childhood learning and teaching. It’s like your pocket-guide to Reggio Emilia!

Before we delve into the main elements of the approach, it must be noted that it is not a formal process. There’s no formal study or training and schools aren’t ‘accredited’. Reggio Emilia is simply a play-based approach to early learning which inspires educational environments and inspires the decisions of the educators.

Regardless of which approach you favour, the fact remains that a quality early education is paramount in setting a firm foundation for healthy growth, development and success at school and in later life. Read more about the importance of quality early education here.

The five main elements of Reggio Emilia

1. Children direct their own learning based on their own interests

Reggio Emilia is child-centric. The starting point for the approach is that every child is born with an innate curiosity and desire to discover the world around them and their place in it. These natural learning abilities drive the child to explore topics that they are actually interested in and so in Reggio Emilia-inspired environments, children take the lead in their daily activities.

The curriculum isn’t predetermined and there aren’t required outcomes or set answers for activities. Instead, Reggio environments generally feature open-ended projects (which can last for the entire school year) with the curriculum emerging depending on the individual child’s interests.

2. Teachers and parents are partners in the children’s education

Another thought-provoking principle of Reggio Emilia is that educators and parents are collaborators and co-learners in the children’s education. They acknowledge and respect the child’s own interests as the departure point for all learning, and while they are encouraged to offer their invaluable knowledge and support, they don’t lead the learning process. Everyone is on an equal footing.

Teachers ask open-ended questions to provoke further exploration and to empower children in their independent learning journeys. Above all, the educator’s role is to observe, listen, encourage and support the child and to document their discoveries.

Educators in Reggio-inspired schools recognise and value the importance of the family and community in enriching the child’s early learning experiences and they work collaboratively to achieve the very best outcomes.

3. Documentation is an essential component charting the child’s independent learning

The Reggio Emilia approach places a strong emphasis on documentation of each child’s learning journey.

Educators take photos and display drawings, paintings, sculptures, crafts and other discoveries around the classroom and they’ll often document a transcript of the child’s thoughts and explorations.

This information is regularly shared and distributed to families too. This process allows parents, the other children and the wider school community to participate in the child’s learning journey and learn from their discoveries.

Unlike traditional early education approaches where children learn by rote, repetition or direct teacher instruction, open-ended projects are a key feature in Reggio inspired schools. That’s why you won’t find situations where the whole class engages in the same activity and where every child’s end result of that task is displayed.

With Reggio, there are no set outcomes which means there is creativity, exploration and discovery without fear of judgement or comparison. Documenting, displaying and sharing the child’s individual work celebrates self-expression and boosts the child’s confidence and self-belief.

4. The environment is the ‘third teacher’

We’ve talked about educators and parents playing a vital role in the child’s learning and in Reggio Emilia, the environment is seen as an integral and equally important ‘third teacher’.

What this means is that the child’s surroundings enrich their learning experience. The classroom set-up makes a difference to what and how the child learns.

Reggio Emilia-inspired environments like the ones you’ll find at Treasured Tots are welcoming, safe, authentic, comfortable, ever-evolving and free-flowing spaces, full of sensory stimuli and quality resources that support learning. Children are encouraged to move around freely and choose their own ways of interacting and communicating with their peers.

5. Children have many different ways of learning

Loris Malaguzzi penned a famous poem called ‘The 100 Languages of Children’ which basically says that children express themselves in many different ways and that our role as adults is not to shut them down, but rather to honour and embrace all of these methods.

These ‘languages’ are symbolic of the myriad ways that children think, play, explore, speak, do and communicate and can literally be anything from dance, drawing and dramatic play to music and movement.

In Reggio inspired early childhood environments, little people have unlimited access to an ever-changing variety of materials, tools, activities etc in order to promote hands-on discovery and learning in whichever ‘language’ they feel comfortable using.

Where to find more info on Reggio Emilia

In conventional early learning environments, the topics and activities are determined and directed by the teachers. In Reggio Emilia inspired ones however, the child creates their own curriculum according to their own interests. You’ll find more detail on this innovative approach in another of our news articles, Things to Know About the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Alternatively, the best way to experience how this actually plays out in real life is to visit an early childhood education centre which is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Philosophy. You’re welcome to contact us or book a tour of any of our wonderful Treasured Tots centres in Mandurah, Piara Waters, Bibra Lake, Hamersley, Fremantle, Bennett Springs and Bicton where our management team will show you around and answer any questions you may have.