What’s Reggio Emilia? | Bright Beginnings Preschool

With so much going on in the world of education these days, it’s hard to differentiate what’s what. Even those that love the world of learning, how we learn, and the best ways to learn are inundated with new ideas, approaches, and influences. And this is a good thing, because education is not stagnant in nature, it’s fluid. And like humans, it’s continuously evolving.

Some approaches are more recent than others. But most have roots in educational philosophies that have stood the test of time. The Reggio Emilia approach is no exception. After WWII Loris Malaguzzi founded schools that got its namesake from the village of, you guessed it, Reggio Emilia, Italy. At the time there was a need for a student centered approach for a “hundred languages” that students can express themselves and show what the know and understand, and the philosophy has evolved from there. Many schools today have Reggio Emilia inspired approaches and each school with the approach will look diverse in its adaptation of the it.

The idea of the approach is based in the constructivist theory of education, which was founded by Jean Piaget and places value in a student centered, experiential approach to learning and display of knowledge. Students are the keepers of knowledge, and teachers are there to facilitate them on this journey. As mentioned the application of this will look different from school to school, but the philosophy is the same.

One of the staples of the Reggio approach is continuity with the teacher, in traditional schools we call this “looping.” The benefits are the same, but in Reggio the ideal version of “looping” is for three years, which is relatively unheard of in a traditional school. A student might have the same teacher for two years, but rarely for three. The benefits to continuity are what you might think, it allows for students to and teacher sto become more invested in each other and the learning experience, and the way in which it is conducted in that specific classroom. It also allows for students to build social skills with the same students from year to year.

The physical space in the classroom typically is well lit, with natural light and a central area of focus. The classroom will foster a relaxed environment to encourage students learn at their optimal potential. (The photo above shows an ideal Reggio space.)

There is no traditional curriculum as part of the approach, rather the teacher presents projects that incorporate different ways (the aforementioned hundred languages) for students to demonstrate their knowledge. The teacher’s responsibility is to join the student on their individual learning journey, encouraging the students’ natural curiosity by asking probing questions. As the teacher does this, he/she will collect data and track students’ thought progress.

It’s important to mention that there are distinct differences between Reggio and two other popular approaches, Waldorf and Montessori. The Waldorf approach emphasizes the aspect of play more so as a part of the learning experience, while the Montessori approach typically has three groups of ages, and allows the older students to set the examples for the younger students in terms of classroom learning and procedures which fosters independence and allows for each age group to be role models for the others. Each approach has its own value, and if choosing a program from your child, it depends on which philosophy with which you identify most.

Values of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Childhood Education: