Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) founded the ‘Reggio Emilia’ approach at a city in northern Italy called Reggio Emilia. According to this approach, the child is competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, inventive, and possesses a desire to interact and communicate with others.
The aim of the Reggio approach is to promote children’s education through the development of all their languages: expressive, communicative, symbolic, cognitive, ethical, metaphorical, logical, imaginative, and relational.
Fundamental Principles
- Children construct their own learning experiences.
- Through their interaction with others, children form an understanding of themselves and their environment.
- Children are communicators and use language to investigate and explore.
- Children require open space free from clutter to engage in reflective thinking.
- The role of the teacher is that of a mentor and guide.
- The emphasis is based on documenting a child’s thoughts.
- Children use a hundred languages (different ways, e.g. art, drama, music, etc. of demonstrating their understanding of learning).
Basic Tenet of Reggio Emilia
- The environment is the third teacher: The environment is recognized for its potential to inspire children who are capable of constructing their own learning driven by their interest to understand and know more.
Goal of Reggio Emilia
- To encourage children to form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interaction with others.