The Reggio Emilia Approach
"The Reggio system can be described succinctly as follows: it is a collection of schools for young children in which each child’s intellectual, emotional, social, and moral potentials are carefully cultivated and guided. The principal educational vehicle involves youngsters in long-term engrossing projects, which are carried out in a beautiful, healthy, love-filled setting... It is the Reggio community, more so than the philosophy or method, that constitutes Malaguzzi’s central achievement. Nowhere else in the world is there such a seamless and symbiotic relationship between a school’s progressive philosophy and its practices."
Howard Gardner
Pyschologist
Getting Acquainted with "Reggio"
There is a profound beauty, subtlety, and complexity found in the work the educators of Reggio Emilia have developed since 1963. A lifetime is insufficient to truly comprehend the art of teaching exemplified by the Reggio Emilia Approach® and appreciate how those powerful ideas may be applied to your local context.
The following articles will help you appreciate this work and inspire you to join us on our learning adventure next April.
- The fundamental values of the Reggio Emilia Approach®
- About the infant-toddler centres and municipal preschools of Reggio Emilia
- A history of the Reggio Emilia Approach®
- Who was Loris Malaguzzi? Biographical information about the “father” of the Reggio Emilia Approach®.
- 100 Languages explored in the poem, No Way. The Hundred is There, by Loris Malaguzzi
- For an Education Based on Relationships, a terrific 1993 NAEYC article introducing the Reggio Emilia Approach® by Loris Malaguzzi
- Your image of the child: Where teaching begins by Loris Malaguzzi (1993)
- Rechild is an annual magazine offering in-depth thinking on themes of education, childhood and the Reggio Emilia Approach (downloadable issues in PDF form)
- The Reggio Emilia Approach® system is made up of the Istituzione of Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres, Reggio Children and the Fondazione Reggio Children – Centro Loris Malaguzzi
- Research areas of Fondazione Reggio Children
- The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance web site (membership organization that hosts events and disseminates materials)
Glossary of Terms
More terms will be added, defined, and linked in the future. In the meantime, these places and ideas will help you prepare for key aspects of our April 2025 Language of Computation Institute.
- Atelier
- Atelierista – studio art teacher who helps students learn and express their knowledge through visual art, a variety of materials, and the hundred languages of children.
- Caffarri – A short walk from the Malaguzzi Centre is Caffarri, the new headquarters for Fondazione Reggio Children, home to Remida & Scintillae, and the doctoral program in Reggio Studies.
- Documentation (YouTube workshop)
- Loris Malaguzzi International Centre
- Pause – Atelier dei Sapori
- Pedagogista – the second specialized role in the school (the atelierista is the other). The pedagogista is a learning theorist who makes thinking visible as a means of helping colleagues construct understanding of children’s thinking. Documentation is a critical part of their role.
- Progettazione
- Reggio Emilia Approach®
- Remida
- Scintillae – play and learning in the digital age
- Reggio Children
- Fondazione Reggio Children