Final Version May 5 07

Chapter Five:
Case Studies of Four Emerging Teachers
Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning,
observe carefully what children do, and then if you have
understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from
before.
(Malaguzzi, 1998, p. 82)
Introduction
New (2000b) suggests that inspiration from the success of the citizens of Reggio
Emilia to reconceptualize the image of their children can help others to imagine their own
potential if “teachers are viewed as capable of both teaching and learning about children”
(p. 356). Teaching the “Reggio way” (Hendrick, 2004, p. iii) expands the role of early
childhood educators which can extend to their being advocates for more than just a new
image of young children—they can be advocates for a new image of teaching and
teachers as well. Teachers teaching in this way may find themselves, as Malaguzzi
suggests, teaching differently than before. In this new orientation, are the four early
childhood educators described in the following cases teaching differently than before?
Let’s see.
With descriptive narratives of each individual participant, their setting and
situation, the aim is to provide vicarious experience of emergent curriculum practice for
other early childhood educators (Merriam, 1998). Donmoyer (1990) suggests that
“vicarious experience is less likely to produce defensiveness and resistance to learning”
(p. 196). By reading these case studies, other early childhood educators can understand
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