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positive. Mary’s perception of her practice was dominated by feeling anxious about
whether she was “doing Reggio” the way it should be done. With the issue of family
balance weighing heavily she made the decision to leave the field temporarily. Her
assertion that she could work in any program with any philosophy is a testament to her
years of experience, but a significant indication that she had not had a transformational
experience. She had not reached the “point of no return,” the pivotal time in her practice
with emergent curriculum when the use of themes is no longer an option. Felicia, Layla,
and Rose claim that they could never again return to using themes, worksheets, and
cutouts. They feel transformed in their practice whereas Mary was still tied to the past.
The adherence to practices of the past and the difficulty in embracing emergent
curriculum seem connected for Mary to the lack of contextual collaboration where
support and opportunities for dialogue with others help a teacher progress.
Relationships are important.
The ideas and skills that the families bring to the school and even more
importantly the exchange of ideas between parents and teachers, favors the
development of a new way of educating, and helps teachers to view the
participation of families not as a threat but as an intrinsic element of
collegiality, and as the integration of different wisdoms. (Spaggiari, 1998,
p. 104)
The perceptions of the case study teachers’ experience with emergent curriculum
were deeply impacted by relationships. The existence of collaboration within the larger
social and cultural context was a key factor in each participant’s level of satisfaction with
an emergent curriculum. In Reggio Emilia, collaboration is a fundamental principle that
manifests itself in a tradition of maintaining meaningful relationships. The Reggio
approach is based on relationships and these relationships include interactions among
children, families, staff, and the community. The emphasis is on building a community of