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Cognitive dissonance is a state of imbalance between cognitions. According to the
theory of cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), cognitions are defined as being an
attitude, emotion, belief or value, or even a mixture of these cognitions. Dissonance
theory suggests that if teachers are engaged in activities that arouse dissonance then
beliefs might change. One of the sources of dissonance identified by Festinger is “past
experience” colliding with new cognitions (Raths, 2001). Mary’s comment that she is
“not comfortable with everything I am hearing about Reggio” suggests the image of the
new colliding with the old. Mary regrets that “I am not there yet” when she compares
herself to the others after the focus group session.
The final phase of this emergent curriculum developmental model described in
Table 2 is the implementation stage. This stage propels the teacher towards the peak of
the mountain, providing the fuel for the journey. With an abundance of information and
resources available, many early childhood educators should find themselves in the middle
stage, receiving new information that would be the impetus to ascend the mountain. If the
new information is rejected and the dissonance ignored, teachers can find themselves
remaining in the valley. With the contextual factors as they are, it is up to the individual
educator to make the climb. When operating within a context of little or no support,
courage is necessary to climb the mountain. Without it, remaining in the middle stage and
possibly returning to the first would be a natural and predictable outcome.
The impetus for an individual educator to make the climb could come from his or
her discovery of the Reggio Emilia approach. Attending conferences, workshops, or
reading the abundance of information found in books, articles, and on the Internet, could
help the process that could lead to cognitive dissonance. This new information and its