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the centre, or to the peak of the mountain, ego has to be sacrificed (Artress, 1995).
Maslow (1968) suggests that self-actualization is associated with functioning fully and
being more open for experience. With experience, according to Dewey (1959), change is
likely.
Emergent curriculum allows the user to reach the vantage point of being “outside
of self”; it “enables them to look backward, bringing the whole self in view” (Belenky et
al., p. 32). Emergent curriculum provides opportunities for the integration of voices. This
dissertation was an exercise in emerging from silence to voice for both the researcher and
her participants. Voice “is an essential part of the reconceptualization of the field of early
childhood education” (Ayers, 1992, p. 266). Rust (1993) suggests that with a shared
voice in the field, “There is no limit to the transformation that could take place” (p. 107).
This field has been affected by silence far too long. With Reggio Emilia as inspiration,
the field and the practitioner can reach a place where voices integrate, “where all
knowledge is constructed and the knower is the ultimate part of the known” (Belenky et
al., 1986, p. 137).
I hope that I have demonstrated an integration of voices. While my story
coincides with that of the participants, I am conscious of not wanting my words to
overpower the stories of the practitioners who are actually working with children within a
context that is isolated, marginalized, and undervalued. I would presume that their level
of feeling speechless would be much greater than my own. I am, however, so closely
aligned in my soul with the early childhood educator that I, too, have experienced the
disempowering impact of being silent. Unlike any prior experience, this dissertation has
given me an opportunity for voice. Working collaboratively with a thesis supervisor, an