International School Parent Magazine - Autumn 2019

Reggio-inspired
pedagogy
Whilst it is relatively well-known that the Ecole
Internationale de Genève — affectionately known
as Ecolint - was the first international school in
the world, and the birthplace of the International
Baccalaureate, Ecolint has another claim to fame
which is less well known. Ecolint is also home
to Switzerland’s Reggio-inspired educational
programme. So what does that mean?
Inspired by a desire to create change at
all levels in society in the immediate
aftermath of World War II, the
pedagogy known as “Reggio-inspired” or
the “Reggio approach” was developed by
pedagogue Loris Malaguzzi in the Northern
Italian city of Reggio Emilia, which remains
at the heart of the movement.
The Reggio approach is built on a core
of pedagogical beliefs which are focused
on learning in early childhood, although
many can be applied throughout all stages
of life. Unlike some educational systems or
philosophies, however, the Reggio approach
is not one that can be easily “cut and
pasted”.
It is deeply embedded in the social
context in which each school is situated,
and requires a highly experienced and
intensively trained pedagogical team to
bring it to life in a school environment,
taking into account the realities of the
school community, which includes all staff,
students, and parents, who must work
together to build a successful environment
for learning and intentional pedagogical
project.
The Reggio approach is built on the
premise that every child is a competent
learner, who is capable of rigorous research
and intensive focus. This includes children
who in traditional systems would be
considered to have “special needs”, but
which Reggio schools prefer to regard as
children with “special rights” who enjoy the
same approach to learning as their peers.
What logically flows from the first premise
of the child as a competent learner are the
key principles which govern the approach
to learning. Firstly, the principle that the
child is the primary architect of his or her
own learning, posing their own research
questions and devising their own ways to
seek answers, through a constructivist (i.e.
building their own learning) approach,
rather than the passive or didactic approach
common to many traditional educational
systems in which the theory would see
the learner passively absorb information
which is conveyed by a teacher. Secondly,
to enable this constructivism, the learning
experience must be multi-sensorial, with
children given the opportunity to learn
through observing, touching, smelling,
tasting (where appropriate), listening and
interacting with stimuli, whether they are
naturally present in nature or the classroom,
or are intentionally and thoughtfully offered
to the child as a “provocation”. Next,
Malaguzzi postulated that children possess
“100 languages” which they use to construct
and communicate their understanding.
This includes verbal language, but also
movement, music, role-play, media such as
clay, watercolour, etc. which are all seen as
equally valid languages of and for learning.
Lastly, the Reggio approach is strongly
dependent on the relationships and interrelationships
which the child learner has
with the “three teachers” which the Reggio
approach recognises.
The concept of the three teachers is
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central to Reggio pedagogy. The child is
the first teacher, since it is the individual
curiosity, autonomous research, and
commitment to learning naturally present
in children which open the pathway to the
majority of learning. The second teacher
is the other learners, including adults who
accompany the learner(s), whether they
are the regular classroom teacher, the team
of specialists or atelieristas who enhance
projects via their expertise in sculpture,
music, drama, etc., the pedagogista who
works with teachers and parents, or the
other members of staff, who are all - from
cook, to cleaner, to caretaker - seen as an
integral part of the pedagogical team, and
expected to contribute to the pedagogical
project. The third teacher is the physical
environment - whether built or natural - in
which the learner evolves.
To maximise learning, Reggio-inspired
environments are designed to be as
natural and neutral as possible, focusing
more on the learners themselves and the
various materials offered to them. The
environments are as diverse as the contexts
in which the schools exist. In general