Art and
Creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the Role and Potential of Ateliers
in Early Childhood Education
By Vea Vecchi
This book
explores the contribution of and art and creativity to early education,
and examines the role of the atelier (an arts workshop in a school) and
atelierista (an educator with an arts background) in the pioneering
pre-schools of Reggio Emilia.
It does so
through the unique experience of Vea Vecchi, one of the first atelieristas to be appointed in
Reggio Emilia in 1970. Part memoir, part conversation and part
reflection, the book provides a unique insider perspective on the
pedagogical work of this extraordinary local project, which continues to
be a source of inspiration to early childhood practitioners and policy
makers worldwide.
Vea’s writing, full of beautiful examples, draws the reader in as she
explains the history of the atelier and the evolving role of the
atelierista. Key themes of the book include:
• processes of learning and knowledge
construction
• the theory of the hundred languages of childhood and the role of poetic
languages
• the importance of organisation, ways of working and tools, in particular
pedagogical documentation
• the vital contribution of the physical environment
• the relationship between the atelier, the atelierista, the school and
its teachers
This enlightening book is essential reading for students, practitioners,
policy makers and researchers in early childhood education, and also for
all those in other fields of education interested in the relationship
between the arts and learning.
In Dialogue with Reggio
Emilia:
Listening, Researching and Learning
By Carlina Rinaldi
The early childhood programme of Reggio Emilia in Italy is acclaimed as
one of the best education systems in the world and this book offers the
unique insight of Carlina Rinaldi, the former director of the municipal
early childhood centres in Reggio Emilia and successor to Loris Malaguzzi,
one of the twentieth century’s leading pedagogical thinkers.
Rinaldi has an enviable international reputation for her contribution to
the Reggio approach and has given talks on the topic around the world.
A collection of Rinaldi’s most important works, this book is organized
thematically with a full introduction contextualising each piece.
t closes with an interview by series
editors Peter Moss and Gunilla Dahlberg, looking at Rinaldi’s current work
and reflections on Reggio's past, present and future.
Much of this material is previously unpublished and focuses on a number of
questions:
* What were the ideas and legacy of Loris Malaguzzi?
* What is unique about Reggio Emilia?
* What are the issues in education today and what does it mean to be a
teacher?
* How can educators most effectively make use of creativity?
Understanding
the Reggio Approach: Early Years Education in Practice
By Linda Thornton, Pat Brunton
‘Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton have been immersed in the field for many
years and write authoritatively, with understanding and clarity. The book
is thoroughly up to date and offers a useful reference source. This book
is very welcome, it is accessible, readable and sound.’ (Review of the
first edition in ReFocus, Journal of the UK Reggio Network, Summer 2005).
Understanding the Reggio Approach is a much needed source of information
for those wishing to extend and consolidate their understanding of the
Reggio Approach.
Analysing the essential elements of the
Reggio Approach to early childhood and its relationship to quality early
years practice, this new edition is fully updated with the latest
developments, including references to the Early Years Foundation Stage and
a brand new chapter focusing on creativity.
This book:
* Describes the key features of the Reggio Approach to early childhood and
provides examples from infant-toddler centres and preschools in Reggio
Emilia
* Provides students and practitioners with the relevant information about
a key pedagogical influence on high quality early years practice in the
EYFS
* Highlights the key ideas that practitioners should consider when
reviewing and reflecting on their own practice
* Can be used as the basis for continuing professional development and
action research.
Going Beyond the
Theory/Practice Divide in Early Childhood Education:
Introducing an Intra-Active Pedagogy
By Hillevi Lenz Taguchi
Going Beyond the Theory/Practice Divide in Early Childhood Education
focuses on the use of pedagogical documentation as a tool for learning and
transformation. Based on innovative research, the author presents new
approaches to learning in early childhood education, shifting attention to
the force and impact which material objects and artefacts can have in
learning. Drawing upon the theories of feminist Karen Barad and
philosophers Gille Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Hillevi Lenz Taguchi
discusses examples of how pens, paper, clay and construction materials can
be understood as active and performative agents, challenging binary
divides such as theory/practice, discourse/matter and mind/body in
teaching and learning. Numerous examples from practice are explored to
introduce an intra-active pedagogy. 'Methodological' strategies for
learning with children in preschools, and in teacher education, are
brought to the fore. For example:
the neighbourhood around the preschool and children's homes is explored,
using drawing and construction-work on the floor;
mathematics is investigated in teacher education, using the body, dance
and music to investigate mathematical relationships and problems;
taken-for-granted forms of academic writing are challenged by different
forms of praxis- and experience-based writings that transgress the
theory/practice divide;
children, students and teacher educators use pedagogical documentation to
understand their own learning, and to critique dominant habits of thinking
and doing.
Challenging the dominant understanding of ‘inclusion’ in educational
contexts, and making ‘difference’ actively visible and positive, this book
is rooted in the experiences, practices and words of teachers, teacher
educators and student teachers. It will appeal to all those involved in
early childhood education and also to those interested in challenging
educational thinking and practices.
Movement and
Experimentation in Young Children's Learning: Deleuze and Guattari in
early childhood education
By Liselott
Olsson
This
ground-breaking book connects apparently disparate subjects; the very
young learning child in the field of early childhood education and the
thinking of Deleuze and Guattari in the field of philosophy.
