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The Reggio Emilia Approach: A Panel on Italian Educational Approaches in the U.S. School System

March 15, 2016, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location University Hall - 7th Floor Conference Center
CostFreeMore Informationhttp:/‌/‌www.montclair.edu/‌chss/‌inserra-chair/‌events/‌2015-16/‌reggio-emilia-approach/‌Posted InCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences
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Complete details on the Inserra chair website.

University Hall 7th Floor Conference Center

RSVP required here by Tue. March 1, 2016

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on pre-school and primary education. It was developed in Italy by the visionary teacher Loris Malaguzzi (1920-94) and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia after World War II. The program is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests and potentials of the children. The assumption that animates the approach is that the children are "legal persons" and knowledge-makers, and that their learing is an autonomous process that takes place inside the social enviroment created together by educators, children, and their families through dialogue, exchange and documentation of practices. The Reggio Emilia Approach identifies in creativity a way to produce and convey knowledge, as well as a tool for the children to express and build their personality through their "hundred languages," as Malaguzzi defined the children's plurality of views and infinite potential for searching and being surprised.

This panel will explore the Reggio Emilia Approach and its use in the U.S. school system, through presentations that embraces the perspectives of scholars, teachers, school directors, and parents (names of presenters coming soon).
Some of the questions that this panel will address include:

  • How can the Reggio approach accomodate the specific context of U.S. families’ lives, where full-time working parents may not have the time to be as involved as this approach expects?
  • How can the Reggio approach accomodate for special education children in the U.S. system?

Sponsored and organized by the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies (Department of Spanish and Italian) in collaboration with the Ben Samuels Children's Center at Montclair State University