The Relevance of Loris Malaguzzi

in Early Childhood Education

Introduction
Loris Malaguzzi (1921-1994) is an educator from Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy. I
will present a brief history of Malaguzzi and the beginnings of Reggio Emilia
followed by some of the key concepts of his pedagogical philosophy. Then I will
conclude with a discussion of how Malaguzzi has influenced the Swedish curriculum
and the relevance of his work to current early childhood education.
I find that exploring the Reggio Emilia Approach is like a journey... always new
things to discover. The bulk of this text was written in 2009 as a part of my masters in
ECE and has been continued in 2017 to include my journey with the Reggio Emilia
Approach and to document it and share it with others.
Since I completed my masters I have
started writing a blog Interaction
Imagination - the word interaction
being directly inspired by Malaguzzi.
There I share my thoughts about being a
Malaguzzi inspired educator... as I have
found that the more I have explored The
Reggio Emilia Approach the more I
want to go back to how Malaguzzi
inspired his fellow colleagues and those
around him. Please take the time to read
to the end and discover why he is so
important to me... and how he can
inspire you.

A Brief History
At the end of the Second World War Malaguzzi heard about a group of women who
were building a school from the rubble and financing it with the sale of abandoned
German tanks (Hewitt, 2001, p.95) and his involvement with these women became
the beginning of what is now known as The Reggio Emilia Approach. New (2000,
p.2) writes that the parents did not want ordinary schools; rather, they wanted schools
where children could acquire skills of critical thinking and collaboration essential to
rebuilding and ensuring a democratic society. Moss (2007,p.136) writes that a
previous mayor of the city claimed the Fascist experience had taught the citizens of
Reggio Emilia that people who conformed were dangerous and that this is why the
parents so desired critical thinking for their children. They asked Malaguzzi to teach
their children, and he told them that he had no experience, but promised to do (his)
best. 'I'll learn as we go along and the children will learn everything I learn working
with them, (Atner, 1994). These were not empty words but the very foundation of

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

the Reggio Emilia approach. Malaguzzi has emphasized the importance of leaving
room for learning by observing children and reflecting, thus enabling teaching to
become better than before (Scott, 2007, p.22). Malaguzzi, himself learned, as he had
promised - he went to Rome to study psychology, where he took inspiration from
such thinkers as Vygotsky, Piaget, Dewey and Bruner. But he did not stop there he
continued to research and enter dialogues with others in a variety of fields of learning
- absorbing all the information and applying the theories and ideas that suited the
needs of the preschools and the children in Reggio Emilia, for example he went to the
Rousseau Institute and the Ecole des Petits of Piaget in Geneva (Malaguzzi 1998,
p.53) but also the works of Wallon, Chaparde, Decroly, Makarenko, Erikson,
Bronfenbrenner, Bovet, Freinet and the Dalton School in New York have guided
Malaguzzi in the development of his pedagogical philosophy (p.59). The list of
names being just a sample of the scholars Malaguzzi sought inspiration from. The
various theories he discussed with the staff of the new preschools, and the parents of
the children who attended the preschools, in order to inspire and to process the
information (p.60). New (2000, p.2) says that many credit Malaguzzi for uniting
many other Italian early childhood educators to share and debate methods of working
with young children.The responsibility of running these schools remained heavily in
the hands of the parents until 1963 (Malaguzzi, 1998, p.50) when the municipality
of Reggio Emilia began setting up its own network of educational services for
children from birth to six years. (Nutbrown and Abbot, 2007, p.1). According to
Spaggiari (1998,p.105), even though the responsibility no longer rested with the
parents, but with the municipality, they continued to be an active part of the Reggio
preschool, including regular slide shows and art displays, theme evenings, lectures
given by experts for both parents and teachers, work sessions where parents help
build new furniture, workshops where new techniques are learned, holidays and
celebrations spent together with the families and parental involvement in excursions.

Edwards et al.(1998, p.22) says Malaguzzi decided upon limiting class size to twenty
as well as there being two teachers in every classroom rather than the customary one,
and that teachers should work collectively and without hierarchy as suggested by
Bruno Ciari, the leader of the Movement of Cooperative Education, another of source
of inspiration for Malaguzzi and someone he was in frequent dialogue with.

In 1970 the first infant-toddler centre was opened, one year in advance of Law
1044(1971) instituting social and educational services for children under the age of
three. This occurred on the demand of the mothers who requested a safe place for
their children as they returned to the workforce (Edwards et al1998 p.19, Malaguzzi,
1998, p61). This was followed by a series of social legislation making the availability
of nursery schools more readily available to the people of Italy and the number of
schools blossomed until the mid 1980s (Edwards et al, 1998, p.22).
The interaction of Swedish teachers together with those of Reggio Emilia resulted in
an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm called The Hundred
Languages of Children (Barsotti 2009). The title of the exhibition also being the
title of a poem written by Loris Malaguzzi describing how children start life with a
hundred languages but are robbed of 99 continued Barsotti. Thus reinforcing his
pedagogical philosophy as being one that helps the children to maintain all their
different languages and to build upon them rather than telling the child which voice
should be used. Barsotti told us, at one of the many Reggio Emilia courses held in
Stockholm, that the interaction with Sweden has continued and in 1992 The Reggio

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

Emilia Institute opened in Stockholm allowing dialogues and courses to inspire
teachers across the country.
After the sudden death of Malaguzzi,
Rinaldi (2008, p.53) confesses to an
enormous vacuum, arousing fear that
they would lose the sense of the
experience itself. Rinaldi had worked
for 24 years by Malaguzzis side and
thanks to their conviction they moved
forwards and continued with what
Malaguzzi had started. A new version
of The Hundred Languages of
Children Exhibit began its tour in
Rome in 1995 and continued around
the world (Edwards et al, 1998, p.23).
In 1996 the early childhood system in
Reggio Emilia was entrusted to the
city authorities by the Ministry of
Education this included funds to continue the education of its teachers (Edwards et al
1998 p.23). The spirit of Malaguzzi is forever present in the city of Reggio Emilia.
He had challenged teachers to develop new eyes to enable them to see the true
intelligence of children (Rankin 2004, p.81) and through these eyes the teachers of
Reggio Emilia continue to see what the children are doing and are interested in, and
further a-field what the researchers are doing. Dahlberg and Moss (2008, p.4) point
out that it is not simply the fact that the educators of Reggio have brought in concepts
and theories from many places but that more importantly they have reflected upon
them, creating their own meanings and relevance to their work.
Key Concepts
Malaguzzi was the driving force of the key-points of the Reggio Emilia approach.
These key-points include children have rights rather than needs; the child as a
collaborator with the teacher in his/her own education/development
(interactions/pedagogy of listening); the environment is the third educator; the
researcher teacher and the researcher child (documentation/competent child);
learning through play, emphasising creative expression (hundred languages), and
the involvement of the parents. (Gandini 1998 p.177; Malaguzzi, 1998, p.79;
Spaggiari, 1998, p.105; Vecchi 1998 pp139-147; Abbot 2007 p.14; Philips 2007 p.49;
Rinaldi, 2008 p.57, p.65)
Rights:
Malaguzzi (1994, p.1) said that children had the right to fulfil and also expand ALL
of their potential, describing them as rich and competent and not beings with needs
but beings with rights. He wrote down a Bill Of Three Rights for the parents, the
teachers and the
Children have the right to be recognized as the bearers of important rights:
individual, social and legal. They both carry and construct their own culture and are
therefore active participants in the organization of their identity, their autonomy and
their capabilities. The construction of this organization takes place through
relationships and interactions with peers, adults, ideas and objects, as well as both

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

 real and imaginary events of a communicative world (Malaguzzi 1994, online )
I noticed that these writings of Malaguzzi reflect many of the articles in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. For example article 12,
where children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their
opinions taken into account; and in article 29 that states the development of the
child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities should be to their fullest
potential. (United Nations, 1990)

Jones (2000,) described the rights of children in Reggio Emilia as stemming from
common sense rather than an international declaration.

The words 'common sense" carry with them overtones of approval,

suggesting solid, workable and rational agreement over what is
the best to be done in determining the rights of individuals and
social groups
(Jones, 2000, p.3)

In this description the rights of children bend and sway with the society and the
culture that the child finds itself in a part of a family, a part of a preschool, and a
part of a city. The children can be assured the safety and guidance of the adults
around them as well as being heard and valued to have their own theories.

Not only does the word rights for me apply to us

seeing each child in their developmental process,
and seeing their abilities rather than focussing on
their difficulties... it also brings me to the idea of
democracy. That children are heard and valued are a
part of the democratic process... that the children
have the right to participate in their own learning
journey and not simply be assistants to the plans the
educators have for them.

Interaction
According to an interview between Malaguzzi and Rankin (2004) the interaction
between children and children, children and adults and adults and adults is an
essential part of the Reggio experience.

Interaction must be an important and strong word. You must write

it in the entrance to the school. Interaction. That is, try to work
together to produce interactions that are constructive, not only for
socializing, but also for construction language, for constructing
the forms and meaning of language.
(Rankin, 2004, p.84)

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 Rinaldi (2008) suggests that just listening to a
teacher is not a sufficient way to learn and to
develop. She contends a child should
participate in his/her own development for it to
have any relevance, not only on an individual
level but also by listening to peers and learning
from them. The teacher should listen to the
child in order to develop as a teacher, listen to
the parents to further understand, and listen to
each other to stimulate professional
development.
Rinaldi gives eight explanations of what
listening is when describing documentation
and assessment. These include the concept that
listening is an active verb, that it is an emotion
and based on curiosity, that it should be done
not just with our ears but with all of our
senses, that it is not an easy thing to do and
should be done without prejudice, and it is the
premise for any learning relationship (2008
p.65). Zakin (2005, p.4) states that this
approach to teaching and learning based on
collaboration and mentoring stems from
Vygotskys (1973) theories (zone of proximal development) and requires the teachers
to look at their own pedagogical practice. Therefore a curriculum is created not by the
state but by the teachers in collaboration with the children. Rankins (2004, p.82)
writes that Malaguzzi said its not so much that we need to think of a child who
develops himself by himself but rather of a child who develops himself interacting
with others. This is why the meeting place of the piazza is so important here the
children can exchange ideas with each other as well as in the small activity groups
together with a teacher.
Dahlberg and Moss (2008, p.6) suggest another important inspiration for Malaguzzi
has been John Dewey (1938) including his view that learning is an active process and
not merely the transmission of pre-packaged knowledge. They suggest this is seen in
the teachers listening to the childrens interests and developing projects together,
learning simultaneously during the process.

The word interaction felt so important to me that I chose it as part of the name of my
blog. That interactions are not confined to children interacting with the educators,
each other and the world around them, but also my interactions with my colleagues,
with the world around me and of course with the children I work with. The blog was
started as a way to interact with ideas... writing down my ideas so that I could reflect
on them build on them, and also so that others could read them with the hope that I
would get feedback in the form of comments that would allow me to think one more
time about the process of thought... maybe even have the opportunity for a
pedagogical somersault.. where my train of thoughts are turned on its head and I am
afforded a new perspective. This can only happen through interactions... with others,
with books, with experiences...

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

The Third Educator
Rinaldi (2008, pp77-88) writes that the layout of the preschools has been a crucial
part of the Reggio experience, Malaguzzi believing strongly in the relationship
between a good quality environment improving the quality of learning. The
environment should enable the child and teacher to express their potential, abilities
and curiosity. The Reggio Emilia preschools have been created by the collaboration
of architecture and pedagogy and the use of visual arts.
The piazza has become synonymous with Reggio Emilia, each of Malaguzzis
preschools possessing one. It is a large open central space that most traditional
schools also have, but Gandini (1998 p.165) had wrote that Malaguzzi explained that
it is how this space is used that is important. By calling it a piazza, the town square,
Malaguzzi was creating a significance about this open space a place for meetings
and interactions and not just a place for recreation because between 10:00 and
10:30 there is supposed to be a break. I this sense it is not merely about calling it a
piazza either, it is about the significance of the place; it is an approach to thinking
about how a space can be used, and this space does not have to be indoors, it can also
be created outdoors... not all settings are constructed in the same way, so we cannot
just lift the idea of the square and transplant it into our own setting. We have to
think about the intention of the space, how can we create these interactions, what sort
of interactions and why? And then to arrange the space according to these reflections.
Gandini continues that the environment must be flexible and must be adapted with the
changing needs of the children. She remembers the words of Malaguzzi who told her
that we value space because of its power to organize, promote pleasant relationships
among people of different ages, create a handsome environment, provide changes,
promote choices and activity, and its potential for sparking all kinds of social
affective, and cognitive learning (1998, p.177)
The atelier, workshop or studio, is a space in the Reggio Emilia preschools that
Malaguzzi (1998, p.73) invested a great deal of hope. It is a space rich in materials
and tools easily accessed by the children. It was intended not only as a space of
creativity but also as a place of research a place where the children can test out their
theories individually and together with other children, and with professionally
competent adults (p.74). There are small ateliers for the children to work on projects
in smaller groups as the children are divided according to age in Reggio Emilia
preschools (Gandini, 1998, p.172). There
is much that can be written about ateliers,
not only the access to the materials and
also the use of an atelierista (an educator
trained in the arts to provoke/deepen
thoughts not only for the children but for
the educators too), but I feel it is necessary
to point out that the atelier is not the only
space for creativity. Creativity is more
than art, so being good at art is not about
being creative it is the capacity to make
connections (but that is just a very basic
way to describe the complexity of
creativity). I have written about art, the
atelier and creativity often in my blog...

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Bishop (2007, p.73) says that Reggio Emilia preschools have intended to have an
educational and symbolic value for those using the spaces both indoors and
outdoors. Many describe the preschools as filled with light and colour from the large
glass windows, white walls and glass room dividers, aquarium-like, and illuminating
the childrens work (Bishop, 2007; Hirst, 2007; Nutbrown and Abbot, 2007; Gandini,
1998;). Furniture and materials are designed so that the children can be independent
the environment allows them to start activities and pursue them with as little
assistance from adults (van den Bosch, 2009, p.20).

The third educator can be seen as your colleague, and just like yourself and your
human colleagues, it is in need of professional development to be able to interact with
the changing needs of the children and of society.

Documentation

We teachers must see ourselves as researchers, able to think, and produce a true
curriculum, a curriculum produced from all of the children (Malaguzzi, 1993 p.4).
The word reconnaissance is used by Malaguzzi, (1998, pp.88-89) as an important
tool to overview the situation with the children, the preschool, the family, the town
etc. From this reconnaissance wisdom is acquired into how the children play, how
they pretend and how individual and group identities develop etc (p.89). Rinaldi
(1998, p.119) explains that the observations are documented and are used to stimulate
the teachers self-reflection as well as discussions with colleagues.
Projects arise from the interest of the children continues Rinaldi, they are of varying
lengths of time and children work by themselves and with the teachers. The teachers
continue to observe and document during the projects process and this
documentation makes it possible for the teachers to sustain the childrens learning
while they also learn (to teach) from the childrens own learning (Rinaldi 1998,
p.120) The documentation includes words and photographs at both adult and child
height (Leask, 2007, p.45) as well as diagrams, working models, paintings etc
(Bishop, 2007, p.76). Slide
documentaries, videos and books says
Rinaldi (1998, p.121) also support the
memory and interactions of the
teachers, children and parents. She
continues that by revisiting a project
by looking at the documentation the
children are offered an opportunity to
further reflect and interpret their own
ideas. Something I do with the
children in Stockholm with exciting
results. The artwork and results of the
projects therefore document the
process the learning of the children
which then offers further learning
processes for adults and children alike
by acting as a mirror of our
knowledge (Rinaldi, 1998, 121).

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

There is a difference between documentation and pedagogical documentation... the
latter being taking that step to interact with the documentation... to analyse it together
with other... the children, colleagues parents etc in order to better understand the
learning of the individual children and the group. And from this analysis plans can be
made to support the children's continued learning journey, thus starting the next cycle
of documentation to learn from.

Play

Play is a key factor in childrens well-being. As such it is not a luxury to be

considered after other rights have been addressed but understood as an essential and
integral part of childrens everyday lives and therefore central to the UN Convention
as a whole. (Fronczek, 2009, p.113). Malaguzzi says that as teachers each one needs
to be able to play with the things that derive from children and that curiosity is a
necessary attribute. He also says that teachers need to be able to try something new
based on the ideas that are collected from
the children. (Malaguzzi, 1993 p.2). In
other words Malaguzzi is not only
promoting play as a method of learning for
children, but also as a method of learning
for the adults around them. This is an idea
he got from Hawkins (2002, p65-77)
messing about - that for educators to
truly understand the pedagogical value of
play they must mess about with materials,
play and explore with them.
I have written extensively about play in my
blog and the need for a healthy play diet,
that there are many kinds of play and
children need to have portions of all of
them. Often, I feel, adults are too quick to
narrowly define play and to defend this
view of play. My observations of children
over the years has lead me to believe that it
can be hard to fully understand what play
is, and that it is not something that is
exclusively for children either. I also feel
that many areas of play has been
encroached on by adults, especially
educators who search for the teachable moment. Despite the fact that I wrote play is
not meant to be educational. Rather, education flows naturally into the environment
os a child at play. I feel there is room for educational play as one of the many forms
of play, my meaning with the statement is that far too often adults forget that free
play is a learning environment that maybe we as adults have to be able to see the
learning and the children are allowed to get on with their play.

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

Hundred languages
Malaguzzi (1998 p.3) wrote a poem as part of the exhibition of the childrens work
entitled The Hundred Languages of Children that reveals his thoughts that children
do not think and learn in just one way but have many approaches to the world and his
belief that school and culture are robbing them of ninety nine by telling them how to
think and how to learn without joy. Ghlich (2008, p.1) wrote that learning is
multidimensional that it includes learning to know, learning to know-how and
learning to live and that it is not just a cognitive process.

Learning creatively has involved challenging many preconceived ideas about

education. Up to now, art instruction, has been more appreciated for its cultural and
recreational service to children than its educational possibilities and Zakin (2005 p.5)
believes that it should be seen with new eyes, that art and science are not at opposite
ends of the scale. Gardner (1998 p.xvii) also comments on the harmony Reggio has
achieved by challenging so many false dichotomies for example child versus adult,
enjoyment versus study as well as, like Zakin, the contrast of art and science. Rinaldi
(2006 p.173) continues this list with work-play and reality-imagination; she writes
the word and, linking everything together creativity and rationality, teaching and
researching etc. I understand this, as one should cover all areas with equal importance
so that the child has a chance to develop her hundred languages and has a greater
opportunity to find the ones that she excels at and enjoys.

If there are a hundred languages there

are a hundred ways to listen... as
educators we need to see how each
child learns and to be able to provide a
curriculum that meets these learning
abilities, as well as providing new
languages for the children to try out. If
we listen we can hear more languages;
in this way we learn from the children
and from colleagues and parents, as
well as online communities that can
share ideas and thoughts about learning
and play.

Parents

The parents are an important part of the Reggio preschool experience, they are also
considered a specialist and are recognised for bringing with them a particular
viewpoint as well as values (Rinaldi, 2006, p.157). Hunter (2007, p.39) says that
parents are encouraged to participate in the daily life of the preschools and that
parental observations contribute to lively discussions. Running the preschools
without the parents, write Sdergren and Wiking (2009, p.15), is unthinkable in the
Reggio Emilia preschools and are a part of their development rather than just
customers who drop off their children to professionals who make all the decisions.

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

Reggio Emilia and Sweden
Malaguzzis first flight abroad was to Sweden and the exhibit which was first called
When the eye jumps over the wall that later became The Hundred Languages of
Children (Barsotti, 2009). This involvement with Sweden came before the
curriculum for the preschool (Lpf98) came into being in 1998. Vecchi comments on
the importance of the move of the Swedish preschool from the Social Service
Department to the Education Department indicating a change of viewing preschools
as a place to protect and nurture children to a place of learning (Vecchi 1999, p.46).
The new curriculum was welcomed by many as it raises the status of the preschool,
by describing the preschool as laying the foundation of lifelong learning, giving
parents the possibility to influence the setting as well as challenging teachers
concerning giving children the right to influence their own situation (Rsne and
Skldefors 1999, p.48).

Bondesson et al (2007 p.17) describes the new Swedish preschool curriculum as

changing the focus of how the child is seen. The curriculum sees the child as
competent, as did Malaguzzi, and that the teachers should support the childs
development and learning through interactions with children and adults. Children in
preschool should meet adults who see the potential in each child and who involve
themselves interactively with both the individual child and the group of children as a
whole (Lpf98 p.5).
The curriculum has a general formulation which allows a variety of interpretations
therefore the traditional Swedish preschool, writes Bondesson et al (2007 p.18) is
able to continue working with children based on adult lead activities, but at the
childrens level to encourage their learning. At the same time it allows for the Reggio
inspired method of allowing the children to influence their own learning process and
the teachers as fellow researcher. The Swedish curriculum states The preschool
should promote learning, which presupposes active discussion in the work team on
the contents of what constitutes learning and knowledge (Lpf 98 p.6).
At the preschool where I work in
Stockholm we have a
pedagogical advisor that comes
once a week and works with us
to discuss ideas, documentation
methods and starting up projects
after observing the childrens
interests. Therefore we are
discussing what learning is for
us, embroidering the philosophy
of Malaguzzi onto our Swedish
fabric.
The Swedish preschool curriculum also covers Malaguzzis key points of being
creative by means of different forms of expression, such as pictures, song and music,
drama, rhythm, dance and movement, as well as spoken and written language as an
essential part of promoting the development and learning of the child (Lpf98,
2006 p.7)

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

Sdergren and Wiking (2008, p.26) write their concern that the Reggio Approach
preschools in Sweden can never expect the parent participation that occurs at the
preschools in Reggio Emilia in Italy. This, they believe, stems from the fact that
preschools in Sweden arise from the parents need for childcare rather than being
created for the children as they did in Reggio Emilia. This, though, does not consider
the parent co-operatives in Sweden that rely on parental involvement these co-
operatives are not always Reggio inspired, but have many different influences from
traditional Swedish preschools, forest schools (Ur och Skur) to Montessori etc.
Working at a Reggio inspired preschool without the parental involvement
expectations and having my children at a parent co-operative without a Reggio profile
has been an eye-opening experience to see just how valuable the interaction of
parents is for teachers, parents and not least the children.
Parents are seen as valuable by the Swedish curriculum as the section on preschool
and home states Parents should have the opportunityto be involved and
influence activities in the preschool. (Lpf98, 2006, p13) but are not as actively
involved, on the whole, as the parents in Reggio Emilia.
To see the environment as a third educator is something Swedish preschools are still
working on, Bondesson et al (2007,p.37) had predicted that this would have been the
area easiest for Swedish preschools to adopt from the Reggio philosophy, but were
disappointed in their study to find that this was not the case. They felt that having a
mirror pyramid was not enough and that the environments lacked sensual experiences
and a more inspiring environment for the childrens creativity. Preschools in Sweden,
both traditional and Reggio are making the transition from adult sized furniture to
child sized (Thestrup and Sundquist, 2004 p.13). My own preschool has two child-
sized tables and one adult-sized table, although there are discussions to invest in
child-sized furniture for the entire department.
The rights of children, each individual shall be emphasised and made explicit in all
preschool activity (Lpf, p.3) comes under the heading of fundamental values in the
Swedish curriculum, the word democracy being the very first word used.
Democracy forms the foundation of the preschool. (Lpf98, p3)

This is very poignant when one considers that the preschools in Reggio Emilia were
started as a reaction to the fascism Italy endured during World War II. Rinaldi (2008
p.140-141) writes of the importance of democracy in the preschools in Reggio Emilia
and its connection to the childrens participation school as a place of democracy.
In Stockholm, we have not only the Swedish National Curriculum to follow, but also
Stockholms Preschool Curriculum, which is a compliment to the national one. In the
Stockholm Curriculum there is a section on pedagogical documentation (the word
documentation does not occur in the national curriculum), it describes documentation
as a tool to reflect and develop the setting, allowing the work at the preschool to be
visible so that children, parents and staff have a basis for reflection as well as it being
a support in self evaluation and part of the systematic quality of work (Stockholm
Stad 2009, p.14).

The Relevance of Reggio

To give an idea of the extent of its influence, between January 1981 and January 1999
there were approximately six hundred delegations to Reggio Emilia with a total of
about ten thousand visitors (Morrow, 1999, p.23). In Sweden it can be a long wait
before one gets the opportunity to visit Reggio Emilia as part of one of the courses

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

offered, as there are so many wanting to visit my preschool is still on that waiting
list a year later.
There are several areas of research identified by Abbot and Nutbrown (2007) arising
from the inspiration of Malaguzzi and the Reggio Approach, for example the role of
teachers, parents and play in the education of children. Also inclusion and attitudes to
special educational needs as well as the role of the preschool environment and
creativity.
What Malaguzzi has introduced to Reggio Emilia
is not necessarily new, Dewey (1980, p15) had
written about traditional schools being a crime
against the nature of children by not following
the interests of the children and learning
practically, as did Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
(Nutbrown et al 2009, p.27). Nutbrown et al
(2009) continue that play has had several
pioneers including Montessori (1870-1952),
Steiner (1861-1925), Frbel (1782-1852), Isaacs
(1885-1948) and Margaret Macmillan (1860-1931). Comenius (1592-1670) had
written about how teachers should understand how a childs mind works, as did
Dewey (1859-1952), Vygotsky (1896-1934) and Montessori with their ideas of a
child-centred education with activities and interaction and Charlotte Masons
(1842-1923) writings became known by some as a childs Bill of Rights (Nutbrown
et al, 2009, p.36). What was new with Malaguzzi was the longevity of putting his
theory into his practical work. Gardner (1998, p.xvi) compares Deweys decades of
writing theory and his four years of practical work in a school with Reggio Emilia,
Nowhere else in the world is there such a seamless and symbiotic relationship
between a schools progressive theory and its practices. The hundred languages of
children documents how the preschools in Reggio Emilia have evolved over forty
years interweaving theory and practice during this time. Nutbrown (2006, p.121)
quotes Moss (2001), that:
while we seek the answer which will be enable us to foreclose, in Reggio they
understand that even after 30 years or more, their work remains provisional,
continually open to new conditions, perspectives, understandings and possibilities
We need to also continually assess what we are doing, to weave into our practical
work the theories that we are reading and making it relevant to the situation we find
ourselves in.
Nutbrown et al (2009, p154-155) describe play as an important part of learning for
children, and that although the word play is used often its definition is not always
clear. After a period of children working in school being favoured, play, has once
again, found a new respect.
The EYFS and the Early Learning Goals (ELGs), however, provide sufficient
flexibility for practitioners to follow childrens interests, respond to their ideas for
developing play activities, and provide structured activities (which can also be
playful) to teach specific knowledge and skills. (The National Strategies Early Years,
2009 p.5)
For teachers in Reggio Emilia play is highly valued for its ability to promote
development writes New (1998 p.274), but is only a part of the learning package

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

the project being of equal importance.
Malaguzzis description of a child with rights rather than needs is relevant in the
discussion of inclusion. Phillips (2007 p.52) writes that the hundred ways of
thinking, of playing, of speaking in Malaguzzis poem is a recognition of diversity
rather than churning out a standard child from the school system. Inclusion has
been a part of Reggio Emilia practice prior to it becoming national law in Italy in
1971 (Vakil et al, 2003, p187). Inclusion, though, is more than just placing special
needs children in a classroom, write Vakil et al (2003, p187) it requires a holistic
approach of the child with appropriate practices which is not always a possibility in a
strictly academic curriculum. Smith (1998) writes that in Reggio Emilia an extra
teacher is assigned to the group rather than the child which avoids, as Agneta
Hellstrm called the bodyguard model in which the support teacher, often lacking
in appropriate experience and training, is assigned to the child. Soncini, interviewed
by Smith, goes on to explain how ALL teachers in the preschool are supplied with the
relevant information so that children with special rights are welcomed in all classes
and all areas of the school and not totally reliant on one adult (Smith, 1998: 201-205).
Phillips (2007, pp58-59) points out that no place is perfect and that a recently built
preschool had not been made wheelchair accessible, and that not all rooms and all
materials were within reach for such children.
Canella (1997 p.162) says the voices of children have been silenced by the weight of
adult constructions of and for them. The English Foundation Stage Curriculum
views the child as a future pupil, write Soler and Miller (2003, p.61), they continue
that the curriculum is organised in stepping stones which views childrens
development in a sequential manner. This means policy makers have assumed where
levels begin and end for all children whereas, they write, Malaguzzi has stated the
child as the starting point of the curriculum. Rinaldi, write Edwards et al, (1998
p.183), said that learning must be imagined as spiralling with children, teachers and
parents as active parts of the learning process that cannot be expected to occur in any
set order.

Warash et al (2008 p.447) write of the similarities of Reggio Emilia with DAP
(Developmentally Appropriate Practice) and the foundations of the Competent
Learner Model, as those that have an appropriate curriculum, teaching strategies, and
an appropriate learning environment so that children acquire the necessary
competencies to be competent learners. They continue that Malaguzzi and the Reggio
Approach have stimulated a powerful arena for reflecting on and questioning
educational practices.
Malaguzzi (1998 p.75-77) said that
creativity should not be considered a
separate mental faculty and that it requires
the partnership of knowledge and expression
rather than being at odds. Robinson (1998)
has also come to understand the importance
of creativity as a part of the educational
process rather than a separate subject.

Creativity is not simply a matter of letting go. Serious creative

achievement relies on knowledge, control of materials and

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

 command of ideas. Creative education involves a balance between
teaching knowledge and skills, and encouraging innovation. In
these ways, creative development is directly related to cultural
education. (Robinson, 1998, p.6)

Final Dialogue

The Reggio Emilia approach requires a great deal from its teachers, they need to have
the energy and enthusiasm to develop and evolve, to have the ability to believe in
themselves and in the children and parents, they need to be able to be part of a team
not just a team of colleagues, but of the whole community. Malaguzzi had great
expectations of his teachers and could be exacting and demanding, but this was a part
of his respect for their intelligence, abilities and possibilities (Rinaldi, 2008 p.59) in
just the same way that a teacher strives to help a child reach his full potential. Warash
et al (2008, p.445) observed that teachers in Reggio did not praise children for work
below their full capacity and that there is a persistence of questioning that is not seen
in the U.S.A, where fostering self-esteem is more dominant.
One concern is the lack of research into the effects of the Reggio approach. There is
no research into whether or not they achieve what they set out to do. There is no
knowing whether or not the children will grow up into adults able to think for
themselves and trust in their own convictions. There is a need to evaluate their own
effectiveness not to just continuously evaluate the time of the early childhood years
but to see whether it does have a lasting effect whether these children keep their
extra pocket into adulthood, and if they do, whether they use the contents of this
extra pocket (Hunter 2007). If they are not keeping or using these pockets there is
then a need to develop their practice further so that they do in fact achieve the goals
the original parents had set and the very reason for the preschools existing.
There are studies that show that preschool does have lasting effects - the High/Scope
method HAS been evaluated and showed that working with young children does in
fact improve conditions for adult life (Schweinhart 2009). The EPPE (Effective Pre-
school and Primary Education), the largest study in Europe on the effects of
preschool education on childrens intellectual and social and behavioural
development, has also shown that good quality preschool education has lasting effects
beyond the preschool years (Sylva & Siraj-Blatchford, 2009)

When I attended a Reggio Course in Stockholm I found it strange that we were

unable to take photographs at the preschool we visited that had been to Reggio Emilia
in Italy their reason being that they themselves had not been allowed to take
photographs during their visit in Italy. I could not reconcile with the fact that a
pedagogical philosophy, which promotes photographic documentation as a method of
memory stimulation to further deepen the learning process, would then deny visitors
such a source of inspiration. When I questioned the ban on photography there came
an explanation of making ones own journey. This I can understand, but at the same
time question we have travel guides that help us make decisions about a journey,
including photographs and information to help us make a choice. Even if we were to
choose what was recommended in the guidebook it would never be the same

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

experience the weather might be different, the group of people would interact in a
different way etc producing something new and unique. The photographs of the
preschools that allowed such documentation (on the same course) have proved to be a
great source of inspiration. We could never replicate what they have done as our
building and our needs are different but they serve to inspire us to create something
new in our own location and question what we do now.

It is impossible to say just how much influence Malaguzzi and the Reggio Approach
has had upon early childhood educational practices, but without a doubt the sheer
numbers of educators visiting Reggio Emilia and reading the literature must be
having an impact on how teachers view the child and their own educational approach.
Carlo Barsotti (2005) described Loris Malaguzzi as a genuine person and that maybe
his greatness lay in the fact he was never satisfied with his successes. He continues
that Malaguzzi never wrote down his early childhood pedagogy as a method as he
believed it to be continually changing and evolving, that the teachers should also be
non static and offer tools and experiences that the children could use to stimulate their
creativity.It is this influence, writes New (2000, p.4) to promote, not change, but
reflection, debate, and conversation--that may well be Malaguzzis and the preschools
of Reggio Emilia greatest legacy.

Reflections
Of course reflection is a must have part to any dialogue about Malaguzzi and the
Reggio Emilia Approach. Despite writing this eight years ago now I will still return to
read, to find those quotes and those references that inspired me then and continue to
inspire me... but now, with time I read them with a new perspective, giving me the
opportunity to reflect further and anew.

Also eight years ago I had to write with a word limitation which was not the easiest
thing to do, there was so much I wanted to convey about my relationship with the
Reggio Emilia Approach and there simply was not the word space to include
everything. Hence my desire to share this one more time with a few thoughts added
here and there. I still have not written as much as I maybe could especially about
PLAY, LISTENING, DOCUMENTATION, DEMOCRACY, THE THIRD
EDUCATOR, CREATIVITY... etc etc... as I wanted this to not be too long that
readers do not have enough time in their busy schedules to read to the end and to
reflect on this article about Malaguzzi in its completeness. I am, though, I the process
of writing a book and this might also have impacted how much I share here... what do
I include in this extended article and what do I save for the book. Those of you
familiar with my blog will know that I have written a lot about listeningI shared my
journey as an educator learning more about how to work philosophically with 1-6
year olds.

I cannot express how important it is to reflect. And to do this with openness. That
kind of openness that allows you to see your mistakes and not be afraid of them, but
to see them as a learning opportunity. The kind of oppenness that allows you to
receive comments from colleagues that you might not want to hear at first, but
ultimately allow you to be a better teacher. The kind of openness that allows you to

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

talk frankly with your colleagues in a respectful way to challenge them as we all
evolve as educators.
Self reflection is fantastic, but reflecting with colleagues and friends, with the
children and parents is also essential to grow as an educator... to evolve your teaching
skills to meet the evolving child.
As the children need a safe place to learn, so do educators. If we are to learn with the
children then our workplace needs to be safe, it needs to be respected and valued.
Sadly within the early years sector status is not something we rate high on in society,
this I feel contributes to educators not feeling safe. This means that evolving will be
stifled by the need to get it right and get approval. This is not something I want for
the children I work with, it is not something I want for the colleagues I work with...
including all those I interact with online and in workshops I hold around the world.
ECE needs to be valued.
Malaguzzi was, for me, a person that raised the value bar... not by saying we need to
teach in a specific way, but that we needed to adjust our approach to how we see the
child, how we value learning and play, how we interpret words, how we interact with
the world around us, how we perceive education... to see the rich complexity and the
interdisciplinary nature of learning.

http://interactionimagination.blogspot.se/

2017 The Relevance of Malaguzzi in ECE Suzanne Axelsson. Interaction Imagination

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