Dwelling midst complexities: A qualitative case study of the middle curriculum of a Reggio Emilia Inspired school
As a qualitative case study, the purpose of the research is to understand the middle curriculum of Delitto Preschool and to explore the ways in which Reggio Emilia inspired approaches to early childhood education have been taken up by the Delitto Preschool, an early learning center located on Susquehannock land in State College, Pennsylvania, United States. Although Reggio Emilia’s philosophy is historically and conceptually rooted in the municipality of Reggio Emilia, in Italy, and foregrounded by specific sociopolitical conditions, from the standpoint of a particular culture, history, and environment, as well as local knowledge and practices, it continues to be translated by and for other contexts. However, as this thesis will address, Reggio Emilia is a place-based philosophy and approach. As Carla Rinaldi, the president of Reggio Children says, “you have some key principles that drive you. But, in each culture, in each place you have to develop something different. Never will be possible to have Reggio in other land… and you can have your own strategy” (Thinkersinresidence, 2012). This suggests that we cannot have Reggio Emilia outside Italy, but we can have Reggio Emilia inspired centers. A Reggio Emilia inspired center takes inspiration from Reggio but is grounded in the local context and culture where the inspired center is located. With this in mind, this study explores the following questions: In what ways is Delitto Preschool inspired by Reggio Emilia? Moreover, how do curriculum and pedagogy live within the middle curriculum of Delitto Preschool, when these inspirations meet and become entangled with the realities of the center’s local requirements and emplaced knowledges, practices, and cultures? Using an ethnographic methodology and drawing on the work of curriculum theorist Ted Aoki, this study provides a phenomenological account of the curriculum of the Delitto Preschool, specifically the various ways in which Reggio Emilia inspirations are enacted and negotiated in daily practice.
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