Video: Learning about the Reggio Emilia Approach

This video is one of the first news reports sharing the philosophy of the preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy with Americans (Bill Clinton was the President). Yet, this approach dates back to right after World War II. 

"The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It was developed by Loris Malaguzzi, who was a teacher himself, and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II. After such a great and destructive event, people believed that children were in need of a new way of learning: the assumption was that people form their own personality during early years of development and, moreover, that children are endowed with "a hundred languages". The aim of this approach is teaching how to make them useful in everyday life. 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 of the children through a self-guided curriculum."

Educators from around the world tour the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Schools outside of Reggio Emilia, Italy that adopt aspects of the approach to early education are considered "Reggio Inspired" schools. Here is a school in the United States that has been inspired by the educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy.