The Role of the Pedagogista in Reggio Emilia. Voices and Ideas for a Dialectic Educational Experience. Stefania Giamminuti, Paola Cagliari, Cludia Guidici and Paola Strozzi. Routledge: Contesting Early Childhood Series. London and New York. 2024

Introduction

Sitting in a café reading this book, Pink Floyd’s ‘Just another brick in the wall’ was playing in the background. I wondered how many teachers, children and young people in the U.K. currently feel like ‘Just another brick in the wall’? Whereas in Reggio Emilia shortly after the end of WWII a village community came together to build a pre-school brick by brick.

The Role of the Pedagogista book is inward looking, at the role of the pedagogista and how that is lived out; and as such is an essential read for all those who want to deepen their understanding of Reggio Emilia’s pedagogy. But it is also outward looking as it challenges us to consider our educational systems and our own experience. It is timely for educators who feel the current system wants compliant children and compliant teachers but aspire to or want to evolve a relational pedagogy. It is a crucial read for everyone who has a care for and wants to be active in changing our early childhood education system. It’s rich and dense; needing time to read, think, revisit, and discuss with colleagues. It is an invitation to put ourselves in play, to explore possibilities together for the common good.

This review is based upon the dialogue between three colleagues. We shared our perspectives, what was significant for us, to deepen our understandings together, and so is in the spirit of confronto and how the book was written.

Significant themes

The book builds upon previous publications, such as The Hundred Languages of Children, Making Learning Visible, in revisiting and expanding on of some of the concepts and theoretical underpinnings and introduces some more recent terminology.  The authors consider the importance of the language used, why they chose to use particular terminology, expanding on their interpretations and meanings. For example, the term confronto, in English could be confused with confrontation, whereas the Italian term refers to an open exchange, being open to other perspectives and points of view.

Throughout the book the lived experience of the pedagogistas within a democratic system becomes visible. It explores their role within a particular nidi or scuola dell’ infanzia; their wider role across several early childhood centres; and the collective role of the team of pedagogistas in professional formation, including across the community and city institutions. The documented examples used show the rich dialogue between teachers and pedagogista; their non-hierarchical relationships; their valuing of each other’s perspectives; the questions they posed to each other; the knowledge they each brought, and what each were learning in the process.

The notion and importance of professional formation is discussed throughout and how the pedagogistas are central to this across the pre-schools, community and city. Whilst the theoretical knowledge of pedagogistas is drawn upon, the stance on research is open-ended, co-constructed inquiry that creates new understandings.

‘In Reggio Emilia theory and practice (or design and making) are not pitted against each other, one mistrusting the other as so often occurs in other contexts, but rather they are inextricably connected through Pensiero progettuale  and documentation, and thus daily life is lived.’(p. 156)

There are examples showing teachers and pedagogistas together examining pedagogical documentation to co-construct meanings and decide upon how the ‘progettuale’ will proceed with the children. This is very different to evidence-based research designed to prove predetermined conclusions; it is non-hierarchical and generative. Chapter 6 illuminates how they used the everyday context of the children setting up the tables for lunch. Their research revealing the children’s capabilities in mathematical thinking and their democratic relationships. It shows educators and pedagogistas drawing upon the concept of putting oneself in play (mettersi in giocco); the idea of everyone being in a state of becoming and being in development; of everyday professional formation.

The authors movingly elaborate on their ethic of care and reclaim the term as involving open intellectual engagement, moving beyond gendered or diminished connotations. They describe it as caring and taking responsibility for; as the ‘hard work’ of care; caring and thoughtfulness for each other, the environment, and community. It is reciprocal and relational in nature, both affecting and being affected.

Drawing upon the book in UK context

The book has practical applications for early years educators in the U.K. Whilst those educators first encountering Reggio Emilia philosophy and experience might find the whole book daunting, lead educators could use small sections to engage staff and generate team discussions. The book provokes us to be thoughtfully caring, to put ourselves in play, to be protagonists, to become, to find new beginnings.  It invites us to look at the everyday experiences of children and educators; to look at how we dialogue with children and with our fellow educators. It emphasises how dialectic encounters require cultural change at every level; as individual teachers, lead pedagogues, Head teachers, and organizations. It challenges us in the spirit of confronto. For example: what language do we choose to use (rather than that imposed upon us) that best fits our values, ethics, aspirations?

The book is overtly political, directly challenging the neoliberal, measurement-driven systems, currently dominant in our context; debunking these educational narratives. Rather than compliant children and teachers, they talk about competent children and teachers, and education as a ‘right’.

‘The right to competent teachers and pedagogistas, the right to a school. I have always felt like I am part of a project, that I belong to a community, and I have lived this as a civic and political responsibility. My own small part is made of circles connected to others, it is nurtured in confronto with others, through the points of view of others and in listening to others. It is as if you give form and content to democracy.’ (Marina Castagnetti, teacher, Reggio Emilia) p. 286

The authors notions of care, education commons, solidarity, and democracy provoke us to find collegiality with others. ‘Education Commons requires a stance both practical and experimental, expanding potentials and freedoms’ (p. 301).  We are not just bricks in the wall; we can connect together to rebuild something new.

‘Our pedagogy works so that parents, teachers, people, evaluating together and analysing educational issues, can understand how the history and future of children, and the history and future of schools, are closely linked with events and struggles on several fronts of society; and that their task is to be committed, day by day, to a better understanding of causes and forces threatening to keep this unjust world the way it is. To work for a new world, reflected in schools, reflected in children, who while living in the present more fully, have the privilege of choosing and creating their future destiny.’ (Malaguzzi, 1970, in Cagliari et al., 2016, p. 183). p. 301

Book references

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds). (2012). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation. Praeger

Guidici, C., Rinaldi, C., & Krechevsky, M. (2001). Making learning visible: Children as individual and group learners. Reggio Children.

Liz Elders, Rosie Knight, Chris Merrick for Sightlines Initiative.