ABSTRACT
What is so terribly impressive and exceptional about the Reggio experience and the work of Loris Malaguzzi is the way they have challenged the dominating discourses of our time, specifically in the field of early childhood pedagogy-a most unique undertaking for a pedagogical practice! This was achieved by deconstructing the way in which the field has been socially constituted within a scientific, political and ethical context and then reconstructing and redefining children’s and teachers’ subjectivities. That is, they have tried to understand what kinds of thoughts, conceptions, ideas, social structures and behavioural patterns have dominated the field and how these discourses have shaped our conceptions and images of the child and childhood, the way we interact with children and the kind of environment we create for them… As I see it, all of this was possible because Malaguzzi was extremely familiar with the field and its traditions; but he also had the courage and originality to choreograph his own thinking. (Dahlberg, 1995:9-10)
In Reggio they share a social constructionist view based on such concepts as construction, co-construction and reconstruction… Heinz von Foerster, to whom Malaguzzi often referred, argued that ‘objectivity is a subject’s false view that observing can take place without him’. For Malaguzzi, the notion that we cannot describe our world without taking notice and being aware that we are describing it was nurtured by the inspiration he drew from a variety of disciplines. In this connection he was known to cite scientists and philosophers representing, for example, the new quantum mechanics associated with Chaos Theory, the new cybernetics as well as the science of mathematics. Coupled with Malaguzzi’s social constructionist perspective is his awareness of the power of the process of representation. As a result the pedagogues in Reggio have been very much against a textbook approach to their practice with prescribed rules, goals and methods. This explains why they do not have a ‘programme or a curriculum’ that can be readily transferred and applied to another cultural context. I recall Malaguzzi enquiring once, very seriously, in view of all the Swedish pedagogues visiting Reggio, whether many of them were working with the dove now-‘The Dove’ being, by then, one of the most well-known thematic projects in Reggio. I couldn’t help but answer yes! (Dahlberg, 1995: 11-12)
The pedagogical work in Reggio Emilia has become increasingly famous and a source of inspiration to more and more people over recent years. Many people from all over the world visit Reggio each year, staff from Reggio are frequently invited to lecture abroad, and the Reggio exhibition is in constant demand. In 1992, the American magazine Newsweek nominated Diana, one of the early childhood institutions in Reggio, ‘the best in the world’ (perhaps a rather problematic concept from the perspective of Reggio and this book, but nevertheless an indicator that Reggio is widely seen as very important for early childhood pedagogy).
