Educational Program

 To properly understand the program and planning that takes place at Elder Street Early Childhood Centre, we must first explain the educational theory behind the practice. To do this we will introduce you to the Reggio Emilia educational approach.

In April 2015, Mel, our Approved Provider and research and curriculum mentor travelled with the Australian REAIE group of teacher delegates to take part in an educational study tour with 400 other delegates from around the world. The tour took place in Reggio Emilia, Italy.  Mel wanted to understand more and see for herself how this wonderful approach looked in practice in its original Italian context (please see our Resources tab in our website to read her report of this learning experience).  

Our own education and care service is influenced and inspired by the educational approach that takes place in Reggio Emilia.  However, it is important to note that our context is very different to that of an Italian town. We draw from their philosophy and theory to build our own educational program within our own context. 

Reggio Emilia is a city in Northern Italy. It’s infant or toddler centres and preschools are regarded as some of the best in the world. After World War II, the people of Reggio Emilia, inspired by a local philosopher – Loris Malaguzzi, decided that they wanted to provide high quality programs for children. The financial support from the government and dedication from the community led to the development of centres that are an inspiration to early childhood professionals around the world.

The Reggio Emilia approach to education is committed to the creation of conditions for learning that will enhance and facilitate children’s construction of “his or her own powers of thinking through the synthesis of all the expressive, communicative and cognitive languages” (Edwards & Forman, 1993). The Reggio Emilia approach can be viewed as a resource and inspiration to help educators, parents, and children as they work together to further develop their own educational programs. Further information can be learned about the Reggio Emilia approach in Australia by visiting https://reggioaustralia.org.au/.

 Our educational program is based on a mix of elements from the Reggio Emilia approach, Being Belonging and Becoming: The Australian Early Years Learning Framework, and our own pedagogical approaches to formative and summative assessments for young children. These include the following: 

Individual Learning Records: The learning year is broken up into three learning rounds. For learning rounds one and two, educators and each individual child’s family collaborate on a learning focus for the child. A detailed written record of each individual child’s learning and development is recorded and shared with the child’s family when the round finishes.

The third learning round is a summative assessment where educators will record an overview of all the documentation collected through reflecting and evaluating the individual child’s progress over the year.

Project-based learning: Projects are emergent and in-depth studies of concepts, ideas, and interests which arise within the group of children. This form of learning recognises the potential of young children and their ability to question, reflect, problem solve, theorise, experiment, and express their findings through ‘the hundred languages’. The hundred languages is a key principle of the RE approach. Project work is considered a journey where educators work alongside children to make decisions about the direction of study and representational mediums. Throughout this project work, educators create progressive documentation displays for children, families, and educators to support the process of cyclical learning in our environment. 

Emergent Curriculum: An emergent curriculum in one that builds upon the interests of the children. This form of learning is captured from children’s interests, through community and/or family events, as well as known interests of children. Team planning is an essential component of the emergent curriculum. Educators work together to formulate teaching intentions, intended outcomes, proposed teaching strategies, and educational reflections each month during their collaboration meetings.

The environment: The physical and natural environment is known as ‘the third teacher’ and a crucial part of our teaching and learning experiences. Educators carefully plan for and organise the learning environments throughout the year to align with the children’s interests, individual learning records, project- based learning, and emergent curriculum. A well-planned learning environment that is rich in beauty, supports social interactions, and arouses curiosity, fosters the development of creativity, imagination, meaningful learning, and self-identity. This form of planning for both indoors and outdoors is intrinsically embedded in our individual learning, project work and emergent curriculum planning. 

Documentation of children’s learning: To support our educational program, documentation of children’s work in progress is viewed as an important tool in the learning process of children, educators, and families. Photographs, videos, and pedagogical documentation is curated by educators in both digital and physical forms and placed in the learning environment. This pedagogical practice invites a more sensitive and diverse way of understanding and making assessments for and of the children’s learning. The practice of pedagogical documentation intentionally focuses on becoming closer to the children’s lived meanings. Documentation demonstrates why things matter and how they are experienced, understood, and worked through from the children’s perspectives.