Sarah Byron-Wood Interview, June 2021

Deborah Steel is a primary trained teacher with 25 years experience, currently completing the Reggio Foundation’s first ever PhD.

Tell our followers a little bit about yourself and the work you're doing for your PHD. When and how did you first become interested and involved in the Reggio Emilia approach? 

I was always interested in the Reggio approach throughout my teaching career and at the beginning of 2019 after completing my Masters and continuing to teach for many years I saw on Facebook that the Reggio Foundation was advertising it's first ever PhD, in collaboration with the University of Unimore and I thought that would be cool to combine my two loves. By September I was accepted and by November I was in Reggio Emilia studying.

My big question for my PhD is: How does the Reggio Inspired teacher tap into the needs, interests and aspirations of the Super diverse learner using the pedagogy of listening?

Super diversity is a new term in the social sciences, which is contributing to theory building on the social organisation of difference. It has just been officially represented in a model this last year.

So what this is about essentially, is how super diverse our communities are now (our world is now). The cities of Vancouver, Sydney and Auckland—based in three major countries of current global migration—powerfully represent and demonstrate processes of urban super-diversification. The nature of these cities has been fundamentally shaped by immigration. Nearly 40 percent of metropolitan Auckland’s residents, as recorded in the 2013 census, were born outside New Zealand, and the corresponding figures for Sydney and Vancouver in 2016 were, respectively, 43 and 41 percent. As a result new communities are created and complex identities are recognised. Variables of super diversity can involve all sorts of things, and any combinations of them e.g. educational background, gender, financial position, race, cultural values & practices, religion and special needs etc. In fact what we say is "we're all super diverse" which means we're a collection of any combination of variables.

This creates new conditions in society and within that comes positive spin offs, but there are also inequities. Our New Zealand curriculum, Te Whariki is world renowned for the bicultural nature of both it’s theory and practice, but the delivery of any curriculum is also socially and politically influenced by teachers, so a regular part of Reggio’s democratic practice is that teachers support each other to reflect on their practice and the perspectives that they bring to the classroom. So, I have the privilege of getting alongside teachers and talking with them, almost at a collegial level as they examine the perspectives they bring to their relationships in the Bear Park setting, including the construction of learning projects which enables success for all super diverse learners. This is because we now recognize the super diversity of the children coming into our educational centres and therefore it is important that we examine how our belief and value systems impact the children we are working with. 

You're working with multiple centres across Auckland, how have you found that experience? 

I'm working with Bear Park, Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten in Pakuranga and Arrowtown Preschool, in Central Otago.

The different centres have many similarities in terms of their Reggio Inspired & Te Whariki approach, but each with their own point of difference. They connect Te Whariki, our bi cultural early childhood curriculum with the Reggio Approach in what is termed, “A Reggio Inspired curriculum”. They take great pride in the environments that they provide for the children; they are each very outdoors focused and believe in the power of learning from/in nature. 

Bear Park has been one of the centres you have worked with, how would you describe their application of the Reggio philosophy?

Working with Bear Park, I've had a number of zoom interviews with their staff and have been in the classrooms. Firstly, they demonstrate the principle of the ‘Image of the Child’, by relating to all children as strong, rich and full of potential, meaning that they are capable co constructors of their own understanding of the world, and of knowledge building processes. Of course in the educational setting their teachers are a huge part of this. Teachers actively listen to the children and promote this listening as part of co-construction of the learning process, including negotiation skills. Relationships are key- they are strongly connected to the needs, interests and aspirations of children and their families. They take great care with the environments that they provide for the children; including a belief in the power of learning from nature. Bear Park has a talented Atelierista, who works collaboratively with the teachers all the time, to enhance the learning opportunities, which are carried out through project based learning, where knowledge and understanding is co constructed with others. You will see evidence everywhere of children’s learning, in the form of what Reggio calls documentation- this is what we call ‘visible listening’ and is used to inform the direction of learning.

Of course the whole Bear Park team throughout New Zealand is professionally guided by owner Sue Stevely- Cole who is an incredibly experienced Reggio inspired practitioner. Sue, and many of her teachers have been attending Professional Development courses in Reggio Emilia for years, and are currently about to take part in Reggio’s latest online digital professional development with a group of Asia Pacific teachers. This passion for the Reggio Approach and her commitment to a philosophy of continual research contributes to a quality educational environment for the children.

The teachers are working with super-diversity in a way that shows they understand it in themselves and others and their work is very much reflective of and responsive to their communities. Bear Park has a large Chinese community within their centres and the families often have the grandparents living with them as well. They essentially are raising their children with strong traditional perspectives from the grandparents as well as the New Zealand culture, and many of the Bear Park teachers have been in conversations with some of the families about identity in relation to what it means to be a Chinese New Zealander.

And in terms of identity do you mean bringing through those valued traditions as well embracing that kiwi culture at the same time? Which I can imagine could be quite difficult but also enriching for the child in the long term.

Very much, they are exploring identity and culture together, which is very cool. One of the things that has come out of my research with Bear Park already- and which is obviously important in these times, is creating a culture which understands that we often see things differently, but that if we can learn to negotiate our differences- this will benefit all of us, and the world in many ways. 

What are the key elements of the Reggio approach?

The image of the child

In the Reggio Approach they choose to see the child as rich, strong, intelligent and full of potential. This means that when they engage with children (in fact all human beings) their lens of choice is positive. Each child has the right to be respected and valued in their own identity, uniqueness and difference- and in their rhythms of growth and development. Each child is seen as an active protagonist of their growth and development process.

Progettazione (Project learning)

The educational action takes place by means of progettazione, which is the process of planning and designing the teaching and learning opportunities and the environment; it is not by a predefined curriculum, this is because it is a strategy of thought and action that is respectful and supportive of the learning processes of children and adults- it accepts doubt, uncertainty and mistakes as resources and is capable of being modified in relation to the evolution of contexts. 

This fits well with the New Zealand Early Childhood curriculum Te Whariki, which is based on similar principles. 

Group learning/ relations/ Co construction. 

The approach to knowledge is one of ‘research’- involving research with others and the exchange of knowledge centred on the learning of the child in the group, and with the group, rather than an approach based on transmission teaching.

The Atelier

The atelier is an art based workshop within an early learning centre. It is most often art based, but could be for example, be ‘nature based- it depends on the strengths of the atelierista.  

The Atelierista is an artist who is employed to work in the school with the teachers. Their role is to actively bring a different perspective to learning and thinking. A significant part of their role is to support the development of children’s ‘100 languages’. Essentially they consciously introduce new or different ideas, tools, knowledge and perspectives to teachers and children- particularly in the arts and expressive languages which are empathetic with the ways children build knowledge and with their creative processes. 

This deliberately fosters a democratic environment where different points of view require democratic negotiation. Democracy is a core value of the Reggio Approach. 

The principle of the 100 languages

As human beings, children possess a “hundred languages”, a hundred ways of thinking, of expressing themselves, of understanding, and of encountering others. The “hundred languages” is a metaphor for the extraordinary potential of children (human beings), their knowledge building and creative processes. 

Listening

When Reggio teachers work with children they ‘listen’ to the child in whatever language(s)/forms that child is using to express themselves; this may be in the form of drawing, speaking, clay, writing, music, wood, paper, wire etc.

Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences) confirms that Reggio Inspired teachers know how to listen to children... they allow them to take initiative and simultaneously guide them in productive ways. In fact the learning experiences that Reggio Inspired teachers orchestrate are based on a reciprocal relationship, which is child originated and teacher framed; as Carla Rinaldi, 2006 depicted, it is much like, “finding one's way by using a compass rather than taking a train”.’

Documentation

Documentation is the word to express the capturing (with one's own lens/ social construct) the voice of the child- it is ‘visible listening’. BUT it is important to remember that Reggio Emilia recognises that the world is constantly evolving- so our responses to the world are never static. They are always in relation or “in response” to the other- e.g. person, group, environment.

From my thesis abstract: ‘Carla Rinaldi says that Reggio’s principle of documentation is ‘visible listening’ where ‘listening means welcoming uncertainty and living in the zone of proximal development’ (Rinaldi 2006).’

Environment (I know who I am because of you). 

The environment is considered a participating actor in the educational relationship (not merely as an indifferent container). Intelligence is not contained to the individual “mind” but is distributed among the people, the environments and the materials.

As a parent I wasn’t aware of the Reggio approach until I started looking, do you think the number of schools using this approach is increasing? 

I do know it's pretty strong and the people and the networks that I've met, are passionate about it, and are doing a great job. I can only speak for the ones that I'm working closely with.

Both the Montessori methodology and the Reggio approach came out of twentieth-century Italy. How do these two pedagogies differ from each other?  

Maria Montessori was the first to introduce the idea of early childhood in Italy. In Reggio Emilia they say that they stand on the shoulders of a giant because they both believe in early childhood education... but they have taken a different approach to Montessori.

They both believe in a rich child (the value of a child) Montessori does things in a structured way, i.e. following a model, which has progressions; where as Reggio says, what are your interests? how can we co construct and work with your understanding of the world? and there's freedom in that. It's about freedom and democracy where people can navigate their way through the enormous world in a way that suits their understanding. I guess you could say that the Reggio Approach is more organic

Often parents specifically choose to send their children to centres that apply the Reggio approach, is there a role for parents to play outside of the classroom?

Totally, Reggio is relational based- the belief is that the parents are partners in the child’s education. It started with parents after the war. Reggio Emilia, the city is all about a democratic way of life- similar to the schools- it is very much based on participation. Very much about connections.

“We think of education as a triad, not just teacher and child.” (Loris Malaguzzi).

How are the children responding to the Reggio approach in the centres you have worked with?

I think they're very happy, they are treated respectfully and listened to. They learn to listen to and work with others. I think they're very happy children because their learning is interesting and relevant to their lives

And what's next for you and your journey? 

I'm half way through, I have another field trip to all my schools coming up, and next year I would love to get back to Reggio Emilia and see my colleagues. Other than that I'm not sure, I always said I'm doing this for my grandchildren, for the future... It's really important that the views of others, democracy and equity continue in super diverse communities.

Sarah Byron-Wood is a Talent Consultant working with Bear Park, this interview was conducted in consultation with Bear Park Limited.