Publication Cover
Teacher Development
An international journal of teachers' professional development
Volume 15, 2011 - Issue 3
261
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

‘You can’t mandate what matters’: bumping visions against practices

&
Pages 305-318 | Received 27 Oct 2009, Accepted 25 Mar 2011, Published online: 05 Oct 2011
 

Abstract

In this study, an American public school principal’s vision of promoting growth in her teachers and students was inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. Unlike other educational approaches, this approach did not involve a product, i.e., ‘to become Reggio’, and it did not involve a set of rules or mandates. Instead, the principal had her teachers engaging in a process that examined and bumped into their own teaching practices. Through this work, they also tapped into their own identity, worldviews or beliefs, as well as others’ in order to bring greater awareness, congruency, and growth as individual teachers and as a school. Since there is no direct equivalent of the American public school principal in the Italian approach, this study provides a glimpse of one principal’s role in introducing and utilizing the approach for inspiration, exploration and growth.

Notes

1. For a more extensive list, see Gandini (Citation1997).

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.