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

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.

Keywords:

• Reggio Emilia approach
• early childhood
• teacher change

Notes

1. For a more extensive list, see Gandini (1997).