We Are All Explorers: Learning and Teaching with Reggio Principles in Urban Settings

This is the first book to systematically examine a large, program-wide implementation of the Reggio Approach in the United States. The authors provide a thoughtful, well-documented description and analysis of a multi-site preschool program serving low-income Latino and African American children and their families in the Chicago Commons Schools. While focusing on the application, meaning, and value of Reggio Emilia principles in preschool classrooms, the authors describe how those same principles and processes pervade relationships with parents, teacher professional development, and the overall organization of the program. Offering a powerful combination of theory and practice, this comprehensive model:

• Includes classroom examples, dialogues, and questions that can be adapted to both pre- and in-service teacher education.
• Considers standards-based curriculum by describing literacy, math, and other school-readiness components of the program.
• Provides suggestions for educational leaders who are considering using Reggio Emilia principles in their own context.
• Offers many rich examples of teachers’ documentation and children’s work from the 12-year Chicago Commons Study.

Daniel R. Scheinfeld is Senior Research Associate at Erikson Institute in Chicago, Karen M. Haigh is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Columbia College in Chicago, and Sandra J. P. Scheinfeld is a Research Associate at Erikson Institute and a freelance documenter.