The Courage of Education: Reflections from the Reggio Emilia International Study Tour

Mary Cotton | Kindergarten Teacher

Loris Malaguzzi was an Italian educator, pedagogist, and founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach, born and raised in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Following World War II, he worked with families to establish a new vision for early childhood education, grounded in a desire for change, democracy, and hope. Together, they built schools not simply as places of care and education, but as spaces where a different future was imaginable. At the heart of this movement was a belief in children’s rights and education as a force for a more peaceful and just society, and so the Reggio Emilia Approach was born.

This history is significant given the current global climate and the critical dialogue that Reggio schools do not shy away from. Our colleagues in Reggio Emilia remind us that education is never neutral: it is relational, political, and deeply human work. The phrase often associated with the approach, peace and the courage of education, resonates as both a provocation and a responsibility for educators today.

French philosopher, sociologist, and educational thinker Edgar Morin writes that thinking ecologically is one of the most important ways of engaging with the complexities of our times. This idea invites us to move beyond isolated knowledge and consider the interconnectedness between people, ideas, systems, and environments. The Reggio Emilia Approach embodies this ecological perspective through its emphasis on relationships, collaboration, and collective learning.

The Reggio Emilia Approach holds significant meaning for us at Amici, as we are guided by values and principles that place children at the centre of all learning. They are citizens with rights from birth, curious and capable learners who are deeply connected with their communities. We honour each child’s voice, encourage inquiry and creativity, and foster meaningful relationships that support a lifelong love of learning.

Learning is understood as a dynamic process that is co-constructed through dialogue, research, and participation. At Amici, we view children as active protagonists in their learning and aim to ensure this perspective continues to guide our pedagogy and practice. We must ensure that the Image of the Child is visible within the contexts in which we teach and within the spaces where children live and grow. Holding a holistic view of the child is foundational, it shapes the experiences we design, the questions we ask, the materials we offer, and the relationships we nurture. We believe children are capable, intelligent, and full of potential, with their theories, ideas, and ways of knowing deeply respected. Therefore, listening becomes more than a strategy, it becomes an ethical stance grounded in curiosity and connection. At Amici, these ideas continue to guide our practice as we strive to create meaningful learning experiences that honour children’s voices, foster authentic relationships, and support each child to flourish within a connected and caring community.

The Hundred Languages of Children encompasses cognitive, poetic, symbolic, communicative, and imaginative ways of knowing the world. Malaguzzi reiterates that the Hundred Languages offer infinite ways for children to express, explore, and connect their thoughts, feelings, and imaginings. This provokes us to expand our understanding of learning, success, and achievement. Our role is to educate thinkers who can engage with a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and interconnection, and so we consider his idea, nothing without joy, as we strive to facilitate learning that is meaningful, collaborative, and grounded in wonder, connection, and possibility.

Italian philosopher, educator, and scholar Mauro Ceruti describes relation as a fundamental strategy of knowledge in a dance between subjective, individual, and inter-subjective group processes. There is a deeply relational nature of learning within Reggio contexts, as knowledge is constructed through dialogue with children, educators, families, and community.

Relationships are essential within the Reggio Emilia Approach. They reshape our role as educators, as we position ourselves as co-researchers and collaborators alongside children. Observation, documentation, and reflection make learning visible and deepen understanding over time. This is an intentional, interpretive, and analytical process that invites dialogue, revisiting, and shared meaning making with children.

Another pertinent aspect of the approach is the commitment to sustainability and the use of intelligent materials. Materials are chosen thoughtfully for their capacity to provoke research, connection, collaboration, curiosity, and creativity. Open-ended resources encourage transformation and experimentation, while also inviting children to think critically and imaginatively. Italian educator and atelierista Vea Vecchi articulates this beautifully, when ideas meet with hands, extraordinary things happen. Thoughts give shape to the materials, and the materials remodel the thoughts, and then the things we do grow along with our own growing.

As we refer to The Environment as the Third Teacher, we are reminded that thoughtfully designed spaces play a vital role in children’s learning and development. We place great value on the intentionality with which our learning spaces are designed and re-designed with children, aiming to support their independence, curiosity, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Spaces, materials, and lighting are carefully selected and arranged, inviting children into provocations that deepen their understanding as they build knowledge, engage in inquiry processes, and make connections, while their imagination and sense of wonder flourish.

The culture of the atelier offers important provocations for contemporary education. The atelier is more than a studio, it is a place for investigation, research, experimentation, and creative thinking. It reflects a commitment to aesthetics, beauty, and the creative process within learning which is critical to intellectual, social, and emotional development. The arts are not separated from learning, they are deeply embedded within processes of inquiry, interpretation, and meaning making. This creates space for complexity, openness, and multiple perspectives to coexist. In Reggio contexts, an atelierista works alongside educators and children to support project outcomes, with a focus on symbolic expression, deeper forms of inquiry, and skill acquisition.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is a way of thinking, grounded in values and principles that continue to guide educators around the world. It propels us into an ongoing pedagogical relationship with critical reflection and dialogue. It asks educators to think deeply about the Image of the Child, the Hundred Languages of Children, the Environment as the Third Teacher, the importance of relationships and participation, and the possibilities of education within a democratic society.

I have returned from the Reggio Emilia International Study Tour inspired, with a deeper appreciation of the privilege of educating young children, and of the courage education requires. Perhaps one of the most important provocations I bring back is, what kind of future are we imagining alongside children? In a time marked by uncertainty and complexity, the Reggio Emilia Approach offers a hopeful reminder that education can remain a space for dialogue, creativity, connection, and peace; a place where worlds yet to be imagined can begin.