Exploring Pedagogical Relationships Within a Culture of Creativity in a Reggio Emilia-Inspired School
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EXPLORING PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY IN A REGGIO EMILIA-INSPIRED SCHOOL by Barbara A.T. Becraft A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida December 2013 Copyright by Barbara A. T. Becraft 2013 ii EXPLORING PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY IN A REGGIO EMILIA-INSPIRED SCHOOL by Barbara A.T. Becraft This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's dissertation advisor, Dr. Gail E. Burnaford, Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Education and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Gail E. Burnaford, Ph.D. Dissertation Advisor ~fM;tfHIL, Nancy Brown, E . ~vL~ Susannah Brown, Ph.D. 111 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my family and closest friends for encouraging me to be true to myself and become the “protagonist” of my own story. To my father, most especially, I am grateful for believing in me before I was able to believe in myself. This work is dedicated to his memory. To my husband, I am thankful always for his endless supply of optimism and support. To my colleagues and mentors at Florida Atlantic University, I thank you for staying by my side in this work and seeing it through to the end with me. To my Reggio Emilia “familia,” I remain always in your debt for the love and creative spirit you have given so freely to me during this transformative experience. And, in honor of the memory of my teacher, Dr. Margaret Yonemura, who introduced me to the idea of the progressive educator working side-by-side with the strong and creative child. This dissertation would not have been possible without the contributions of all of these important people. iv ABSTRACT Author: Barbara A.T. Becraft Title: Exploring Pedagogical Relationships Within a Culture of Creativity in a Reggio Emilia-inspired School Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Gail E. Burnaford Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2013 The current study explores what characterizes the relationship between the pedagogical processes within a school culture of creativity in a Reggio Emilia-inspired school in the Southeastern United States. The questions which frame the study are: 1. How is a culture of creativity fostered within a Reggio Emilia-inspired school? 2. Within a culture of creativity, what characterizes the relationship between the pedagogical processes of curriculum and assessment? The research was designed as ethnography and incorporates multiple data sets which provide layers of rich and descriptive information that reveal how to foster a culture of creativity in a school for young children. These data sets were generated by the researcher and the study participants over 18 weeks of ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation. These data sets include class group observations, professional v development observations, interviews, focus groups, and audio-photo vignettes of the life of the Reggio Emilia-inspired school which served as the research site for the ethnography. Through ongoing, iterative, and eclectic processes of qualitative data analysis, the researcher identified four emergent themes in the combined data generated during fieldwork. These themes represent the four findings of the study and are presented in the work in terms of answers to research questions, as well as how they support study conclusions, implications, and suggestions for future research in early childhood education. The four thematic findings that emerged in the ethnographic data generated for this study are: The Protagonists, The Daily Life, Research and Analysis, and Languages of Expression. vi EXPLORING PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY IN A REGGIO EMILIA-INSPIRED SCHOOL LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................xv Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Statement of Problem ..............................................................................................3 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................7 Research Questions ..................................................................................................8 Conceptual Definitions ............................................................................................8 A Theoretical Framework: Constructivism, Progressivism, the Reggio Emilia Approach, and Reggio and Creativity ....................................................................14 Constructivism ...........................................................................................15 Progressivism .............................................................................................16 The Reggio Emilia Approach ....................................................................17 Guiding Principles of Reggio .........................................................18 Reggio and Creativity ................................................................................20 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................23 Organization of the Study ......................................................................................25 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................26 The Context of Early Childhood Education ...........................................................26 Problematic Trends in Curriculum and Assessment in Early Childhood Education ...............................................................................................................27 Valuing the Child in Curriculum Building: Emergence and Creativity ................29 Creating Solutions to Real Problems: The “Shoe and Meter” Project ...................31 vii Pedagogical Processes: Curriculum and Assessment in the Reggio Emilia Approach ................................................................................................................32 Curriculum: Emergent and Alive ...............................................................32 Assessment: Redefining Traditional Constructs ........................................33 Research on the REA .............................................................................................35 Guiding Principles in Action .....................................................................36 Image of the Child .........................................................................36 The 100 Languages of Children .....................................................37 Importance of Relationships ..........................................................38 The Role of the Teacher .................................................................39 The Role of the Environment .........................................................39 Documentation ...............................................................................40 Progettazionne................................................................................43 Stories of Professional Development .........................................................44 Pedagogical Documentation: A Catalyst for Transformative Experiences ................................................................................................45 Inclusive Education: The Special Rights of Children ................................47 Creativity in Early Childhood Education ...............................................................48 Increased Policy Support Internationally for Creativity in Early Education ...................................................................................................51 Frameworks for Studying Creativity .........................................................52 Barriers to Creativity for Schools ..............................................................53 Assessment for Creative Learning .............................................................55 “Possibility Thinking”: Creativity as a Bridge to Unexpected Solutions ..............56 School Culture and Creativity ................................................................................57 Pause and Possibility: Criticism and Contributions of the Reggio Emilia Approach ................................................................................................................60 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................63 Research Design .....................................................................................................64 Sampling Plan ............................................................................................66 viii Site .................................................................................................66 Participants .....................................................................................69 Children..............................................................................70 Parents ................................................................................71