Introducing Malaguzzi, Smidt, Sandra

Despite Malaguzzi's reputation, very little of what he wrote or said about early childhood education has been available in English. This book helps fill the gap,　presenting for the first time in English,　writings and speeches spanning 1945 to 1993, selected by a group of his colleagues from an archive established in Reggio Emilia. They range from short poems, letters and newspaper articles to extended pieces about Malaguzzi's early life, the origins of the municipal schools and his ideas about children, pedagogy and schools. This material is organised into five chronological chapters, starting at the end of World War Two and ending just before his death, with introductions to each chapter providing background, including the historical context, the main events in Malaguzzi's life and the rationale for the selection of documents.　

The book　provides　a unique insight into the background, thinking and work of Malaguzzi,　revealing, in his own words, how his thinking developed, how he moved between theory and practice, how he border-crossed many disciplines and subjects, and how he combined many roles ranging from administrator and campaigner to researcher and pedagogue. Academics, students and practitioners alike will find this landmark publication provides rich insights into his life and work.

In this accessible and engaging text, Sandra Smidt examines how Malaguzzi's philosophy developed out of his personal experiences of growing up in post-fascist Italy. His ideas are explored and illustrated throughout by examples relating to everyday early years practice. The key themes explored include:

• relationships -- the importance of relationships, culture and contexts to learning within any setting and beyond;
• transparency -- the importance of listening and documentation to understanding and sharing learning;
• questioning -- inviting children to not only answer questions but raise them, allowing them to be equal partners in all learning situations;
• creativity -- finding ways of enabling children to use all the expressive languages they can find to express and share their ideas;
• equity and fairness -- involving the community in all decision-making and discussions, to ensure that early childhood education is accessible and relevant to all children.　

This book will be of benefit to all those working with young children and essential reading for students on early childhood education programmes.

Despite Malaguzzi's reputation, very little of what he wrote or said about early childhood education has been available in English. This book helps fill the gap,　presenting for the first time in English,　writings and speeches spanning 1945 to 1993, selected by a group of his colleagues from an archive established in Reggio Emilia. They range from short poems, letters and newspaper articles to extended pieces about Malaguzzi's early life, the origins of the municipal schools and his ideas about children, pedagogy and schools. This material is organised into five chronological chapters, starting at the end of World War Two and ending just before his death, with introductions to each chapter providing background, including the historical context, the main events in Malaguzzi's life and the rationale for the selection of documents.　

The book　provides　a unique insight into the background, thinking and work of Malaguzzi,　revealing, in his own words, how his thinking developed, how he moved between theory and practice, how he border-crossed many disciplines and subjects, and how he combined many roles ranging from administrator and campaigner to researcher and pedagogue. Academics, students and practitioners alike will find this landmark publication provides rich insights into his life and work.