Reggio Emilia Provocations

I became interested in Reggio philosophy when I was teaching in the USA. When I returned to New Zealand I began working at Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten and began attending RE Provocations conferences and workshops with the teachers in my team. I was able to go on a study tour to Reggio Emilia in 2008 and since then we have been working with greater intensity to implement Reggio philosophy in our Centre.

I have had a strong interest in the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and learning for many years and have been a committee member of RE Provocations for the last 7 year.  I have enjoyed being part of providing wonderful professional development opportunities for early childhood and primary teachers who have been inspired by the Reggio philosophy.

I am very privileged to have been the Tour Leader for the International Study Tours to Reggio Emilia for the last 2 years.  These opportunities have given me a deeper understanding of the philosophy and have met some wonderful people with the same vision and passion for early childhood teaching.

I am the Operations Director for ECE Management and our role is to manage early childhood centres for both private and not-for-profit organisations.

I believe children should be given the very best opportunities we can provide to support their learning.  Children deserve respect from caring understanding adults.  Becoming a Grandmother has allowed me to view children through different eyes and recognize the importance that family and community has in moulding the child’s future.

Kia Ora Koutou – Im Karen and I have been involved in the ECE sector for 30 years. Over the years I have seen many changes as different theories and philosophies come and go, but for me The Reggio Emilia Approach really inspired and re-ignited my passion for ECE.

I have been lucky enough to vist Reggio Emilia twice and attend the Study Tour. The presentations and learning from each tour has enriched the learning opportunities we now offer our tamariki at our preschool.  From the beautiful environments, encounters and provocations children are offered to allowing and encouraging children to be researchers and develop their own working theories as well as the way we respect and listen to children and use the child’s interest and voice to lead the research.

I am so inspired by the educational approach of Reggio Emilia. It is an approach that has so many layers and is continually evolving. I have been working with children since 2007 and am currently the Centre Manager at 4 Kids & Whanau Community Centre  in Glenfield.

I had the opportunity to visit the centres and schools of Reggio Emilia in 2016 and 2017 and have been so inspired by the ideas of citizenship and community. We are currently growing our understanding of the Reggio Emilia Approach and implementing these ideas in our centre.

I believe that we have to teach for the children in front of us- that as teachers we have to commit ourselves to professional collaboration that sharpens our pedagogical understanding and practice, a commitment that sees us work consistently in a growth mindset framework. Since being in New Zealand I have had the opportunity to practise in learning environments that have been cultivating my professional drive, affording me opportunities to make meaning of the values identified in the schools of Reggio Emilia, whilst seeking to suitably transfer them to our own context of teaching and learning.

My involvement with Reggio Emilia Provocations has been consistent for the last 15 years. By joining the committee I hope that my different experience, expertise and perspective, will create additional opportunities for professional development to the larger ECE community in NZ.