Early Childhood Curriculum Development

This assignment delves into the concept of early childhood curriculum development through the lens of the Reggio Emilia approach. It analyzes the fundamental principles of this pedagogical philosophy, reflects on its application in a practical setting, and proposes strategies to enhance its implementation. The document emphasizes the importance of emergent curriculum, documentation, and parental involvement as core elements of the Reggio Emilia approach.

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Early childhood curriculum development
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction: 2
Curriculum development: 2
Personal evaluation: 3
Recommendation: 4
Reflection: 4
References: 6

2EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Introduction:
According to Loris Malaguzzi, the process of learning in the early childhood is largely
influenced by the consequences of their own activities assisted by the educators, not as an
automatic result of what is taught essentially to the children in school. This idea of the director of
preschools of Reggio Emilia in Italy forms the basis of Reggio Emilia approach to early child
education and curriculum development. This modern and contemporary concept has been
revolutionary in changing the face of early child schooling and introduces the children to the
concept of education in the context of interactive and successful team work. So that they can get
the opportunity to retain what they learn in the form of innovative actions they perform rather
than just memorizing bland textbooks (Ailwood, Boyd & Theobald, 2016). This assignment will
attempt to outline curriculum development for early child group taking the aid of Reggio Emilia
approach.
Curriculum development:
It has to be understood that in early child education, the children are introduced to the very
foundation of education for the very first time; the development of a curriculum in this stage
holds crucial importance for the overall intellectual development of the children. The
contemporary approach of Reggio Emilia, envisions children as a curious social identity, hence
the curriculum designed for each child must be contextual to the specific curiosities and cater to
their own interests as well. The curriculum design in the Reggio Emilia has a number of different
components, and each component has essential value in the entire process of curriculum
development (Ailwood, Boyd & Theobald, 2016). The very first component is the image of the

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child in the eyes of the educator, the educator must view a child as a curious yet intelligent social
creature and design the curriculum in a manner that feeds their curiosity and fortifies their
intelligence. In the curriculum design the educators must take into account the potentials of the
children creating a learning environment where the children are liberated to respond
appropriately. The second component of the curriculum is incorporating collaboration and
interaction, the Reggio Emilia approach is based on relation based teaching and a curriculum
based on this approach must incorporate inclusion exponentially (Bour & Law, 2014). This
contemporary approach of learning forms a link between the children, their families and their
educators, so that each member of this team has equal involvement in the learning procedure. In
the curriculum development by Reggio Emilia approach, documentation is a crucial part; the
educators in this curriculum must document all informational data along with the observation on
how the children are progressing, in the form of photographs, videos, transcripts, paintings, etc.
In this context it has to be mentioned that it is an emergent kind of curriculum and there must be
hundred languages in which the children can learn, it can be experience, activity, discussion,
team work, playing, constructing, role playing, painting sculpting and what not. The role of the
educators is of a co-constructor, researcher, documenter and advocates, all at the same time
ensuring the best learning experience for the children (Farquhar & White, 2014).
Personal evaluation:
The early child education model based on Reggio Emilia approach is a pedagogical learning
model, that emphasizes on enhancing the intellect and cognitive development of the children by
the means of collaborative or mutual experiences and activities. This model bears the link to two
exemplary theories of childhood learning, the social learning theory and the theory of cognitive
development. According to the former theory, learning is facilitated by observation, imitation

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and modelling, where as the latter theory speaks of human intelligence development being
intricately linked with environment and personal experiences (Harcourt, 2015). This model of
learning comprises of emergent curriculum that requires the educators to actively and
progressively investigate the individual interests and curiosities of the children, moulding the
curriculum activities according to those interests. Hence it can be taken as the most functional
and beneficial model for the children considering each child unique and addressing their own
characteristics individually (Hong, Shaffer & Han, 2017).
Recommendation:
Although Reggio Emilia model is one of the most used models, it is rarely complied with in
entirety (Wien, 2015). Taking my professional enterprise into consideration, the model is not
completely followed with. For instance the emergent model or curriculum is not perfectly
followed, and the documentation and involvement of families in curriculum development is also
absent. A few strategies were implemented to improve the condition such as:
 Adhering to emergent curriculum by lessening the child : educator ratio by reducing
the number of children and giving the opportunity to the educators to evaluate the
needs of each child with extreme care and attention.
 Incorporate mandatory documentation with the help of centralized information
storage.
 Conducting weekly discussion sessions with the parents so that they can be involved
in the learning and developmental process of the children equally.

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Reflection:
On a concluding note, I would like to add that the strategies were extremely helpful in
improving the curriculum development and educating procedure of the school. Although
reduction in the child:educator ratio was not possible given the staffing shortage, but efforts have
been made to increase the staffing in the future to implement the strategy effectively. Mandatory
documentation helped the educators reflect on their own performance and periodic assessment of
the children and their progress was eased. Lastly, weekly meetings with the parents of the
children proved extremely beneficial in understanding each child in detail and assess their
individual interests with clarity.

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References:
Ailwood, J., Boyd, W., & Theobald, M. (2016). Understanding Early Childhood Education and
Care in Australia: Practices and Perspectives. Allen & Unwin. Retrieved from
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/89761
Bour, S., & Law, C. E. (2014). Reggio Emilia Teaching Techniques and Documentation within
Chicago Public School Special Education. Retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aef2/2042544ab5a061b7d6f83c9f89f145bd4ced.pdf
Farquhar, S., & White, E. J. (2014). Philosophy and pedagogy of early childhood. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.783964
Harcourt, D. (2015). Nothing without joy: The key principles of the Reggio Emilia
approach. Educating Young Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood
Years, 21(3), 26. Retrieved from
https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=844524919256727;res=IELHSS
Hong, S. B., Shaffer, L., & Han, J. (2017). Reggio Emilia inspired learning groups:
Relationships, communication, cognition, and play. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 45(5), 629-639. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0811-0
Wien, C. A. (2015). Emergent curriculum in the primary classroom: Interpreting the Reggio
Emilia approach in schools. Teachers College Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.co.in/books