Educational
Philosophies
"Education is what remains
when we have forgotten all that
we have been taught.”
George Savile, Marquis of Halifax (1633-1695) English
statesman and author.
Reggio Emilia Approach
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Response to WWII (Italy)/more just worlddemocratic
Began – parent initiative
Sought help Loris Malaguzzi
(Constructivist Approach)
Birth through six years of age
1968-Preschool; 1970 Infant Toddler
1991-Innovative approach worldwide
(Newsweek Magazine)
Principles: respect, responsibility,
community
Reggio Emilia Principles
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Child is the protagonist . . .
Some control over learning
Learn through experiences &
exploration (constructivist/ emergent
curriculum)
Relationships with others
Endless ways to express themselves
Reggio Emilia Philosophy
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Involvement Parents. . .
Volunteering
Philosophy in home
Expected to participate
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School policy
Curriculum Planning/Evaluation
Child Development Concerns
Reggio Emilia – Role of
Teachers
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Co-learning, collaborator
Skilled Observers
Curriculum – interests of children
Expand children’s learning –
pictures, videos, notes,
conversations
Absence of teacher manuals &
achievement tests
Children with teacher – 3 years
Reggio Emilia – Long Term
Projects
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Real life problem solving & creative
thinking among peers
Small groups work on projects/based
on developmental and socio cultural
concerns; others self-select activities
Different from thematic approach
High value on improve, flexibility,
children’s interests-enjoy the
unexpected!
Reggio Emilia – The
Environment
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Viewed as 3rd teacher
Belief – children create meaning &
make sense of their world (alphabet)
Plants, natural light, displays of
projects, photographs, children’s
work/discussion comments
Design-set up for interaction, sense
of community
Reggio Emilia – Developmentally
Appropriate Practice
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Some challenges to Western practices
Teacher viewed as confused contributor
to learning versus teacher competence
Importance of child’s ability to negotiate
is emphasized
Reggio Emilia – 100 Languages of Learning
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Travelling exhibition, Loris Malaguzzi
Children investigate
Generate and test hypotheses
Depict understanding through
symbolic languages
Drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, &
writing
Purposely allow mistakes to happen
Trust in children/family to select curriculum
worth knowing about
Reggio Emilia – Video Clip
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UFhcDzAqdk&NR=1 (student clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UFhcDzAqdk&feature=related
(student clip)
Emergent Curriculum Loris Malaguzzi
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNFYFSa0720&feature=related)
Maria Montessori History
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Born Italy
Work – Univ. of Rome – Psychiatric
Clinic/Treatment of children
Directed school for children with mental
disabilities (considered uneducable-2 years
later-passed test)
Motivated study potential of typical children, led
to S.F. Pananma-Pacific International Exposition
(21 children, 4 months, observation booth)
After WWII – emphasis on peace
Maria Montessori Information
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Ages 3 – 6 & 6-12+
Class size (30-35) teacher, assistant
3-hour period of uninterrupted, work time
each day
Assessment-portfolio
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Real test: behavior of children/holistic view
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Happiness, maturity, kindness, love of learning,
concentration, work
Teachers-extensive Montessori training
Prepared environment
Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across ages
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Independence
Observation
Following the Child
Correcting the Child
Prepared Environment
Absorbent Mind
Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across
ages
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Independence
Allow children to succeed
 Offer help only when needed
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Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across
ages
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Observation
By teachers
 Child bangs on objects, need for gross
motor activity such as a drum
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Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across
ages
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Following the Child
Child takes lead
 Help move to next step – stay challenged
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Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across
ages
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Correcting the Child
Mistakes are made
 Calmly help child to decide what to do
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Something is dropped-child picks it up
Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across ages
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Prepared Environment
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Child sized equipment/tables/chairs
Safe for exploration
Ready and beautifully inviting
Activities set up for success (cutting, writing name)
Freedom of choice (versus rotating children from
table to table)
Environment includes the parents
Maria Montessori Approach
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Principles, concepts applied across ages
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Absorbent Mind
 Not necessary for lessons to learn – mind
absorbs everything
 Hands-on active exploration
 Language-cautions teachers to think of
how they talk to children – mutual respect
 Try not to say word “no” to child, instead
say “stop”
Maria Montessori Curriculum
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All areas of intelligences & styles of learning
respected & nurtured/aligns with Howard
Gardner (Multiple Intelligences)
 musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, intuitive,
natural, and the traditional linguistic and
logical-mathematical
Maria Montessori Curriculum
Materials organized 5 Curriculum Areas
 Practical Life
 Sensorial
 Language
 Math
 Cultural
Maria Montessori Video Clip
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM
1Gu9KXVkk (Time 10:05)
http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryon
e.com/top-ten-montessori-videos-onyoutube.html (top 10 videos)
Quote
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“Never help a child with a task
at which he feels he can
succeed.” – Maria Montessori
Waldorf History
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Began 1919
Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher,
teacher & developer/founder of Waldorf
(died 1925)
Started 1st School
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Named/Waldoff-Astoria Cigarette
factory/employees
Stuggart, Germany
Waldorf History
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Steiner focused on writings, lectures, private
consultations
Fields: art, architecture, science, education, ag,
medicine, economic, religion, care of dying,
social organization
Influence today includes Waldorf
Strives to transform education – art
 Whole child – heart, hands & head
 Encourages creativity and “free thinking”
Waldorf History
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2010/600 Schools worldwide, 125 North America;
2 stated funded in Wisconsin/Michigan
Charter Public School in Chico, CA
Private School in Sonora, CA
Families – “middleclass, avoid TV & shopping
malls, buy organic, recycle and compost; want
their children to strive for other things than
those just right SAT scores” (www.waldorf
critics.org)
Waldorf Approach
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Students of Waldorf
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Emphasis on the humanities/arts such as
music, dance, theater
Writing, literature, legends, myths
Learn to knit by first grade
Read, ingest, and test!
Experienced through experiences
Cultivates-life-long learning
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Cognitive, physical, spiritual
To be of service to the world
Waldorf
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Steiner/founder/controversy
Steiner founded Anthroposophy
 Philosophy is NOT taught to Waldorf
students
 Highly complex esoteric (understood by
only by an inner circle) philosophy
 “Cultivating conscientiously form of
thinking independent of sensory
experience.” Wikipedia
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Waldorf
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Spiritual/many definitions
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Highest priority-loving to oneself, others, planet
Happiness comes from within (not materialism)
Yoga, religion, meditation does not define a person
as spiritual
Both religion/spirituality connote belief in a Higher
Power of some kind
Both religion/spirituality desire to connect with
Higher Power, rituals practices, daily moral
behaviors that foster connection
Waldorf Approach
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Responds to three developmental phases
of childhood
 Birth to 7
 7 to 14
 14 to 18
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Steiner suggests: curriculum meaningful
and age appropriate
Waldorf Approach
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Teachers value – inner enthusiasm, think
independently, strive harmony; greet children
each morning with a handshake
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Same teacher – 8 elementary school years
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Similarity to Montessori-both tactile (senses) &
developmentally appropriate curriculum (taught
to knit by 1st grade)
Waldorf Approach
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Educate all children
Understanding of world cultures &
religions (non-sectarian, non
denominational, no particular religious
doctrine)
Spiritual dimension
Families – broad range religious
traditions and interests
Waldorf Environment
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In a time of computers and early
learning (teach your baby to read):
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Emphasis on imagination
Void of brightly colored toys and
bulletin boards
Walls painted in soothing pastels
Waldorf Readiness for Real
World
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2010 Waldorf Website - According to a recent
study of Waldorf graduates:
94% attended college or university
47% chose humanities or arts as a major
42% chose sciences or math as a major
89% are highly satisfied in choice of occupation
91% are active in lifelong education
92% placed a high value on critical thinking
90% highly values tolerance of other viewpoints
Waldorf Readiness for Real
World
Transfer to public school
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Upgrade reading (start at age 7/Waldorf), new
approach to science (differs Waldorfobservation of natural phenomena; Publicformulation of abstract concepts and laws
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Well prepared for social studies, math,
humanities
HighScope
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Began in US – 1960s
Common here, other countries
Preschool, kindergarten, elementary
Based on Jean Piaget’s ideas/active, hands-on
learning, scientists (Swiss psychologist, 18961980)
Led by David Weikert
Teachers/facilitators or partners
Encompasses all aspects of child development
Partnership with parents
HighScope
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David Weikart, Director of special services in the
Ypsilanti, Michigan public school district
Known – successful school district
Interested in the children failing (low scores,
impoverished neighborhoods)
Collaborated
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Committee of elementary education leaders that
included Perry School's, Charles Eugene Beatty,
Michigan's first African-American principal.
Known as the Perry Preschool Project (1962)
Hired 4 teacher, Michigan’s 1st preschool, operation
Perry Elementary School
HighScope Classroom
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Preschool Focus
 Cognitively oriented rather than social and
emotional advances
 Theory for teaching/learning
 Support child’s talents through active
learning
 Support from families, teachers,
administrators
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Designated different activities:
 Water play, reading, sand play, art, writing,
dramatic play, housekeeping, block building
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Independence and responsibility
HighScope Plan-Do-Review
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Formally or informal
First – plan what to do and select
materials
Second – carry out plan
Third – review plan – discuss what
they did and what was successful
Importance of Study to ECE Field
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Late 1960s and early 1970s, research
examining effectiveness of preschoolinconclusive.
1969 Head Start program evaluated by
Westinghouse Learning Corporation
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Findings led policy makers and the public to
believe that Head Start was a failure.
Same time period,Urie Bronfenbrenner &
colleagues reviewed existing studies of
early childhood program effects
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Findings only critical feature of effective
preschool programs was that they targeted
parents.
Importance of Study to ECE Field
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To refute findings, Irving Lazar brought
together researchers conducting
longitudinal studies, effects of early
childhood programs
Formed the Consortium for Longitudinal
Studies.
Main goal-to refute earlier findingspreschool effects diminish with time
Group's work identified clear long-term
effects for children of diverse program
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Some studies focus was children, some
focus was parents
HighScope Perry Preschool
Project
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Well known Study/HighScope research
efforts, longitudinal data collection by
Weikart and colleagues
123 African Americans born in poverty
and at high risk of failing in school
1962–1967, subjects ages 3 and 4
Randomly divided into two groups
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Program group: enrolled high-quality
preschool program based on HighScope's
participatory learning approach
Comparison group who received no
preschool program.
Perry Study – Study
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Originally not a longitudinal study
Effects of each finding, inspired
further data collection
Data collecting: ages 10, 14, 19, 27,
39-41
Perry Study – Early Findings
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Effects Age 10:
Despite diminishing effect intellectual
performance
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Findings as 14-year-olds, even bigger
statistically significant effect
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Fewer held back a grade
Fewer placed in special education
(17% enrolled compared 34% not enrolled)
significantly higher average achievement
scores at age 14
Findings as 19-year-olds
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Significantly higher literacy scores
Perry Study – Adult Findings
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Effects Age 27:
Incidence of crime
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7%-35% arrested 5 or more
7&-25%, drug related offenses
Earnings and economic status
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Earn $2,000 or more a mo. (29%-7%)
Owned their own homes (36%-13%)
Owned second car (30%-13%)
Received welfare assistance/social services
at some time (59%-80%)
Perry Study – Early Findings
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Effects Age 27 (continued):
Educational attainment
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Graduated from high school or GED
certificate (71%-54%)
Marriage and single parenthood
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Married (40%-8%)
Women single parents (57%-83%)
Perry Study – Adults at age 40
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More recent phase (2005), 97% participants still
living,interviewed at age 40.
Other data gathered from school, social
services, and arrest records.
Findings: age 39-41, group attended preschool
compared to control group (did not attend
preschool)
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higher earnings
 more likely to hold a job
 committed fewer crimes
 more likely to have graduated from high
school
Conclusion
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Three strengths
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Polictically
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Design involved random assignment of poor
children either to a preschool program group
or a no-preschool program group. Exception
siblings – assigned to same group.
Research perspective: longitudinal followups through age 27 had very little missing
data — an average of only 5% per measure
Pattern of findings/internally consistent
Head Start supported/Federal Government
State Preschools
Hope-lasting contribution to society
Perry Preschool Project
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http://www.highscope.org/content.as
p?contentid=219
http://www.highscope.org/Content.a
sp?ContentId=232