Describes a private, early (birth to four) therapeutic intervention center in Italy that provides short-term intensive treatment to children with severe visual impairments and possible additional disabilities. The residential program emphasizes maximum use of residual vision, vision stimulation and training, psychological counseling for parents,…

Examines beginning readers' story dictation processes and products over a 16-month period. Investigates level of story structure, conventional expressions, internal responses, spatial-temporal setting, verb tenses, variety of tenses, connectives, anaphora, and dictation process adapting to a scribe. Finds overall development in ability to…

Reggio Emilia's pioneering effort in preschool education has been widely replicated throughout Italy, where almost 90% of nation's children aged 3-6 enroll in national, municipal, private preschools. These preschools are unlike any in the United States. There are no building principals or school boards. America must invest more time, money, and…

Examines American and Italian children's early literacy awareness and activities in preschools. Reveals that children take literacy activities and knowledge from formal lessons and then use, refine, and extend these activites with peers. Considers implications of these findings for theoretical work on children's peer cultures and development of…

This article discusses an early childhood program administrator's reflections on her visit to the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. The following six themes are discussed: (1) teachers' respect for each child; (2) teachers' emphasis on relationships; (3) the importance of art as the medium chosen to represent children's thinking; (4) the…

Four articles discuss the child-centered approach of the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy: "Not Just Anywhere: Making Child Care Centers into 'Particular' Places" (Lella Gandini); "Your Image of the Child" (Loris Malaguzzi); "What Can We Learn from Reggio Emilia: An Italian-American Collaboration (Lella Gandini); and…

Outlines the educational philosophy of Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the experimental preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, which focuses on providing a physical and social environment for learning through interactions among children, teachers, and parents. Discusses formation of communications networks and 12 principles for organizing small group…

This survey of 25 day care centers in 5 regions of Italy was designed to determine the characteristics of competent centers and the effects of differing local regulations on the quality of care provided. The Infant and Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) and a questionnaire were utilized to assess the quality of the day care centers in the…

Conducted in 1991, this study surveyed the quality of day care centers in the province of Pavia, Italy, in order to provide a description of the centers and to trace educational patterns in the infant, young toddler, and toddler sections of the centers. The 32 day care centers located in the province employ a staff of 342 and provide 1,700 places…

Presents abstracts of 10 documents and 11 journal articles representing recent research related to early childhood education, policy and educational provision in Canada, Italy, Latin America, Caribbean, Great Britain, Japan, Africa, Sweden, El Salvador, and Australia. Topics include child labor and basic education, culture and curriculum, social…

Uses careful observations in Reggio Emilia preschools, and three of Thelma Harm's environmental checklists and questions, to identify and analyze the strengths in Reggio Emilia's centers that can be used to assess classroom settings in the United States. Focuses on concepts and practices American teachers can use to improve the teaching-learning…

This presentation examines the state of preschool education in developed and developing nations, and discusses how the art-oriented, child-centered approach of the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, may be used to help improve preschool education worldwide. Although the majority of parents in many nations are satisfied with the educational…

A workshop on Global Perspectives on Early Childhood Education brought together leading experts on preschool education and early learning in other countries. The workshop was intended to stimulate the exchange of ideas on early childhood education by providing an opportunity for early childhood educators, researchers, and policy experts from…

Drawing from several weeks of observation and study in Northern Italian preschools, this paper links practices in Reggio Emilia with the theoretical constructs of John Dewey, Susan Isaacs, and Howard Gardner. Part 1 presents background about the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, which are unique both in their respect for the space created for…

A teacher workshop held in Italy brought together storytellers, teachers at all educational levels, and teaching specialists to explore the pedagogical possibilities of storytelling as a method of teaching French as a foreign language. Teachers learned techniques for helping their students create and tell stories. (MSE)