John Dewey and Reggio Emilia: Using the Arts to Build a Learning Community

Abstract

Similarities are identified across cultures and time in the examples analyzed for commonalities including arts creation as central to the processes of learning, democratic processes in collaborative project learning experiences, community involvement as an integral part of the learning processes, and imagination and communication as consistent elements in the experiences of the school. This study provides a historical and contemporary context for the cross-cultural analysis of the use of art in the learning processes as described by American educator John Dewey and the educators in the Reggio Emilia schools of Italy.

Citation

Saab, J.F. and Stack, S.F. (2014), "John Dewey and Reggio Emilia: Using the Arts to Build a Learning Community", Learning Across the Early Childhood Curriculum (Advances in Early Education and Day Care, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 115-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0270-4021(2013)0000017010