Luciano Cecconi

Utilizing the ACEI Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) Tool for Teacher Professional Development in the United States and Italy

Program quality in ECCE must be rigorously and routinely evaluated in order to ensure positive outcomes for all children. The inclusion of teachers and other internal stakeholders in program quality assessment, while critical, can bring up sensitivities. However, self-reflection is required for any meaningful improvement. In this article, the authors demonstrate the applicability of the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) as a tool for promoting self-reflection and analysis among preservice teachers in the United States and inservice teachers in Parma, Italy. These case studies demonstrate viability of the GGA, both in diverse contexts and in pursuit of diverse objectives.

Bisogni formativi e problemi della professione nella percezione dei docenti. Un’indagine nelle scuole statali dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo di istruzione di Modena, Parma e Reggio Emilia

The quality of the school system depends on the quality of the teachers’ professional development. To improve the system quality professional development programs for teachers have been essentially important. This is proved to be true especially if these programs are based on knowledge of the teachers’ actual needs. Therefore, we carried out a needs analysis with teachers in Modena, Parma and Reggio Emilia (Italy) and this article presents the results of this study. The study is focused on subjective needs, i.e. needs that derive from the teachers themselves. An online questionnaire has been administered to 1926 teachers in public preschools, primary schools, and first grade secondary schools. Key findings of this survey have valuable implications for curriculum design. Several needs emerged as particularly relevant for the teachers, such as special education professional development, learning how to cope with children with special needs and students with behavioral problems.

Weaving Relationships Between Preschools, Families and Communities

The historical roots of preschools in Reggio Emilia lie deep in the history of the Reggio Emilia working classes, the history of the women of Reggio Emilia and in the history of the local government, which steadfastly believed in investing in the future. But it is also the 40-year-long history of a group of people, some highly creative in the pedagogical field and others in the political field, all highly motivated, who have skilfully managed a precious heritage of experience over the years. Finally, as far as the history of a single man can count in such a complex collective movement, it is also the history of a man with many interests, a courageous and wilful man and above all, a free thinker: Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994). This chapter presents the intricate weaving of the cultural, social, historical, economic and human relationships over many decades that have resulted in the development of the successful and effective schools for young children in Northern Italy.

Kindergarten Environments in Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Modena, and Parma, Italy In Search of Quality

Italian kindergartens are world-renown and they have developed within the context of educational reform in Italy that has occurred since the 1940s. In this chapter, three types of kindergartens are described: private, state-funded, and municipal. Included is a brief history of the evolution of kindergartens, description of the learning environments, teacher qualifications, and child populations. A summary of the findings of the comparative Global Guidelines Assessment study of kindergartens in Bologna, Parma, Modena and Reggio Emilia is also presented.