Early Education in Italy: Research and Practice

Abstract

This article provides an overview of Italian ECEC services, their development and educational culture. In Italy, out of home day care for children under 3 became a quantitatively significant phenomenon in the last 30 years. Its development was characterized by the close collaboration between research agencies and ECEC services. A rich variety of studies on early education was produced. Some themes appear particularly relevant with regard to their implications for educational practice. The relationship between ECEC personnel and parents was considered a central issue in guaranteeing the quality of the children's experience and ECEC services were found to be an important resource of social support to parents. Since the beginning of ECEC experience in Italy, both educational practices and research have paid a particular attention to peer interaction inside the services, with a specific focus to the effect of contextual variables on their frequency and quality. Another major research theme was the evaluation of ECEC quality. In Italian experiences, evaluating ECEC quality was considered a dynamic and continuous process, involving a plurality of stakeholders (decision-makers, managers, ECEC personnel and parents) and was aimed at analysing, discussing, and improving the educational practice.Résumé Cet article présente un aperçu des services à la petite enfance en Italie, leur développement et leur culture éducative. En Italie, l'accueil extra-domestique des enfants de moins de 3 ans est devenu un phénomène quantitativement important au cours des trente dernières années. Son développement a été caractérisé par l'étroite T. Musatti (

Emotional security and daycare for babies and toddlers in social-political contexts: reflections of early years pioneers since the 1970s

“…In that context, Malaguzzi developed the now famous 'Reggio Emilia' pedagogical philosophy in cooperation with parents, pedagogues and the broader community (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1998). In 1980 there were signals that the pedagogy for the youngest children lagged far behind the quality of education of the older children (Musatti & Picchio, 2010). Malaguzzi took the initiative to establish a network of practitioners, academics and politicians to increase knowledge and to share ideas about how to work with infants.…”

The Public Good. Historical and Political Roots of Municipal Preschools in Emilia Romagna

“…It was generated within ECEC settings — through observation and documentation of children's everyday experiences, but also through practitioners' collective reflection on their practices — and evolved in a constant public debate that was sustained by municipal administrations over long periods. Musatti and Picchio (, p. 144) affirm that:

Over the years, a specific educational culture emerged around and within the Italian education system. The development of this culture and some of its features have been deeply influenced by the fact that all ECEC services for under 3 years, as well as a number of scuole dell'infanzia , are governed by local governments.

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“…On the one hand, the pedagogical coordinators recruited by local governments to support ECEC practices in municipal services through on-going pedagogical guidance contributed to strengthening the link between the local needs of children and families and educational policy-making. On the other, the fact that local administrations turned to universities and research centres to guarantee professional development opportunities for their ECEC staff contributed to strengthen the link between theory and practice in the framework of participatory practicebased research (Musatti & Picchio, 2010). An important role was also played by professional networks, such as the Gruppo Nazionale Nidi Infanzia, which brought together early childhood practitioners, administrators and scholars in research and debate (Mantovani, 2010).…”

“…Similarly, regional administrations such as those of Tuscany and Lombardy contributed substantially to the advancement of their ECEC services by supporting local initiatives and experimentalism both at financial and policy‐making levels. The experiences in these frameworks shaped certain general features that many studies have associated with the Italian ECEC approach (Musatti & Picchio, ; Mantovani, ; Gandini & Pope Edwards, ) and of which the municipal services in Emilia Romagna could be considered an emblematic case.…”

Documentation and analysis of children’s experience: an ongoing collegial activity for early childhood professionals

“…Most of the high-quality services are found within municipal ECE provision (Oberhuemer, Schreyer, and Neuman 2010) where continuous support to professionalism has been ensured by an insightful use of an amount of paid hours to be spent by practitioners in team meetings and in-service training (Musatti and Picchio 2010) and the activity of pedagogic coordinators (also named pedagogista), who support practitioners in their professional practice, organise in-service training initiatives, ensure interactions among services in the same area, and constitute a professional and organisational interface between services and the municipal administration (Musatti and Mayer 2003).…”