Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model
Loris Malaguzzi
Loris Malaguzzi (19201994) founded the municipal early childhood programs in Reggio Emilia, Italy, immediately after the end of World War II; he is therefore known as the father of the Reggio Emilia approach. Malaguzzi is not considered a theorist or philosopher like Dewey or Piaget, but his contribution to early childhood curriculum is significant because he integrated and refined the ideas of others to legitimize an eclectic articulation of curriculum (Goffin, 2001; Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005; Chaille, 2008).
A contemporary of theorists like Gardner, Piaget, and Bronfenbrenner, Malaguzzi modeled curriculum and program development through ongoing critical reflection, merging new ideas with old and reinventing as necessary. He envisioned curriculum as an organic process, responsive to the unique characteristics, interests, and community of children and families at any particular moment in time (Gandini, 1993; Malaguzzi, 1993). Chapter 2 includes a fuller description of key ideas associated with the Reggio Emilia approach.