Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Roberta Schomburg
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
active learning, active participation, apprenticeship, child development, class discussion, collaboration, collaboration meetings, deconstruction, early childhood education, early childhood education endorsement, experiential learning, field trips, findings, image of the teacher, inquiry, instruction, interviews, knowledge construction, pedagogy, population limitations, preservice teachers, reflective practice, Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia philosophy, role of the teacher, sample limitations, teacher preparation, teacher preparation programs
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to gain better understanding for the integration of the Reggio Emilia philosophy into the Early Childhood Education Endorsement program at a teacher preparation institution.
The methodology that was used included class discussion, observation, deconstruction of the Reggio Emilia principles, reflective practice, collaboration meetings, interviews, and field trips. The findings confirmed the findings in reviewed literature that the image and role of the preservice teachers should be that of an active apprentice not as an object of instruction.
Generalization of the findings to other teacher preparation programs must be done with caution because of the limitations of the study: the small sample and the restriction of the population to the writer’s students. Nonetheless, the findings illustrate the importance of preservice teachers actively constructing and experiencing knowledge in the same way they would have their students do. Specifically, the findings underscore the value of teacher preparation programs.