Loris Malaguzzi is recognised as the founder of the extraordinary programmes of preschool education that developed after the war in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Deeply embedded in the cultures and communities they serve, these unique preschools have justifiably become famous throughout the world.

In this accessible and engaging text, Sandra Smidt examines how Malaguzzi’s philosophy developed out of his personal experiences of growing up in post-fascist Italy. His ideas are explored and illustrated throughout by examples relating to everyday early years practice. The key themes explored include:

• relationships — the importance of relationships, culture and contexts to learning within any setting and beyond;
• transparency — the importance of listening and documentation to understanding and sharing learning;
• questioning — inviting children to not only answer questions but raise them, allowing them to be equal partners in all learning situations;
• creativity — finding ways of enabling children to use all the expressive languages they can find to express and share their ideas;
• equity and fairness — involving the community in all decision-making and discussions, to ensure that early childhood education is accessible and relevant to all children.

This book will be of benefit to all those working with young children and essential reading for students on early childhood education programmes.