Italian preschool education at its best: discovering innovative teaching and pedagogy approaches

The world of childhood and preschool education is in constant development and for preschool teachers is fundamental to keep up with the new trends and stay on top of what's current. This training course for preschool teachers will be a springboard for analysing the main principles, features and benefits of the best preschool methods. 

The new edition of the course “The best for preschool teachers​” took place in Palermo from 05/11/2023 to 11/11/2023. The participants came from all across Europe, with Triin, Siiri and Epp from Nõlvaku Lasteaed and Kristina, Marliin and Kärt from Kohila kindergarten Sipsik in Estonia, Josefine, Emma, Annika and Erika from Södra förskoleområde Gävle in Sweden, Caroline and Alice from Eivers Lane Childcare CLG in Ireland, Maria and Maria from IKNO EKPAIDEYPHSIS TECNHIS KAI POLITISMOU KAVVADA in Greece.

The course began with some breaking-ice practical activities, sharing expectations and contributions and discussing the best approaches related to preschool teaching. The teachers also had the opportunity to make presentations to show their schools to others: this was an excellent way to reach a wider understanding of preschool education in Europe. We also presented, of course, the Italian model for preschool education.

Indeed, participants discovered and analysed different Italian preschool approaches, starting with the non-formal education and, to better comprehend the method, some activities and games were enforced: we explored the different phases of structuring non-formal education and we practised how to handle debriefing through questions aimed at fostering students' reflection. 

Another part of the course was visiting some local outdoor kindergartens, Istituto Internazionale M. Montessori and Istituto Minutoli, where the participants had the possibility to see well planned examples of outdoor education in particular by seeing children interacting with nature to develop their five senses through different and interesting activities, including music and dance. We also analyzed the main characteristics of the Montessori method. Thanks to the passionate teachers who attended us, this experience was an eye-opener on the deep need of current society to bring our kids back to a more authentic world, and the benefits this might entail for learning to respect the environment. 

Eventually, we discovered the principles and theories of the Reggio Emilia education method: they had the opportunity to learn more about the history, the materials, the projects and the experiences, which make the Reggio Emilia approach unique in the world. Indeed, the Reggio Emilia method is highly regarded for its child-centred, inquiry-based, and cooperative strategy for learning. 
 
At the end of the week, teachers came back home with luggage full of beautiful memories and experiences that improved their teaching approaches.

Discover more about this course here.