Reflecting on Reggio inspired practices in Kindergarten: a narrative self-study
Subject
Abstract
In this qualitative narrative self-study, I used critical reflection as a means to deepen my understanding of Reggio inspired practices in British Columbia. My daily actions and thoughts were collected for a period of 15 weeks over a five-month period in the 2018 school year. Collecting data through writing narratives provided a means for me to reflect on my practice during the process of writing them and reflect on afterwards during the analysis. From this data, the themes that emerged in this data showed that in my own Reggio inspired practices I began to share my pedagogical choices in my practice with others in my context. Also, I was able to make changes to the way I structured time in order to bring to living qualities in the classroom environment with my learner’s inquires. With those changes brought new changes and the need for further critical reflection on my role as the teacher. In beginning to discover my role as teacher as researcher, I found joy in being present with my learners. I was also faced with challenges, specifically around the use of pedagogical documentation in my practice. Collaboration with others in my practice often resulted in possibilities for my practice and my learners that I could not have anticipated before the collaboration had taken place. Lastly, using critical friends in this study helped me to identify assumptions in my practices and proved to be a way for me to clearly identify my next steps in finding what it means for me to become Reggio inspired in my own context of British Columbia.