318 Art Spoken Here: Reggio Emilia for the Big Kids Alexandra Cutcher Abstract Developing one’s creative potential is a basic human right, and thus the relationship between democracy and creativity is ineffable. Reggio Emilia pedagogies recognise this intrinsically; teaching through this modality embeds deep learning and an aesthetic awareness not often evident in formal schooling, despite the overwhelming evidence regarding the value of a sustained art education. Our children are all born creative and brave, yet something happens to them as they grow – the opportunities to express themselves artistically at school become minimised, the art curriculum becomes marginalised, and our children’s creative genius falls away. What would Reggio Emilia look like in the High School classroom? Imagine a curriculum where all students’ creative potential was nurtured, every day. This article explores this proposition, and argues that by utilising the highly successful pedagogies of Reggio Emilia, we can attend to the fundamental right of every child to an education that nurtures their inherent creativity. Keywords Reggio Emilia, arts based research, school reform, arts – secondary education iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd My proposition for this article is twofold. Working from an Australian context, I assert that the emphasis on standardised testing and the concomitant narrowing of the curriculum is failing to cater to the needs, diversity and differences of our children. Such a culture of testing is inhibiting the range of curriculum and the learning possibilities. Further, I assert that the philosophies and practices of the early childhood centres of Reggio Emilia demonstrate how curriculum, teaching and learning can transpire to nurture aesthetic awareness, creativity, critical thinking, collaborative learning and inquiry – essential skills for our children to develop if they are to successfully navigate contemporary life, and thrive. A fundamental aspect of Reggio Emilia pedagogies is that they are largely artsbased and there is much research to support such an approach across the curriculum and to broaden the curriculum for all educational cohorts (Catterall 2009; D. Davis 2008; J. H. Davis 2012; Eisner 2002, 2006, 2011; Ewing 2011; Fiske 1999; Fowler 1996; Gibson & Ewing 2011; Jensen 2001; McCarthy et al. 2004; Rabkin & Redmond 2004; Robinson 2009). Reggio Emilia declares that children ‘speak’ or communicate through a hundred languages (and a hundred more) and the arts are some of these. All children need such an opportunity to practise their languages, including our ‘big kids’ – to speak art every day in the Reggio Emilia fashion is to attend to the humanity and creativity of our children. Orientation In Australia as in many contemporary First World nations, we honour those who do well at formal examinations. We test our students nationally in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 through what is known as NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy), in May every year. Despite the claims by government that NAPLAN testing is diagnostic the results are not returned to schools until almost six months later (at the beginning of the final term of the year) and are also published on an accessible-to-all website (see My School 2012). These results are used to rank schools and compare their successes (and failures) against each other. In the final year of schooling (year 12), we test students again, largely to serve the entrance needs of the university system and rank them nationally on a scale that is known as the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank). This final year examination regime determines the curriculum in the senior years as well as the pedagogical approaches taken. Students who perform well in these tests are seen by schools as successful learners. As a society and as educators, we champion these achievers, measure their accomplishments against a set of standards and privilege their category of success. These are the students who are accepted to university, who win the academic prizes, who are in the ‘top’ classes and are lauded at school – it would seem that ‘[a] chievement has triumphed over inquiry’ (Eisner 2002, 3), and it is achievement within a very narrow curriculum set. Such testing also insidiously assumes that all students are equal, have similar backgrounds and similar opportunities. The success of such an approach is contentious; scoring well in an exam is not necessarily an educational accomplishment. As any effective teacher would confirm, there is more to learning than being able to ‘perform’ in a test. What is becoming increasingly problematic is that as a society we are using test scores in isolation to determine a student’s and a school’s merit. It is a process that is reductionist; the breadth and triumph of learning is not constituted from the sum of its tested parts. The trend towards standardisation is not one which necessarily yields positive outcomes for all. As Caldwell & Vaughan (2011, 57) assert, no nation that performs at or above Australia on international tests of student achievement has adopted, let alone successfully implemented, a standards movement like that which now ‘sweeps across Australian education’. The commodification of the test results is having many adverse effects on learning and teaching. Reportage of quantitative data in isolation can be ambiguous and ignore crucial contextual issues. There are many students in high school today who do not fit this one-size- iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd 319 Alexandra Cutcher 320 Alexandra Cutcher fits-all mentality; indeed this assumption is not democratic. Such standardisation ignores the myriad strengths, styles of learning, aptitudes, interests, differences, families, economic circumstances and sociocultural backgrounds of countless students. Many of the consequences of this approach are unwanted and indeed, potentially damaging. The detrimental outcomes of such a system have included competition between schools (many private schools insist on high results in NAPLAN tests as a condition of enrolment), negative effects on student and teacher well being (stressed students, stressed teachers), misleading statistical information (the margins of error in such tests are large) and a narrowing of the curriculum (teaching to the test and ignoring much of the rest of the curriculum) (Cullen 2012; Ewing 2012; Gill 2012; Hattie 2011; Wu & Hornsby 2012). It is this last outcome that is of most concern as it ensures that our children are not getting the full range of opportunities to learn and to grow in their seeing, thinking and wondering (Richards & Anderson 2003). It seems we are heading in the wrong direction – at speed (Caldwell & Vaughan 2011). A culture shift is needed in education to an ethos where inquiry, creativity and the development of each individual’s capacities triumph over the ability to perform in a test (Ewing 2011). Ideally, when students complete their secondary education and launch themselves into the world, they need to be critical, divergent thinkers, creative, collaborative, able to make connections, be able to deconstruct and ‘read’ visual culture, able to solve problems, be contributing citizens and have strong communication skills (Choi & Piro 2009; Churchill et al. 2013; Cookson 2009). Because the national, standardised testing focus has been so narrow, and the curriculum has shrunk to meet this very constricted approach, it is highly likely that students are not getting what they need from the curriculum to achieve these ideals (Carbonell 2012; Hosking 2012; Mather 2012). Education should be moving beyond simply focusing on literacy and numeracy – there is so much more they need to know. Framing Part of the role of education ought to be to attend to our humanity. By this I mean our children must have opportunities to be fully human – beings that are able to express and satisfy their curiosity, to have their inherent creative capacity nurtured and their willingness to learn encouraged (Robinson 2013). It seems self-evident that by cultivating and building upon the inherent capacities of our children, they will realise their creative, critical, problem solving, thinking, communicating and collaborative potential. One way to do this is through learning in the arts and learning through the arts (Catterall 2009; D. Davis 2008; J. H. Davis 2012; Eisner 2002, 2006, 2011; Ewing 2011; Fiske 1999; Jensen 2001; McCarthy et al. 2004; Robinson 2009). Thinking visually, creating poetry, inhabiting a character, performing, imagining and remembering in images are how humans process thinking. The arts are able to integrate feeling with cognitive awareness, and express knowledge about feeling (Grumet 1995). The arts enable us to have experiences that we can have with no other source, they help us learn to say what cannot be said. The limits of our thinking are not defined by the limits of language; as Polanyi (1967) stated, we know more than we can tell. The arts are seen as having a wide range of instrumental and intrinsic benefits – benefits that are inherent and benefits that are useful. These benefits can be gained by sustained learning in the arts as well as learning through the arts. McCarthy et al. (2004) suggest that the instrumental benefits include cognitive (improved academic benefits); attitudinal and behavioural (self-discipline and efficacy, improved attitudes, increased attendance, decreased dropout rates); health (improved mental and physical health including relief from pain and anxiety); social (social interaction, community identity) and economic. The intrinsic benefits include captivation (a state of focused attention); pleasure (deep satisfaction); expanded capacity for empathy (understanding people and cultures which are very different to the self); cognitive growth (all of the previously mentioned have cognitive dimensions); creation iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd of social bonds (through sharing, discussion, collaboration); expression of communal meanings (shared history, identity, cultural critique). Simply put, arts students are more successful in their learning, the advantages grow over time and the positive effects from arts learning last well into adulthood (Rabkin in Catterall 2009). Catterall (2009, i) credits ‘a climate for achievement as well as instructional practices’ as the reasons for these advantages. Unambiguously he says that engagement in the arts is the cause; it’s enough to be a student in an artsrich school, because such an environment is a more fertile learning space. Teacher–student relationships are enhanced, teacher and student morale is increased and it is suggested that this is due to ‘deeper and more conceptual learning’ (Catterall 2009, 125); learning that is much like that which occurs in Reggio Emilia preschools. The early childhood education philosophies of Reggio Emilia demonstrate pedagogies that cultivate creativity, critical thinking and inquirybased learning through aesthetic engagement. The success of Reggio Emilia is well documented, and the methodology has implications for educators beyond the early childhood sector. There is much to learn here about curriculum and pedagogy, about learning and its demonstration, about captivation in learning and about attention to aesthetics, the arts and reflective practice. The philosophies and pedagogies of the Reggio Emilia approach will be examined in the next section to contextualise the premise that such an arts-based approach can inform the high school context. Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia is a practice, a philosophy, an educational approach that was developed in northern Italy after the Second World War at the behest of the people who, shattered by their wartime experiences, never again wanted to find themselves in such a position of vulnerability. They felt that a quality education was the key to individual and community empowerment, and charged the educator Loris Malaguzzi with the task in early childhood settings. Malaguzzi is renowned for the development of the Reggio Emilia early childhood educational philosophy and pedagogies. Recognising the cultural context of Italy, this approach has fortified all educational practice in Reggio Emilia Scuole e Nidi d’Infanzia (nursery schools) for the past 60 years. This celebrated methodology has since been implemented in early childhood centres globally (see North American Reggio Emelia Alliance 2012; Reggio Emelia Australia Information Exchange 2012); particularly after Newsweek pronounced that Reggio Emilia schools were ‘the most innovative preschools in the world’ (Wingert & Kantrowitz 1991). Given the global success of this approach, it seems that they are among the most innovative educational institutions in the world, regardless of their setting as nursery schools. Educators from milieux beyond the early childhood context can learn much from Reggio Emilia. The educational theory of Reggio Emilia recognises the innate ability, human need and cultural practice of creation. A fundamental belief of Reggio Emilia philosophy is ‘the pursuit of beauty and loveliness is part of our species in a deep, natural way and constitutes an important element in our humanity; a primary need’ (Vecchi 2010, 9). This perspective is somewhat unique in education. Reggio Emilia builds upon Vygotsky’s (1979) theories of sociocultural, constructivist learning and Dewey’s (1934) notion of art as experience. Although these educational theories are not the privileged domain of early childhood learning, what is different about Reggio Emilia is that the child is genuinely positioned as the protagonist in their own learning and the child’s authority is respected. Contrary to the Australian educational culture of testing and standardisation, the notion of the child as a tabula rasa is eschewed. Reggio Emilia authentically acknowledges in both philosophy and practice that children do not come to us as vessels to be filled, understanding that ‘not all learning comes about through things offered by adults’ (Vecchi 2010, 40). Thus, learning is a collaborative affair between children, teachers and parents as the curriculum emerges through consultation iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd 321 Alexandra Cutcher 322 Alexandra Cutcher between all parties, negotiation and rich discussion; what Lévy (1999) recognises as ‘collective intelligence’. As a consequence, the authority and sophistication of the learning and the work the students produce in Reggio Emilia settings is powerful; the quality of the thinking generated is original and critical and often beyond what we expect in 3-5 year old children. Reggio Emilia practices are in conflict with the mandated curriculum imperatives of formal schooling and the traditional posture of the teacher as the agent of knowledge delivery. A fundamental belief of Reggio Emilia is that all children have (or ‘speak’) a hundred languages, and a hundred, hundred more (Malaguzzi 1993). Reggio Emilia assumes that learning processes genuinely occur when several languages (or disciplines) interact (Vecchi 2010). Examples of this are learning through doing (kinaesthetic, experiential, play, dance, drama), learning through making (drawings, sculptures, paintings), learning through communication (discussion, writing) and learning through inquiry (hypothesising, testing, success and failure). All of these languages must be practised habitually; indeed to learn any language, we need to ‘speak’ it often. This is in extraordinary contrast to a dominant educational culture in Australia that privileges (and measures) a single way of communicating, through writing alone. The aesthetic dimensions of learning and its epistemological potential are recognised as an enormous source of knowledge; Reggio Emilia is in remarkable contrast to traditional educational practices. Aesthetics and beauty are accepted as one of the important dimensions of life and therefore of education. Vea Vecchi (2010, 5) argues for the ways that ‘sensory perception, pleasure and the power to seduce – what Malaguzzi called the “aesthetic vibration” – can become activators of learning’. In this way, aesthetics are the important connecting structure of learning and thus there is a rich and fertile relationship between poetics, art and pedagogy. Malaguzzi (1998) asserted that in learning, effort, captivation and pleasure should come together. Building upon this ideal, teachers at Reggio Emilia recognise the learning environment as ‘the third teacher’ (Malaguzzi 1998) and, as such, must be beautiful, stimulating, filled with light and the constant display and documentation of students’ work and thinking. In keeping with the Italian context, every Reggio Emilia school has a light-filled, internal piazza, as a central place to gather and welcome. The image of the child viewed by the educator as competent and capable is supported in such an environment. There is also an ethic of care for the learning space that extends to the environment holistically in terms of principled habits. This is because it is recognised that the construction of identity is influenced by the physical environment, and through organising space we create a metaphor for the organising of knowledge (Rinaldi, cited in Vecchi 2010). Although some educators argue for the redesign of learning spaces and the importance of the educational environment, the general approach is one of formally arranged and most often, dreary classrooms and learning spaces which results in disengagement (Halpin 2007). Educators are attracted to the early childhood centres in Reggio Emilia not only because of their beautiful physical environments, which appear to be in complete harmony with pedagogical values, but also because these environments respect children in a way that favours their development (Ridgeway & Hammer 2006, 103). To this end, every Reggio Emilia site has an atelier – in keeping with Italian cultural traditions. The atelier is the place where techniques become languages (Vecchi 2010). An atelierista, an artist, works collaboratively with the other teachers in the early childhood setting as well as with the children directly; in this way, the atelierista’s understanding of visual poetics and the ability to engender excitement in the children is crucial. This role also supports trans-disciplinary thinking and the position on staff is central. Although purpose-built art classrooms/studios exist in almost all Australian high schools, as do specialist art teachers, they are not given such importance in the school and in curriculum iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd offerings. Visual Arts remains as a marginalised and discrete subject area in Australia, in direct contrast to the Reggio Emilia philosophy that art is a pervasive and precious modality that is practised every day. Poetic languages and art forms are an essential presence in the learning curricula. The uses of metaphor, symbols, subjectivity, experience, the practice of thinking through artistic materials (Sullivan 2006), as well as respect for imagination and individual expression, are all innately human ways of knowing that are activated in Reggio Emilia pedagogy. Indeed, aesthetics and art are placed at the centre of the curriculum and the pivotal position upon which all other curricula radiate. This is an essential feature of Reggio Emilia and its success is evidence of the validity of this method (Katz 1998). This differs greatly from traditional educational approaches where the arts are generally relegated to the fringes of the curriculum, as an add-on rather than the curricular focus. In Reggio Emilia, the child is respected as a researcher and a collaborator and the curriculum is emergent, based upon the children’s interests. This differs from many traditional approaches where the curriculum is mandated by the government. The Reggio child is respected as a rational and imaginative theorist through ‘spontaneous motivation’ (Vecchi 2010). Progettazione, or project-based learning, is used as an approach to frame student-centred investigations. In Reggio Emilia, the work of the atelierista and the other teaching staff is supported by the pedagogista – or pedagogical expert – who also supports the teaching work in schools as a resource and educational authority for all staff. Further, socialising and friendship amongst staff and between staff and children and staff and parents is a priority. Robust and enriched relationships are seen as being vital for successful learning (Hattie 2003; Malaguzzi 1993). Although the Principal in Australian schools is the educational leader and visionary, many are overworked and have little time to function as the professional development experts in schools (Blackmore et al. 2003). The teacher is also positioned as a researcher and inquiry is an essential locus; indeed Malaguzzi described teachers as ‘professional marvellers’ (n.d. in Vecchi 2010, 108). Such an orientation positions teaching fundamentally as an act of research-based practice. Adding to this is the concept of La Documentazione, or the documentation of learning which is seen as a priority for making learning visible, and tracking learning for professional development purposes, to plan curriculum directions and – importantly for reflection. Teachers conduct this documentation as research using video, audio and photographic recording, field notes on observations, and individual and collaborative reflection, discussion and interrogation of previously held beliefs about the children’s learning. The difference here between traditional education and Reggio Emilia is that most teachers in traditional settings often do not have the time to spare to engage in systematic, formal, reflective practice (Groundwater-Smith et al. 2009; Hatton & Smith 2006; Seidel 2009); it does not necessarily manifest as a discipline (Smith & Lovat 2003). Applications Reggio Emilia pedagogies cannot simply be transplanted and be expected to ‘take’; a preschool in a northern Italian town is quite different to your average Australian high school. Continued and critical awareness of the context for any educational strategy is an ergonomic imperative. Notions of nationhood, citizenry and pervading cultural mores must be considered, as should conceptions of community and school contexts. In the case of the Australian milieu, architectural limitations, staff expertise and available resources would need to be considered, as would curriculum constraints. Organisational, economic and management imperatives are further considerations, as are strategic planning and compliance issues. It is acknowledged that overcoming these matters would require a revolutionary shift in educational culture and focus. However, such a shift would have real social, economic and educational advantages for our iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd 323 Alexandra Cutcher 324 Alexandra Cutcher youth. A recent longitudinal study has provided solid evidence regarding the benefits of an education that privileges the arts (Catterall 2009) such as Reggio Emilia. This groundbreaking research found that students who study in the Arts and students who study through the arts: • outperform their peers who do not; • are more likely to enjoy their learning, stay in school, attend regularly and graduate; • are more likely to go on to university and are more likely to be successful there; • are more likely to become lifelong learners and feel better about themselves; • are more likely to contribute to economic and social benefits; and • are more likely to display pro-social behaviour (Catterall 2009). Students acquire these benefits even if they do not personally engage in the arts – it is enough just to be in an arts-rich school; importantly, the benefits are more distinct in students from low socioeconomic backgrounds (Catterall 2009). As D. Davis (2012, 5) asserts: ‘These students come to school for art classes and stay for the rest.’ The Reggio Emilia contention of the child as protagonist (strong, capable, creative thinker and curious researcher, a being that learns through engagement with aesthetic modalities, exploration, discovery, and expressing and constructing their own knowledge in a hundred languages) is one which corresponds with the pedagogies of learning in and through the arts (Catterall 2009; D. Davis 2012; Fowler 1996; Gibson & Ewing 2011; Rabkin & Redmond 2004). The Reggio Emilia approach can be used as a prototype for secondary education, even though the contexts of early childhood and adolescence are so different. This is because the pedagogies are not peculiar to their setting (although it is acknowledged that context is important). Positioning the student as an empowered learner, an emergent curriculum that caters to student need, project-based discovery learning, advancing concepts like beauty, ethics, the self, the other, the 100 languages for expression, documenting and reflecting upon student learning all occur in secondary Visual Arts classrooms in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This quality curriculum has been implementation for the past 14 years (New South Wales Board of Studies, 2003). Having taught into that curriculum for almost a decade, I understand that it is not accidental that Malaguzzi insisted on an atelier, or an expert he entitled an atelierista. Malaguzzi in his beliefs and his planning, was recognising the heritage of Italian culture and more generally, Western cultural tradition – one that acknowledges the inherent creative capacity of all humans (Dissanayake 2007). My argument is that the Reggio Emilia approach can be extended beyond the art studio walls and into the broader curriculum, philosophies and structures of the high school. A cultural shift in education may not be as revolutionary as one might expect and indeed, there are many ways to reposition existing practices and resources to begin the necessary transformation. What follows are some suggestions for doing so. The environment as the third teacher The seductive power of a beautiful environment in which to work should not be underestimated. Crucial is, ‘the right to beauty in a healthy psychological relationship with surroundings. Inhabiting a place which is lovely and cared for is perceived to be a condition of physical and psychological wellbeing and, therefore, the right of people in general’ (Vecchi 2010, 82). Australian schools are characterised by the physical environment – they are not fully enclosed, do not suffer the vagaries of harsh winters and do not have central heating. It is the ‘light’ that so characterises the landscape; it has a vibrant quality that can be both harsh and clean. It is this quality that Australian schools could certainly utilise in the Reggio Emilia way, ensuring that learning spaces be light-filled and airy places, reflective of the anticipated learning that should eventuate. Combined with attractive colour schemes and a mandate to create and maintain beautiful learning spaces, administrators and teachers could ensure that student iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd work is displayed, that the grounds are beautiful and well-kept. Outdoor spaces might be used frequently as learning sites, ensuring that trees are planted to provide shade and attractiveness. Water gardens or fountains (using captured rain water) could be places for reflection or quiet study. Students could contribute to school beautification, care and maintenance through mural projects, sculpture gardens, garden plots and a subsequent sense of ownership and belonging. Such an environment then becomes a welcoming space for staff and students, a place that is enticing and reflects both the Australian landscape and the cultural propensity for being outside. Ideally, school planning must consider beauty in design as well as efficiency. Particularly with respect to adolescents, schools should be places that attract, are inviting and seduce. The atelier and the atelierista Purpose-built art classrooms/studios exist in almost all Australian high schools, as do specialist art teachers. It is suggested that the expertise already in place in schools (i.e. the art teacher, the art room) should be utilised for professional development and curriculum support. Specifically, that art teachers’ expertise should be excavated as a resource to guide and instruct their colleagues in other subject areas, so that arts-based pedagogies can be utilised across the curriculum to strengthen and embed student understandings (Gibson & Ewing 2011). Some art teachers could work in other classrooms with teachers to collaborate in teaching and planning (as consultants and teaching partners), whilst others could remain in their subject area. It is further argued that such a resource in high schools should be utilised to facilitate collaborative curriculum planning between teachers and students. Project-based learning (Progettazione), independent student inquiry and emergent, reflexive curricula are all qualities of constructivist learning (Vygotsky 1979) and are used extensively in contemporary art education (Cutcher 2004; Wilks et al. 2012). Content in secondary art classrooms is aligned with student interests and their personal, adolescent needs. They allow for discovery and expression, where children learn by doing, and experience pleasure and satisfaction in the doing (D. Davis 2012). Such motivators need not be under estimated to position relevant and engaging learning experiences. Coupled with this is that the art room is a productive site for the development of meaningful relationships (Stride 2013). Such relationships are a key factor in student success (Hattie 2003). The art teacher is potentially a valuable resource with respect to all of these educational practices. In order to support such endeavours and to provide meaningful education, quality art materials and tools are an educational imperative. The quality of the educational achievements would justify the relatively small investment. The process of working through the materials of artistic practice has been demonstrated to achieve sophisticated thinking and learning outcomes for students (Sullivan 2008). The site for these strategies would of course be the atelier, the art room. The pedagogista The strategy of having an expert teaching consultant to collaborate with staff and students to ensure that quality teaching and learning ensues is one which is closely aligned to current educational practice in NSW, Australia. In a partnership between the Australian and NSW governments, the Highly Accomplished Teacher (HAT) initiative provides such a pedagogical expert for 100 NSW schools, with a view to improving teacher quality, modelling best practice and supporting colleagues in the development of their pedagogy (NSWDEC n.d.). Their remuneration is commensurate with that of the senior leaders in a school. I suggest that such programs ought to be implemented in all schools, much like the pedagogista in Reggio Emilia settings. Such teachers are likely to view students as protagonists – that is, they are capable and competent within the high school setting. iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd 325 Alexandra Cutcher 326 Alexandra Cutcher La Documentazione The notion of documenting work (learning) and contemplating it, is a convention artists (and art students) have been using for centuries. In art education in NSW, it is an embedded and essential strategy/tool/mechanism for learning. Known as the Visual Arts Diary (VAD) or Visual Arts Process Diary (VAPD), its uses go beyond the idea of the artist’s sketchbook, into the realm of metacognition, critical and constructive thinking, and reflection. Students make, think, research, respond, process, document, record, discuss and conduct dialogue with their teacher in this very important site. I assert that such a strategy could certainly be utilised across the curriculum by teachers and also by students, in every classroom, every day, at the end of every lesson or at some other daily, designated time. The discipline of documenting learning, reflecting upon it, thereby creating an authentic learning artefact, is an act of metacognition that in itself is a learning event. Students could use a traditional hardcopy learning journal, a digital portfolio, a graphic novel, a sketchbook, a diary or any combination of these technologies. Photographs, video footage, relevant websites and other resources could be added as relevant. What follows are some suggested thinking prompts that could activate reflection following engagement in learning activities: Students document learning: • (What did we do in class today? Add a photograph/ video/ sketch of what we did in class today) Students actively reflect on their learning: • (What do you think about what you learned in class today?) Feedback to teachers: • (How was the learning presented by your teacher? Was it effective?) Students evaluate their learning and engagement: • (How would you rate your effort in class today? Why did you work this way today?). A scaffold such as this would only be necessary in the early stages of implementation of such a strategy. Once this became a habit of the mind (Hetland et al. 2007) as it is in the art room, it becomes automatic, known and authentic. But as any discipline (or language), it needs to be practised (spoken) regularly. As in Reggio Emilia, teachers could also document the learning, through field notes, digital documentation of student work, recording observations and reflections. This is not very far removed from current practice with respect to professional development and accreditation imperatives, and would provide a sound research foundation to teaching practice. Resolving It is evident that the arts are advantageous to learning. The strategies proposed in this article are achievable in high schools and within realistic economic limitations. More importantly, however, is that every child has a right to engage in educational practices that speak to their humanity and that enhance their lives, as well as their learning. Educational administrators and policy makers need to find ways to improve education and as Hattie (2011) asserts, a disruptive model is needed in education, as are more exciting and effective ways to educate our youth. As Vecchi asserts: there is a need for courageous, lucid and anticonformist choices. In times of difficulty like this, where both reality and dreams have doubts about the right course to follow, more than any other time we need to be aware that only a culture of professional and ethical rigour and beauty can help us to continue with our hopes. (Vecchi 2010, 95) The philosophies and pedagogies of Reggio Emilia as described here are indicative of highly effective practices in early childhood education. Children understand that the innate desire to create (Dissanayake 2007) is a thirst that must be slaked (Vecchi 2010), a language that must be practised over and over again. We would never purposefully deny a young child access to artmaking, or access to play. Children learn through play, curiosity, discovery and experimen- iJADE 32.3 (2013) © 2013 The Author. iJADE © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd tation. They are natural researchers, testing their hypotheses over and over again as learning takes place. As Jerome Bruner once famously said, play is serious business; it is our genius (Land & Jarman 1992, 153; Robinson 2006); art is a first language (Malaguzzi 1998). Why is it that we deny our big kids the opportunities to speak ‘art’? Narrowing the curriculum, testing and assuming all learners are equal are strategies which ignore the complexities of human endeavour, human interests and human capability. If we are to genuinely meet the learning needs of our children, we must ensure they get opportunities to express their humanity through opportunities to develop their inherent creativity – indeed this is a democratic right (UNESCO 2010). The need for a culture shift in education is pressing; the knowledge we intentionally promote in our educational institutions needs to be determined. Our children’s potential should not be squandered, nor should their innate creative competence (Land & Jarman 1992; Millikan 2010; Robinson 2006). The parallels between the Reggio Emilia approach and the growing research evidence in the field of advocacy for an arts-rich education are compelling. This is not a mere ‘happy accident’, but rather it is further authentication for the value of arts-based education for all learners, irrespective of their educational context. Alexandra Cutcher is an academic in the School of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia. Previously, she was a visual arts teacher and educational leader in Australian high schools for almost three decades. She believes in the power of the visual arts to transform, educate, inspire and soothe. To this end, the provision of high-quality visual arts education for students of all ages is a professional priority. Her research interests focus on what the visual arts can be and do: educationally, expressively, as research method, as language, as catharsis, as reflective instrument and as documented form. Contact address: School of Education, Southern Cross University Gold Coast Campus, A3.14 Bilinga, 4225 QLD, Australia. 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