Filastrocca

NWACC General Psychology |

Books, stories, and the imagination at "The Nursery Rhyme": a qualitative case study of a preschool learning environment in Pistoia, Italy

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Article Review Writing Assignment |

Erika Vazquez

3-5-2015

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Abstract

Storytelling is a widely versatile medium through which people can communicate and interact with each other. Children are especially apt at using stories to learn and discover the world. This review will examine the case study from the article “Books, stories, and the imagination at the ‘Nursery Rhyme’: a qualitative study of a preschool learning environment in Pistoia, Italy” by Carolyn Pope Edwards, to show the advantages of using story based teachings in early childhood education to expand language and literacy development. This case study focuses on the “progressive education system” of a preschool in Pistoia, Italy that tailor the curriculum to children’s natural active drives (Edwards). The school, Filastrocca meaning “nursery rhyme”, builds language and literacy development through the interaction of children’s imagination and stories to spark their impulse to explore and learn. Finding new ways to engage children in lifelong learning is of vital importance to create a better future with many educated individuals, and the path of lifelong learning begins in the early stages of development. If children are not encouraged and helped to find joy in learning, then they might never reach their true potential. This case study shows how schools might incorporated more interactive methods of learning for children which would help them grow as individuals.

Keywords: literacy and language development in children, early childhood education, international education

The research that Edwards and her team conducted at Filastrocca Preschool was needed to find out how a different learning environment centered on imaginative engagement affects children’s literacy and language development. In order to do this they had...