Overview

A quintessential guide for educators and caregivers, this book explores the intersections of sustainability and childhood curriculum. Educators Elaine Beltran-Sellitti and Margaret MacDonald follow the story and findings of a nine-month long research project that took place in a living, environmentally friendly, 'more than green' building housing two university-run childcare centres. The building of interest was designed with many of Reggio Emilia's learning principles in mind. Together, the authors asked the questions: What can children and teachers learn from and with this environmentally conscious Reggio-inspired building? And what is the educator's role in supporting their resultant curiosity and learning? In addition to understanding the special context that was engendered by the living building, the book also addresses the wide-ranging tensions and pressures affecting contemporary teaching practices of curriculum as living inquiry. This book includes the articulation of a vision for curriculum that is attuned to the elements of sustainability reflected in the architecture of the childcare building, in its furnishings and materials, in the intention to avoid waste, and in the relationships with the forest and garden. It highlights an emergent curriculum project attuning to children's imaginative meaning-making through the structure of the building. Nurtured by varied perspectives including the pedagogy of Reggio Emilia, social constructivism, and new materialism, this book embraces a future for sustainability achieved through the nourishment of meaningful curriculum.

Full Product Details

Author:   Margaret MacDonald ,  Elaine Beltran-Sellitti
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781049801230

ISBN 10:   1049801237
Pages:   184
Publication Date:   21 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

Dedication Acknowledgments List of Figures List of Acronyms Glossary Chapter 1: Wayfaring: The Emergence of a Project Chapter 2: Map Making: The Foundations of Our Intentions Chapter 3: In the Suitcase: Project-Based Approach, Reggio Emilia Inspirations, and Living Inquiry Chapter 4: Walking for Path Making: Teaching Strategies Used in the Bioreactor Project Chapter 5: Structures That Mark the Path and Practices That Guide the Journey: Nurturing Long-Term Inquiry Chapter 6: The Road Ahead: Ways of Becoming Teacher Chapter 7: Standstills along the Path Chapter 8: Looking Back and Moving Sideways: Forging Other Paths Through Pedagogical Documentation Chapter 9 Returning to the Path: Revisiting Work with Children Chapter 10: Concluding Thoughts: Weaving Our Project Together References Appendix A: Foundations of Our Intentions

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Author Information

Margaret MacDonald is a recently retired associate professor from the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. She was awarded a Canadian Foundations for Innovations grant that helped fund the research room and common play area at UniverCity Childcare Centre. Early childhood educator. Elaine Beltran-Sellitti is a PhD candidate in educational theory and practice at Simon Fraser University. She is an instructor in the Faculty of Early Childhood Care and Education at Capilano University.

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