About This Course
The Montessori method and the Reggio Emilia approach are two of the most influential, most researched and most widely respected pedagogical traditions in the world. Both were born in Italy. Both place the child at the absolute centre of the educational experience. Both have shaped early childhood and primary education across Europe and beyond for over a century. And both have more to offer contemporary educators than ever before.
This course gives education professionals a deep, experiential and practically focused engagement with both traditions. Participants explore the philosophical and scientific foundations of each approach, experience the practices from a learner's perspective, and develop a clear understanding of how elements of both can be integrated into their own teaching contexts.
The course is particularly well suited to our Italian destinations Naples and to Vienna, where the influence of both traditions on European education history is most directly visible. It is aligned with the EU Barcelona targets for early childhood education and care, the European Education Area and the Council Recommendation on high-quality ECEC.
Who Should Attend
- Early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers
- Primary teachers interested in child-centred pedagogical approaches
- School leaders considering introducing Montessori or Reggio elements
- Education professionals interested in the philosophical foundations of child-centred education
- No prior knowledge of either approach required
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course participants will be able to:
Explain the key principles, theoretical foundations and historical context of both the Montessori method and the Reggio Emilia approach.
You will be able to explain both approaches clearly to parents, school leaders and sceptical colleagues, including their limitations and not just their strengths. The ability to explain both approaches with nuance, including where the evidence is strong and where it is more mixed, is what makes you a credible advocate.
Compare the two approaches and explore how elements of both can be integrated in practice.
Montessori emphasises carefully structured materials and individual work cycles. Reggio Emilia emphasises documentation, collective inquiry and the environment as the third teacher. Most practitioners who work with both discover that the apparent tension between structure and emergence resolves in practice into a richer approach than either alone.
Apply Montessori principles of prepared environment, materials and observation to your own educational context.
The prepared environment is the most immediately practical Montessori concept for classroom teachers. You will conduct an audit of your own environment through a Montessori lens and develop specific changes that support greater child independence, movement and purposeful activity.
Apply Reggio Emilia principles of documentation, the hundred languages and the environment as teacher.
Reggio Emilia's concept of documentation, making children's learning visible through photographs, transcripts and displayed work, is one of the most powerful tools for deepening professional reflection and sharing learning with parents and colleagues. You will develop your first documentation project during the course.
Connect Montessori and Reggio Emilia principles to current EU early childhood policy and research.
Both traditions anticipate by decades many of the principles now embedded in EU early childhood policy: child agency, relational pedagogy, documentation and observation, the learning environment as curriculum. You will be able to connect your pedagogical practice to EU policy frameworks in ways that strengthen Erasmus+ applications.
A 7-Day Professional Development Experience
Five days of intensive training combined with a structured arrival day and a cultural excursion. We are always open to tailoring the programme to your institution's needs.
Participants arrive and are welcomed by the Sude Nexus local team. Welcome dinner and orientation walk.
Guided cultural excursion. Participants travelling home are free to depart after breakfast.
This outline is a starting point, not a fixed schedule. Contact us to discuss how we can tailor this programme for your institution.
EU Policy Alignment
Erasmus+ 2026 Horizontal Priorities
EU Competence Frameworks
EU Policy Initiatives
Available Locations and Dates
Check the dates page for current availability across all 13 destinations.
Check Dates and Availability