A critical approach to the Reggio Emilia Approach*

Reggio Emilia is an Italian city internationally known for its toddler centers and preschools (Firlik, 1996). The popularity that the Reggio Emilia Approach (REA) has gained, makes the “Reggio Emilia phenomenon” a global product, subject to global sales strategies (Grieshaber and Hatch, 2003). Worrisome is the tendency to superficially replicate Reggio-like environments, without critical reflection (ibid; Johnson, 2000). This article identifies REA as a culture, according to Jurij Michajlovič Lotman’s definition (Lotman, & Uspenskij, 1975). It also analyzes the cultural transposition construct as a tool to transfer REA to different context without losing the deepest meanings and values.