Reggio Emilia as a metaphorical homeland: an account of professional 'becoming'

An invitation in the August 2014 edition of 'The Challenge' to reflect on how the Reggio Emilia educational project has influenced me professionally and personally immediately provoked memories from throughout my teaching career. Encounters with the ideas underpinning pedagogy in Reggio Emilia have repeatedly reignited my passion as an early childhood teacher and have provoked me to advocacy, debate, research in practice, leadership and now doctoral studies and university teaching. Much of the credit I give to the project in Reggio Emilia for my ongoing growth as an educator has been documented in previous editions of 'The Challenge' (Lindsay 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d, 2009, 2012). However, 'who I am' is constantly changing and I continue to transform and to 'become' (Lindsay 2012). Consequently, this iteration of my story of 'becoming' seeks to further examine several elements of the Reggio Emilia project that have provoked and inspired reflection, practice and professional transformation.