INSPIRE

All over the world, girls and boys living in situations of conflict, crisis or vulnerability face enormous challenges. Exclusion from education and a lack of quality education threaten their development.
There is a pressing need to move beyond traditional teaching models and address the impact of migration and social fragility, by supporting educational institutions in guaranteeing every child’s right to play and to learn.

Building on the findings of the P.E.R. Play Explore Research project and the research carried out by Fondazione Reggio Children in vulnerable contexts in Italy and internationally, the INSPIRE project aims to further the study of play-based and participatory educational approaches and to promote pedagogical reflection in contexts of marginalisation and vulnerability.

The project seeks to explore how inclusive, community-based pedagogies can support children’s right to quality education and play, even in contexts of crisis and conflict. Through action research and co-design activities with local educators, families and research institutions, INSPIRE will examine how a play-based approach to learning, inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational experience, can act as a catalyst for autonomy, well-being and resilience.

The project is structured around two closely interlinked strands of work:
1. Global research, dedicated to theoretical inquiry and innovative experimentation, focusing in particular on the cultural, intellectual and pedagogical legacy of Carla Rinaldi;
2. Sustainable education and research communities, through which the research findings promote high-quality education in partner countries, including in conflict contexts, by building and sustaining collaboration amongst institutional stakeholders aligned with the mission at city, regional and ministerial levels.

Over the course of the project’s five years, INSPIRE will directly involve 1,590 teachers, 4,700 children, 310 academics and 460 policy-makers. Sustainable Education and Research Communities (SERCs) will be established in two countries (Kenya and Vietnam) and recommendations for structural change will be drawn up. Indirectly, it will reach 47,700 children, creating educational ecosystems and raising political awareness of education in times of crisis.