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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-03 Daily Xml
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EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Will the minister inform the house of the involvement of South Australian early childhood development professionals in the work of our current Thinker in Residence Professor Carla Rinaldi?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:41): I thank the member for Port Adelaide for this very important question. Last week, I was very pleased to join I am told just over 2,000 people, most of them involved in child development professional fields, for the inaugural lecture of Professor Carla Rinaldi. As members would be aware, Professor Rinaldi is an internationally renowned advocate for children and is President of Reggio Children and President of Foundation Reggio Children—Loris Malaguzzi Centre. Professor Rinaldi's residency is the latest example of how we, as a state, are making those vital years (zero to five years) of childhood one of the government's top seven priorities.

Professor Rinaldi's lecture last week without question absolutely captivated her audience, when she encouraged professionals, parents and others to question and explore how we, as a community, raise and educate our children. She talked about the Reggio approach, which is a world-renowned educational philosophy that focuses on infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Drawing on her extensive experience in working with children, she encouraged professionals and parents alike to explore innovative ways to assist children to learn and develop. I was particularly interested in her notion, the Reggio notion, of the metaphor of children having 100 languages, which refers to the extraordinary potential of children.

I am very pleased that we have Professor Carla Rinaldi in South Australia. She is incredibly well credentialled and recognised world wide. I see her work building on the work of the late and great Dr Fraser Mustard, and I see it working side by side with Professor Martin Seligman, who is also in the middle of a residence in South Australia. I think Professor Carla Rinaldi was at Parkside, the member for Unley might wish to confirm that. She has been getting around the regions and the city visiting sites and I look forward to engaging with her. I encourage every member of the opposition who has an interest in the future of our children to do the same.

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