UofL Faculty Lead 2026 International Study Tour to Reggio Emilia

Each spring, a small group of University of Louisville students travels to Reggio Emilia, Italy, to step inside one of the most influential early childhood education movements in the world. The 2026 International Study Tour, led by Jon Lee, Jill Jacobi-Vessels, and Katherine Jordan of the University of Louisville College of Education & Human Development, continues a long-standing commitment to immersive, relationship-based learning in early childhood education.

Rather than treating Reggio Emilia as an abstract philosophy, the study tour places participants in direct dialogue with the educators, spaces, and civic culture that shaped the Reggio Emilia Approach®. Students arrive with foundational knowledge of the approach and then deepen their understanding through guided conversations, shared reflection, and firsthand encounters with documentation, research, and daily practices developed by teachers, pedagogistas, and atelieristas working in the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia.

The trip is embedded within a three-credit university course and is intentionally structured as a collective, academically grounded experience rather than a personal travel opportunity. It is not simply about observing a celebrated approach, but about slowing down, studying alongside others, and grappling with the complexities of education as a cultural, ethical, and relational practice.