Lella Gandini early childhood and children's folklore collection

Collection — Box: 1-23

Identifier: 2014.gandini

Staff Only

The Lella Gandini early childhood and children’s folklore collection contains research notes, presentations, reference materials, journal and magazine articles, and other documents created or used by Lella Gandini throughout her career in early childhood education. The bulk of the materials are from Gandini’s research between 1978 and 1996. Documents in this collection are in various languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, and French; materials in languages other than English will be denoted in brackets in the Contents List section of this finding aid.

The Lella Gandini early childhood and children’s folklore collection is arranged into three series, one of which has been further divided into subseries. The materials are housed in 23 archival document boxes and one oversized folder.

Dates

1645 - 2012
Majority of material found within 1978 - 1996

Creator

Gandini, Lella (Teacher, Person)

Language

Documents in this collection are in various languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, and French. Materials in languages other than English will be denoted in the Contents List section of this finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donor has not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, she has given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes.

Extent

13.5 Linear Feet (23 boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

The Lella Gandini early childhood and children’s folklore collection are a compilation of research notes, presentations, scholarly articles, and other documents created or used by Lella Gandini throughout her education career.

Biographical Note

Lella Gandini (Elena Gandini Little), EdD, is the United States Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach. She has been in the early childhood education field for nearly four decades.

Gandini attended traditional schools in her native Italy and developed an interest in progressive education. In 1976, Gandini began collaborating on articles in Zerosei magazine, directed by Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach. Fluent in both Italian and English, Gandini studied at Smith College in Massachusetts, receiving her Master’s degree in child study. She earned her EdD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1988 with a dissertation on children’s bedtime rituals. Gandini also compared studies of children’s learning environments in Italy and America, presenting these observations at conferences and in scholarly articles. She conducted research, taught, and consulted on various childhood development topics. Gandini authored many articles and book chapters; she served as the co-editor on the comprehensive title Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education (1993).

Gandini specializes in early childhood education, bedtime rituals, children’s fears, folklore, nursery rhymes, and parent-teacher-child relationships.

System of Arrangement

Series I: Research and reference materials, 1645-1993

Subseries A: Folklore, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes

Subseries B: Bedtime environments and rituals

Subseries C: Children and fashion

Subseries D: Children’s fears

Subseries E: History of childhood

Subseries F: Other research and reference materials

Series II: Professional development documents, c. 1970s-1996

Series III: Selected publications, 1971-2012

Custodial History

The Lella Gandini early childhood and children’s folklore collection was donated to The Strong in three shipments (one each in November 2012, September 2013, and March 2015) as a gift from Lella Gandini, also known as Elena Gandini Little. The papers were received from Gandini and accessioned by The Strong under Object IDs 112.6693, 114.31, and 115.470. (The 2012 and 2013 accessions also included more than 300 books on childhood and children’s folklore from Gandini.)

Related Materials

The Lella Gandini early childhood and children’s folklore collection in the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong holds over 300 books on childhood development, early childhood education (especially the Reggio Emilia approach), and folklore.

Subjects

Record Groups

- List 01. Archival Collections Related to the Study of Play

Related Names

Creator

Gandini, Lella (Teacher, Person)

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding Aid to the Lella Gandini Early Childhood and Children's Folklore Collection, 1645-2012
Status: completed
Author: Julia Novakovic
Date: 25 February 2016
Description rules: dacs