Peter L. Mangione, PhD

Senior Director of Early Childhood Strategic Initiatives at WestEd, a nonprofit research and development agency in San Francisco, California. He co-founded and directs the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC)

Előadás / Presentation:

The Infant's Research Is Our Research: Opening Our Hearts and Minds to the Competent Infant

In this presentation, I will share my thoughts of how Anna has enriched our understanding of infant development and care through the way she illuminates Pikler’s principles and approaches research. I will highlight Anna’s thoughts about teaching and learning, especially infants’ joyful engagement in their own research, the importance of experiencing the consequences of their own movements and actions, and the adult’s role in supporting infant learning and development. Anna’s nuanced observations of an infant’s exploration of their own developing skills allow us to see the infant as a researcher who builds knowledge. I will describe how Anna’s research on different aspects of an infant’s attention illustrates how she widens our lens to see the developmental meaning of every aspect of an infant’s self-initiated movement and exploration. In sum, through Anna’s extraordinary insights, we can help caregivers and parents more deeply appreciate the competent developing infant with empathy and understanding.