Originating from a city in northern Italy, the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education has been adopted by several countries in recent decades. This approach is based on a fundamental philosophy that children should play a leading role in education. Children are considered full of knowledge and intelligence, endowed with every capacity to express themselves, provided they are given the appropriate means to do so. They are protagonists of their own learning and have a say in the topics and issues they will study and research. Teachers provide resources to help children learn and develop. The curriculum is emergent, meaning teachers choose topics and projects based on careful listening and observations of their students' interests, needs, and requests. Children are encouraged to use materials and media to demonstrate their learning and understanding of a topic or project. Materials and the environment have a direct influence on children's learning. Parents and the community also play a supportive role in children's education (OECD, 2004). Te Whᾱriki is New Zealand's early childhood curriculum, developed in 1996. Compared to the Reggio Emilia approach, they have similarities in that they focus on children's interests; develop children's learning by interacting in relationships with others, emphasize the importance of the environment and the active response of adults. They also differ in many ways, such as the role of the teacher, cultural context, documentation, and assessment. Community and parental support is considered a valuable and vital part of the Reggio Emilia system. The exchange of ideas between parents and teachers is essential and promotes the development of a new way of educating. The approach encourages interaction and communication... middle of document ...... both approaches emphasize family and community. The wider world of family and community is an integral part of the Te Whᾱriki Early Years Program (1996). It also states that parental inclusion and support as well as community connections are important to children's learning process. Furthermore, Te Whᾱriki states that “parents and guardians have a wealth of valuable information and understanding about their children” (30). Third, both approaches focus on educators to provide encouragement, warmth, and acceptance. They also provide challenges for creative and complex learning and thinking, helping children to extend their ideas and actions through sensitive, informed and insightful interventions and support. The principles of Te Whᾱriki emphasize that “children learn through responsive, reciprocal relationships with people, places and things” (p.. 14).