Transcript Slide 1

EECERA, PORTO, 30. Aug. 2012
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the
1
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
OUTSPRING
John Bennett, EECERA 2008
Six challenges for the coming years, among them:
1. To give more attention to 0-3 years old children, and to
remove the split between childcare and early childhood
education
2. To reduce child poverty and discrimination against children
from low income and diverse families
3. To provide more active support to families, and in particular to
women
4. Preserve the traditions of kindergarten pedagogy
2
Presenters
1. Monika Röthle and Elisabeth Ianke Mørkeseth,
associate professors. University of Stavanger, Norway
2. Maria João Cardona , coordinating teacher (Dr.)
and Martha Uva, auxiliar teacher. Escola Superior de
Educacão de Santarém/CIEC- Universidade do Minho,
PORTUGAL
3. Helen Sutherland and Jan Styman, senior lecturers
in early years . Kingston University, London, ENGLAND
3
The TODDLER Project
- a contribution to improve teacher
training for children under 3 in
Europe
Elisabeth Ianke Mørkeseth and Monika Röthle
EECERA 2012
4
Starting Point 1
A range of socioeconomic factors can have a significant
negative impact on children's psychological
development and chances of success in school. These
includes:
• poverty
• belonging to disadvantaged social classes
• functional illiteracy and low level of education
attainment of parents
• migrant families
(Eurydice 2009, p.11).
5
Starting Point 2
Early stimulation and learning is an important basis for
children's opportunities in life:
• “It is both more efficient and more equitable to
invest in education very early: correcting failure later
on is not merely inequitable, but highly inefficient in
comparison. This is not only because pre-primary
education facilitates later learning, but also because
a substantial body of evidence shows that, especially
for disadvantage children, it can produce large socioeconomic returns”.
(Jàn Figel, EU-Commissioner. Eurydice 2009, p. 3).
6
Education of professionals: a key
factor
The good training, good pay, good working conditions of
staff and the support they are given are key factors for
ensuring quality in ECEC provision.
(ECEC- Key lessons from research for policy makers 2009,www.nesse.fr)
Well-educated, well-trained professionals are the key
factor in providing high quality ECEC with the most
favourable cognitive and social outcomes for children.
(OECD, 2006, Starting Strong II)
7
The EPPE- Studies
Key explanatory factors for high quality ECEC are related to
“staff with higher qualifications, staff with leadership skills
and long-serving staff; trained staff working alongside and
supporting less qualified, staff with a good understanding of
child development and learning” (Siraj-Blatchford, 2010)
High proportions of staff with low level education are related
to poorer outcomes in the socio-emotional domain.
Lower-qualified staff can be positively influenced by working
alongside highly trained staff (Sammons, 2010)
8
High level of staff qualification =
better pedagogical practice
Mixed findings: Teacher quality is a very complex issue.
No relation between the level of staff qualification and
classroom quality or learning outcomes. (Early et al., 2007).
Nevertheless, most research indicates that higher level
of education associates with higher quality of ECEC.
9
Methods - Ethical considerations
Qualitative methods
• Pictures, case studies, video- and voicerecording, document analysis, questionnaires
Quantitative methods
• observation sheets, statistics from partner
countries
Comparative analyses
The individual countries own legislations are used as
basis for ethical considerations in the project.
10
State of the art: Initial training for working
with children under 2,5
Secondary school
degree
2 years advanced
vocational training
Bachelor degree
Masters degree
Early Years
DE
DE (educator)
DE (not required)
DE (not required)
DK (assistant)
DK (pedagogue: 0-adult)
BE – fr, BE-fl
(Nursery nurse/ childcare
worker)
BE-fr (Psychomotricity
teacher)
BE-fl «Pedagogical Coach»
not required
UK (play group assistant)
UK
NO (assistant)
ES
UK (not required)
Norway (Kindergarten
teacher: 0-5)
ES
NO (not required)
ES (preschool teacher 0-5)
PT EC-teacher 4 years
RO
11
A variety of challenges
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Level of education: BA ECEC 0-5 does not exist
BA ECEC 0-5 exists, but is not required
Target group of BA too wide: enough time for 0-3?
BA for age 0-5: enough priority, knowledge 0-3?
BA “pedagogical coach 0-3”: a new professional role
No specialisation courses BA/MA ECEC 0-3
Working for care sector or education/edu&care
Lower status/salary of teachers ECEC 0-3 than 3-5
Lack of educated personnel in toddler E&C
12
Areas of improvement in teacher training
(1)
- Teacher education, also for working with under 3, at a
bachelor level with opportunities for masters and PhDprograms
- Raise the interest among teacher educators to do
research within the field of toddlers` education and
care
- Raise the interest among students to study subjects
regarding toddlers, and to work with children this age
as teachers
- Strengthening the teaching practice so most students
can get experience with toddles during their training13
Areas of improvement in teacher training
(2)
- Build the programs on the best in the
traditions of kindergarten pedagogy; respect
for the child`s natural learning strategies along
with strong theoretical foundation, much
classroom experience, practitioners research
and training in working with parents, local
schools and communities (Bennett, EECERA 2008).
- In-service training, continuous education
14
The project outcome:
Course development
• A one week European in-service training course for
staff working with toddlers (Comenius – Grundtvig
Training Database)
• A course module (5ECTS) to be used in initial teacher
training in the 9 universities involved in TODDLER
• Forthcoming: A two weeks European course for
student teachers and teacher trainers (Comenius
Intensive Programme)
15
References:
Bennett, J. (2008) Public Policy and Early Childhood Systems in Europe. Keynote 18.th EECERA
Annual Conference, Stavanger, Norway 3.-6. 9. 2008.
Early, D. et al (2007), Teachers’ Education, Classroom Quality, and Young Children’s Academic
Skills: Results from Seven Studies of Preschool Programs, Child Development, Vol 78, No 2, pp
558-580.
European Commission/NESSE (2009), Early Childhood Education and Care: Key Lessons from
Research for Policy Makers. Report submitted to the European Commission by the NESSE
network of experts.
Eurydice Report (2009), Tackling Social and Cultural Inequalities through Early Childhood
Education and Care in Europe. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. Brussels.
OECD (2006), Starting Strong II: Early Childhood Education and Care. OECD Publishing.
OECD (2012), Starting Strong III: A quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and Care. OECD
Publishing.
Sammons, P. (2010) The EPPE Research Design: an Educational Effectiveness Focus ), in: Sylva et
al. (eds), Early Childhood Matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary
Education Project, Routledge, London/New York.
Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010), in: Sylva et al (eds), Early Childhood Matters: Evidence from the
Effective Pre-school and Primary Education Project, Routledge, London/New York.
www.toddlerineurope.eu