1. Literature Overview ‘Encouraging quality in ECEC’ 7 th ECEC Network Meeting – 22 nd June 2010 Ineke Litjens Education and Training Policy Division Directorate for Education

2. Parent and Community Involvement

3. To build on the knowledge about children, fostering continuity with learning in the home To promote positive attitudes and behaviours towards children's learning To provide parents/staff with information and referrals to other services To support parent and staff empowerment Main reasons for involving parents and community services in ECEC services

4. Why does it matter? The Importance of Parents and the wider community  All environments affecting children foster similar goals  Foster great communication with parents  Better parenting  Increase parents’ understanding of appropriate educational practices  Better knowledge of child development  Better understanding of children by staff  Promote positive later achievement

5. Defining parental and community involvement Child-focusedCentre-oriented CommunicatingDesign effective forms of school-to-home and home-to- school communications about school programmes and children’s progress VolunteeringRecruit and organise parent help and support ParentingHelp all families establish home environments to support children as students Decision makingIncluding parents in school decisions, developing parent councils and parent-teacher organisations. Learning at homeProvide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning. Collaborating with community Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programmes, family practices, and student learning and development.

6. Evidence of its impacts of particular Type of involvement on child outcomes Main AreasDetails Improving the home learning environment(HLE)  Provide activities and materials for parents and children to do together  Offer parents tips on reading aloud to children and offering literacy learning kits Home visiting  Provide confidence in parents’ interactions with children’s education programmes  Offer great knowledge in children’s development  Gain positive relationships with children and families for staffs Parenting Education  Empower parents to engage with their children’s learning  Positive results on later school measures, regardless of family background or income Active Involvement  Focus on teaching children literacy skills concentrated on children and families creating meaningful self-authored texts Collaboration with wider community resources  Key to children’s motivation for learning and development  diminish development arrears Combination of different approaches  home visits by the pre-school teachers, provision of literacy resources, centre-based group activities, special events, postal communication

7. Encouraging parent and community involvement at system level  Establish a system of communication with and participation of parents  Establish mechanisms for community involvement in support of staff and children Set out goals/purposes Requirement Incentives and support Feasible within context

8. Implementation of effective curricula and pedagogical approaches Perceived barriers (challenges)Key success factors  Language and cultural barriers  Stigmatisation  Insufficient knowledge about possibilities to engage or participate  Parents’ low education level  Attitudinal barriers  Time barriers  Ethos  Clarity of objectives  Pro-activeness  Staff education and training  Flexibility  Funding

9. Curriculum and Effective Pedagogy

10. The Importance of Curriculum and Pedagogies  Key-factors in the quality and effectiveness of the program  Clarifies development aims  Provides structure  Respond adequately to children’s needs  Improve the status of early childhood workers  Ensure an even level of quality across different provisions  Positive effect on children’s social and cognitive development  Promote the well-being of young children

11. What pedagogical and curricular approaches are used in ECEC? Main areasPerspectives of learning Direct instruction curriculum  input by the environment  structured teaching-and-practice lessons  discrete skills, frequent repetition and praise Socialisation curriculumMontessori approach  child’s free learning directly through the materials  less teacher’s personal involvement Constructivist curriculum  Developmentally Appropriate Practice balance of child-initiated learning and guidance from staff members  Experiential education emphasis on the relevance of emotional well- being and child’s involvement  High/Scope curriculum better learning by active experiences that express child’s interests  the Reggio Emilia approach creative communication to develop thinking capacity and child’s own theories  Te Whariki Develop useful understanding attached to cultural and purposeful contexts  Swedish curriculum nurture the child's need for exploration through play and social interactions with adults and peers

12. Evidence of its impact on child outcomes Main areasDetails Curriculum content  Early literacy print and phonological awareness  Mathematics numbers, problem-solving, reasoning skills  Science critical thinking, reasoning skills  Art improve children’s attention and cognition  Physical and health development develop social skills and an understanding of social rules Pedagogical approach  Importance of interactions and play develop child’s main sensory, cognitive, linguistic and social growth  Child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities and free choice simulate child’s independent thinking and self- regulation  Warm and responsive staff behaviour and close child-staff relationships impact on child’s attitudes toward learning

13. Factors that contribute to the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogical approaches 1.Cognitive + social development = complementary 2.Sustained shared thinking 3.Behaviour and discipline policies 4.Balance of practitioner-initiated and child-initiated activities 5.Differentiated learning environment 6.Learning materials 7.Appropriate learning intensity and duration 8.Strong parent and community involvement 9.Informative feedback 10.Good knowledge about curriculum and pedagogies 11.Trained staff 12.Low-staff turnover rate 13.Positive work conditions

14. Implementing effective curriculum and pedagogy  Clear guidelines for the content  Goals of early learning experiences  Pedagogical approaches Main considerationChallenging task  Child’s individual needs  Wide cultural variations in the experiences of young children  Determine relationship between the expectations of curriculum guidelines and specific age-related yearly accomplishments  Provide flexible descriptions of research- based learning trajectories or developmental practices

15. Implementation of effective curricula and pedagogical approaches Perceived BarriersKey success factors  Insufficient knowledge about appropriate practices for a diverse group of children  Programme assessment  Insufficient curriculum content and pedagogical knowledge  Professional education and ongoing training  Positive and workable environment  Providing guidance or access to advice for staff  Involving relevant stakeholders

16. Professional Education and Working Conditions

17. Staff’s education, training, and their work environment : Why does it matter?  Centre of children’s environment and experiences in ECEC  Increases knowledge on child development, curriculum content and pedagogical approaches  Create richer and stimulating learning environment  Enhance optimum engagement for children  Promote the educational, physical, socio-emotional, and healthy development of children

18. Improving child outcomes through teacher and caregiver’s effectiveness Main areasDetails professional development  initial(pre-service) education level of formal education and qualifications  on-going (in-service) education and training staff meetings, conferences and workshops, subject training, field-based consultation and training, supervised practices, mentoring  specialisation in ECEC earn higher degree work conditions  salary and benefits proper compensation  child-staff ratio positive, nurturing interactions  group size appropriate care-giving  professional support job satisfaction  physical, material resources active engagement  workload working hours, physical demands [ personal characteristics  mental health statushigh personal motivations, depression]

19. Implementation of effective professional development programmes and improving working conditions  A framework with professional (working) standards or guidelines Policies that support staff Involvement in curriculum design and flexibility in instruction Qualifications for tasks descriptions Pay scales and (financial) incentives Induction, mentoring, evaluation Equitable access and certification standards Adequate work environments

20. Implementation of effective professional development programmes and improving working conditions ChallengesKey success factors  restricted financial resources  no incentive to achieve higher qualifications or attend in training course  insufficient time  insufficient knowledge about appropriate curriculum content for professionals  unavailability of appropriate training opportunities  management support  inter-professional collaboration and coordination