Ethical values for preschool children Erasmus Project

Project Title

Ethical values for preschool children

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Ethics, religion and philosophy (incl. Inter-religious dialogue); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Education in ethical values should start already among preschool children but kindergarten curricula almost do not mention this topic. A comparative study of preschool activities shows that young children get involved in activities like construction games, playing with toys, reading books, playing in the sandpit, using playground equipment, language, communication, art/creativity, health and physics whereas other themes seem to be more neglected, especially ethical and social issues (Kallestad J.H., Odegaard E.E. , http://psyjournals.ru/en/kip/2013/n4/66083.shtml).
Objectives of the project are to make a research of ethical issues in the preschool education, provide a handbook of kindergarten activities to acquaint children with values and organise education/training for teachers and/or parents. The research study consists of the theoretical and empirical part. The first includes a critical survery of literature on ethical issues in preschool education and a comparative analysis of several kindergarten curricula. The empirical part contains research of moral values among preschool children (interviews) and research among teachers and parents about the ways in which they try to acquaint children with fundamental principles of ethics like fairness, honesty, empathy, truthfulness, responsibility, gratitude, patience etc. The handbook of kindergarten activities should help teachers and parents acquaint children with ethical values. The project analyzes also several educational programs for kindergarten teachers and prepares sillabi for courses that could acquaint teachers with more knowledge of ethics. The project offers an on-line training course for teachers and provides short workshops for parents.
The project is carried out by three organisations that perform different kindergarten curricula but miss ethical issues in preschool education.
The main activities of of project are a large scale research consisting of the theoretical and empirical study; publishing an e-handbook with activities for education in ethics, providing sillabi for new courses on ethics that should be includeded in the education of kindergarten teachers, an online teacher training course and dissemination of results.
Methodology to be used in carrying out the project is mainly the research methodology used for large-scale research projects in the area of social sciences.
The expected results of the project are a research study on ethical issues in the kindergarten, and analysis of educational programs for preschool teachers which show that it is necessary to introduce ethics in the preschool area. The projects results are also a handbook of preschool activities to acquaint children with ethical issues and syllabi and an online course for education and training of teachers.
The envisaged impact of the project is on the participating organisations (preschool children, their teachers and their parents), on other kindergartens and on education of kindergarten teachers. The most important parts of the project will be translated in English and published on web sites and thus made available also to foreign kindergartens and other stakeholders.
The potential longer term benefit of our project is raising awareness that teaching of ethics is important and that it should start already in the kindergarten.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 225210 Eur

Project Coordinator

Leila, izobrazevanje in raziskovanje d.o.o. & Country: SI

Project Partners

• Ursulinski zavod za vzgojo, izobrazevanje, versko dejavnost in kulturo
• Gulten ve Omer Unlukahraman Anaokulu