Developing Teacher Competences for the Future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Developing Teacher Competences for the Future

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Context/background of the project:
The fundamental competence of ECEC (early childhood education and care) professionals is the learning competence, which implies openness, readiness and the ability of life-long learning. Therefore, the ECEC professional has to be open for new knowledge, continuous professional training and development and continuous professional advancement. In addition, unlike most occupations, ECEC professionals meet people from different age groups in their work, with whom they are expected to cooperate. Hence ECEC professionals need to be able to understand and acknowledge parental knowledge and expectations as a foundation for a quality fulfilment of educational tasks.
In Europe today we also see a change in family structures, increased immigration and the way we value children and childhood.

Objectives:
The changes in Europe today shows that there is an increasing necessity for ECEC professionals to have good communication- and collaboration skills and also are conscious towards their own responsibility for the quality of the cooperation and communication.
This projects main objective was to make ECEC professionals better prepared to meet these challenges.
Through sharing experiences and presenting examples of good practice we wanted to learn how different countries focus on how to meet and collaborate with parents and other care takers., about different cultures and how to work within different frames, expectations and curriculums.
The main purpose of the workshops was to
– Increase ECEC professionals knowledge and ability to cooperate with parents and other care holders.
– For ECEC professionals to be more aware of their own attitudes and how they can influence the way they meet and cooperate with others.
– For ECEC professionals to be more aware of their professional responsibility for developing a good cooperation

Participating organisations:The partnership consists of 5 countries
Croatia, OMEP Hrvatska
Greece, First Kindergarden Parga
Poland, POLSKI KOMITET OMEP
UK, OMEP World Organisation for Early Childhood Education UK National Committee
Norway, Kidsa Øvsttun Kindergarden

Main Activities:
All participants on the first learning, teaching and training activities was trained through 10 workshops regarding 10 different topics;
1. All are welcome
2. Respecting diversity
3. The competences of the teachers needed for co-operation and partnership with the family
4. Partnership with parents, collaboration with family
5. Support to families
6. Communication
7. Contemporary forms of co-operation between families and institutions
8. Child as an active participant of partnership with parents
9. Work with parents in sensitive situations
10. Empowering Parents

In addition to the workshops, the participants was presented with a DTC curricula.

After ended training, all participants have further on trained ECEC-professionals (189 total) in their own countries.

After conducting the training the evaluations shows that the participants have an experience that they have developed their collaborative competences and gained better knowledge of the importance of understanding and respect for the diversity of family backgrounds and family situations. The participants also express the feeling of being better prepared for the interactions and cooperation between teachers and parents or other family members involved in childcare and education.

In long term-benefits the partners in the project have contributed in writing a textbook (in Croatia) which the ministry of education and science in Croatia wants to implement in ECEC-teachers education.
Based on the projects experiences Rutledge Publisher (UK) will publish a textbook where each of the participants will contribute with a section of political and pedagogical framework in their country, experiences of good practice realtive to collaboration with parents and also an academic theoretical section.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 191412 Eur

Project Coordinator

Kidsa Øvsttun AS & Country: NO

Project Partners

• OMEP World Organisation for Early Childhood Education UK National Committee
• POLSKI KOMITET OMEP
• 1st Kindergarten Pargas
• OMEP Hrvatska