Experiences during the first three years of life have been shown to have a lasting effect on a child’s development, and eventual life outcomes. In light of this the need for high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is widely recognised. Countries across Europe are facing complex, multifaceted problems that are negatively affecting its children. Challenges of immigration and integration are common. One in four children under the age of six in Europe is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and may need specific measures to support their educational needs. Prevention and early intervention practices and approaches have been proven to be effective in addressing these challenges, particularly when they are focused on the earliest years of life.
Our project aims to share best practice in the areas of prevention and early intervention (PEI) in disadvantaged populations, evidence informed practice, practitioner training in PEI approaches, and the importance of early childhood care and education (ECEC) as a preventative tool. The objective of this learning exchange is to allow partner organisations to develop and reinforce networks, increase their capacity to work at a transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methods in ECEC and PEI.
This project has four partners: International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI), is a Dutch non-profit organisation with a worldwide brief, and a focus on European and developing countries. It promotes the well being of children growing up in difficult circumstances, and works to improve the policies and practices which affect these children by assisting in the development of local capacity. The University of Coimbra in Portugal has over 700 years of experience in education, training and research, and today has over 24,000 students. Its Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences are involved in research in the fields of parental and family education, early childhood education, and socio-educational interventions with children and families. UiT – the Arctic University of Norway, is the third largest in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. RKBU North (Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare) is involved in research and education of professionals within child welfare and mental health in Norway, and develops research-based practices for services that are working directly with children and youth.
The final partner is the Northside Partnership hosted Prevention and Early Intervention Network (PEIN) in Ireland. It is a network of evidence-based practice, advocacy and research organisations across the Republic of Ireland that share a commitment to improving outcomes for children, young people, and their communities.
The project involves a series of learning exchange visits to each of the partner countries. Activities during the exchanges will include: visit to the host organisation with presentation on their work; two site visits to local programmes/ projects; two expert inputs/ presentations from mixture of academic/ policy / practitioner; project meeting. There will also be two larger open learning events with local and national stakeholders. There will be a mixture of research, policy and practice in the learning exchanges, bringing together experts in all of these three fields.
The methodology we will use in this project will be participatory and experiential, involving open discussion and dialogue and involving visits to services and programmes, as well as inputs from practitioners, applied researchers, and those involved in policy formation. In the belief that strong interpersonal relationships form the basis for successful strategic partnerships and effective collaborative working, there will be space given to networking and information sharing, at all meetings and events.
At the end of this project participants will have developed a better understanding of the situation in different countries in terms of ECEC and PEI practice, as well as the similarities and differences in the context, challenges and responses that exist in each country, and within the different organisations and programmes. Participants will also come away with an understanding of how education and child services systems operate in different countries, and with some new ideas that may be usefully put into practice in their home countries. It is expected that the partnerships developed through this project outlive the lifespan of the current project, and will lead to future and perhaps more ambitious strategic partnerships, job shadowing arrangements, research collaborations and practitioner exchanges. It is also expected that this project will have a long term and sustained positive impact on the wider fields of PEI and ECEC in partner countries.
