Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) should be at the centre of a radically new approach to continuing training with a stronger European dimension.
Contrary to teachers belonging to higher educational levels (primary and secondary), the training of teaching staff in ECEC is to a great extent linked to local or national offers based on clear-cut separation between initial education and in-service training.
As highlighted in European Education and Training 2020, “participation of all ECEC staff in high-quality initial education and training and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes is key to improving the quality of ECEC provision”. However, most of the offer has mainly a local dimension and focus on the way in which they are designed.
The project partners believe there is a need of a radically new approach emphasising the crucial role of the European dimension in continuing professional development for ECEC staff.
There is a need to rethink the in-service training paths of ECEC staff in a European perspective, where knowledge and experiential learning for the improvement of their professional skills are acquired not only locally but rather in combination with a set of high-quality activities tailored at European level.
National educational systems that establish explicit links between initial training and continuing education are more likely to bolster training quality, support staff retention, and enable individuals to thrive in the sector. Regrettably, the limited availability of international training programs for ECEC professionals hampers the acquisition of diverse learning experiences abroad.
As the number of ERASMUS+ accredited ECEC organizations grows, there’s a pressing need to establish a structured European framework facilitating effective utilization of received funding for organizing staff mobilities abroad.
The project's general objective is to develop and spread an innovative approach to ECEC staff training based on European in-service continuing education. The specific objectives are:
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Pr. nr.:2023-1-SE01-KA220-SCH-000156400
