CARE team researcher Pauline Slot presented at the annual meeting of the ProLEER network, Boston, USA, April 6th, on the topic “Best ECEC practices in Europe ”
ProLEER is an international network of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, committed to improving educational practice and policy, to enhance children’s learning in the preschool through primary years. The network was initiated in 2009 by Harvard alumni, in collaboration with Professor Catherine Snow of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
The ProLEER network, convenes an annual meeting at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, among 50 invited international stakeholders in educational research, policy and practice, to discuss cutting edge knowledge and research based practices in the areas of language and literacy, early education and teacher professional development. Additional institutional partners include the David Rockefeller Center on Latin American Studies, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the Asociación de Amigos del Aprendizaje.
As part of the CARE project we conducted a case study into good practices in ECEC across 9 different European countries. We made videoclips in 4 centers per country focusing on daily routines, play, educational and creative activities in order to compare quality, based on the CLASS Toddler and CLASS Pre-K, curriculum, as assessed with teacher reports, and structural characteristics, including teacher's qualifications, group size, ratio, and opportunities for professional development among others.
The case study illustrates practices across Europe and can inform research, policymakers and, practitioners on what is considered good quality ECEC and how this is related to teacher, center and organizational characteristics.