A large body of evidence from social science, psychology and neuroscience, demonstrates the importance of early years for later development. High quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is therefore important for later individual educational and social progress. Quality of early childhood education is strictly connected with the ability of educators to promote the children's personality and the full development of their potential. The possibility to spread one’s own identity outside stereotypes is a crucial aspect. Children become familiar with gender stereotypes in everyday activities and ECEC educators behaviour and educational techniques convey gender and cultural stereotypes, most of the time implicitly. Create awareness to acquire knowledge and skills to spread a culture of equality and non-discrimination is the condition to create/develop an educational practice that can increase the quality standards of early childhood services and preschools in multiple directions. For all these reasons, this project aims to contribute, to define and spread models, tools and methods to foster inclusion of diversity and equal opportunities. Specific objectives of the project are to: analyze and share the best practices and previous experiences inside and outside the partnership in gender and diversity education; educators training model in each partner country (IO1); information and action toolkit for parents, in order to foster sensitivity and adequate competence in support to a stereotype-aware education for children (IO2); guidelines and recommendations for policy makers (IO3). The participants directly involved in the project are educators working in pre-primary schools (children aged 0-6). 120 educators from the three partner areas (Trentino, Styria, Sofia) will attend at the training courses and then take actively part in the toolkit development and testing. From the same area about 240 parents will be involved in the information and toolkit development and test, as well as 30 policymakers in guidelines and recommendation definition and testing. Beneficiaries of the project are children, teachers, parents and families, headmasters, other educators. Based on a participatory process and in itinere evaluation and finetuning, the project will develop educators training courses based on innovative pedagogical approaches and methodologies, information material, and recommendations for decision makers and relevant social stakeholders. The methodology is based on intersectional approach (gender & diversity). The intersectional approach answers congruently individual needs as well as group needs emerging at the intersection of attitudes, behaviour and social interaction based on different life realities, affiliations and experiences of children that alongside with gender include race/ethnicity, ability/disability, religion and sexual orientation. Training will be conducted through a participatory critical methodology (PCM), an educational strategy, learner centered, experience based and open ended whose focus in not only on information giving or skill building, but on stimulating participants critical thinking to articulate their own knowledge. Toolkit, information and recommendation development will be conducted as well with a participatory design methodology (PDM). The expected results are an exchange of best practices; offer specific training for ECEC educators and information for parents; establish an inclusive pedagogic environment with a gender perspective. The impact of the project is focused on a higher quality of pre-primary school education and a larger and deeper sensitivity to gender and diversity education, giving children the right to grow up free by stereotypes. At a larger level, the impact of the project is to act as a conduit for knowledge of other European experiences and to start a discussion, much more scientific, on the gender and diversity theme. It is a challenge for whole EU to propose educational approaches focused on social and civic aspects and not only on school subjects.
The DEE project was born with the aim to rise knowledge about gender and diversity and to propose actions, practices, methodologies for professionals to deal with these topics in the educational contexts of the pre-school age, in order to fight stereotypes and gender violence. As we know, a large body of evidence from social science, psychology and neuroscience, demonstrates the importance of early years for later development. Quality of early childhood education is strictly connected with the ability of educators to promote the children's personality and the full development of their potential. Create awareness to acquire knowledge and skills to spread a culture of equality and non-discrimination is the condition to create/develop an educational practice that can increase the quality standards of early childhood services and preschools in multiple directions. Create awareness to acquire knowledge and skills to spread a culture of equality and non-discrimination is the condition to create/develop an educational practice that can increase the quality standards of early childhood services and preschools in multiple directions. We also know that for an effective and lasting action it is necessary to involve not only crèche, kindergarten and educators, but also other key players in preschool age: parents / families and policy makers. For this reason, the DEE project started from the analysis and sharing of best practices and previous partner’s experiences in gender and diversity education, and went on with the creation of an educators training model (IO1), the creation of information and action toolkit for parents in order to foster sensitivity and adequate competence in support to a stereotype-aware education for children (IO2), the definition of guidelines and recommendations for policy makers (IO3). The main output of the IO1 is the training course model created and tested by 123 educator and teachers from 21 facilities of all the three countries involved. The training course is aimed at educators (and other professional figures in the field of education) who work with children with an age range 0 to 6. The total number of participants for which this model can be used depends on the need and expectations of every institution or facility, but it is ideal to not exceed 20 participants per group. The range of total hours for the training course is 16 to 20. The training course is designed to be divided into four thematic sections, each of which is composed of one or more units. Every unit description contains the methodological grid of topics, educational aims and techniques. In addition, there are proposals on teaching materials and some expected outcomes. The main product of the IO2 is the information and action toolkit for parents. This product was created by a participatory approach, whereby the participants from the facilities were involved actively in all the processes under the guidance of gender and diversity expert trainers. This allowed for a theory-to-practice and back process which leads both to a high theoretical and pedagogical standard and a high operational usability of the toolkit. The tools and activities for parents work are intended to be used when parents and guardians are invited to the facility. Some activities involve the children together with parents and guardians, some are intended for settings in which only educators and parents and guardians are present. More than 700 parents took part in the actions tested (informative corners and parents evenings). The activities undertaken by the partners in Bulgaria, Italy and Austria with regards to parent work aimed to engage parents/guardians through educators, to support educators to reflect on the influence of stereotypes in their work and in contact with parents/guardians, and to support educators to help parents/guardians to become aware of bias and prejudices. The main product of the IO3 are the guidelines and recommendations for decision makers and stakeholders. They are based on a questionnaire (28 open and closed questions which aim to gather information of the participants’ perception on the presence of gender equality and diversity in general and related to education), a desk analysis of the national legislation of the partnering countries, statistical methods, including descriptive data analysis, graphical data analysis and analytical methods as well as a primary review and secondary analysis of data from existing studies and analysis of documents. The project succeeded in its goals: to promote an exchange of best practices, to offer specific training for ECEC educators and information for parents, to arise awareness and involve the stakeholder with an operative tool (guidelines) to create an attentive and gender and diversity sensitive community.