Higher Education (HE) training is associated with the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) (Sylva et al., 2004). However, despite growing European research exploring key competences for ECEC (Campbell-Barr, 2015; Urban et al., 2011), competence frameworks for HE ECEC students and support for the self evaluation of competences are still emerging and require further development (Early Childhood Workforce Initiative 2018; ECSDN, 2018). An ECEC degree will support students in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context to facilitate their effective pedagogical relationships with children. One particular concept –child-centredness– is highlighted as important for working with children and underpinning effective, quality pedagogy (Bogatić et al., 2018; Georgeson et al., 2015), but existing research demonstrates that it is a term that is variably interpreted and students struggle to know what it looks like in practice (Campbell-Barr, 2017). We will therefore develop a child-centred competences framework for ECEC, presented in the form of a matrix to facilitate students in their self evaluation of competences whilst on work placements, alongside innovative, open access, online training to support students in acquiring and developing their child-centred competences. Additional online resources will be developed for mentors to facilitate their role in supporting students in the development of child-centredness. As a concept, child-centredness reflects different aspects of ECEC pedagogical approaches: romantic, democratic and developmental. Research has demonstrated the varying ways in which those working in ECEC negotiate the difference concepts of child-centredness (Campbell-Barr et al., 2018; Georgeson et al., 2015), but far less is known about the role of HE initial ECEC training for supporting students in developing their child-centred competences. Research in Hungary demonstrates that students are aware of a child-centred ideal, but are less certain about what it looks like in practice and how to fulfill expectations of the ideal (Campbell-Barr, 2017). In Denmark, research has illustrated that a challenge for HE ECEC initial training is that assessments of practice can be focused on observable enactments of particular tasks, as opposed to considering how the student develops a relationship with the child (Jensen, 2015). Further, whilst child-centredness focuses on the individual child (Wood, 2007), ECEC students will be going on to work with groups of children, potentially requiring child-centred competences to be enacted in multiple and varying ways. Across Europe, the practice of combining theoretical and practical elements of HE training for ECEC are well established (Oberhuemer et al., 2010). However, the balance between the theoretical and the practical, alongside how the two integrate (as opposed to being binary) remains a problem. In Sweden, changes in initial ECEC training have seen a shift towards university-based training, with criticism that academic knowledge becomes abstract and not grounded in practice (Karlsson, 2015). In England, reflection has been presented as a bridge between theory and practice (Egan, 2009), but despite the common use of ‘reflection’ in ECEC, there is no consensus on how the skill is performed (Urban et al., 2011). There is a need to better understand the compentences of child-centredness to both improve recognition of this complex skill, whilst developing innovative ways to support students in bridging gaps between theory and practice in support of their future professional roles. Extending a Strategic Partnership that has enhanced understandings of child-centredness, the proposed project will establish a child-centred competences framework, to support students in the self-evaluation of competences whilst on placement during HE ECEC initial training. Open access, online training will tackle the mismatch between identifying the importance of child-centeredness and how this is realised in initial ECEC training. To facilitate the future employability of students, the training will be developed with the ECEC sector, whilst developing resources for ECEC mentors to facilitate them in supporting students and newly qualified staff in developing their child-centred competences. The project will improve understandings of what it means to be a skilled and competent child-centred ECEC professional in seven countries: Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Romania and UK. The analysis of the training delivered in the existing Strategic Partnership will provide important lessons on how to further develop the previously designed courses, whilst informing the new course for students and resources for mentors. The development of a child-centred competences framework, that is cross-referenced against existing ECEC competency profiles, will offer a unique, European wide resource for enhancing the quality of ECEC pedagogical practice.
The project sought to improve understandings of what it means to be a skilled and competent child-centred ECEC professional in seven countries: Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Romania and UK. The analysis of the training delivered in a previous Strategic Partnership project provided important lessons on how to enhance the previous online courses, whilst informing a new e-book and resources for students and their mentors. The development of a child-centred competences framework, that was cross-referenced against existing ECEC competency profiles and grounded in relevant literature, provides a unique, European wide resource for enhancing the quality of ECEC pedagogical practice and forms the basis of the e-book. Due to the pressures of Covid-19, and recognition of the impact this had on the ECEC community who were at various times providing remote and/or in person ECEC, the original design was altered to focus less on the role of mentors and to provide students with a self-reflection tool. In recognition of this shift, the combining of the competence framework, resources and e-book created a standalone, open access, output that students could access to support their self reflection on their child-centred competences.
As a concept, child-centredness reflects different aspects of pedagogical approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC): romantic, democratic and developmental, which are demonstrated in various ways (Campbell-Barr et al., 2018), but far less is known about the role of Higher Education (HE) initial ECEC training for supporting students to work with groups of children, potentially requiring child-centred competences to be enacted in multiple and varying ways. Across Europe, the practice of combining theoretical and practical elements of training for ECEC in HE are well established (Oberhuemer et al., 2010). However, problems remain with the balance between the theoretical and the practical, and how the two might integrated. There is a need to better understand child-centredness to improve recognition of this complex skill, and support students in bridging gaps between theory and practice. The project established a child-centred competences framework to support students in self-evaluation of competences whilst on placement during ECEC initial training. An online e-book and embedded resources will tackle the mismatch between identifying the importance of child-centeredness and how this is realised in initial ECEC training.