The RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project focuses on building the capacity of preschool teachers in order to foster to pre-school psychological resilience and safe proof their overall wellbeing. Research shows that early childhood education plays pivotal role in the child development and future success. However, very little is done in the area of preventive and proactive education that will build the social and emotional skills of young learners. Traditionally the focus of most pedagogical methods was put on the notion of achievement and academic performance, thus other important aspects of children’s development such as their psychological resilience, character strengths and moral principles have been marginalised (Shoshani & Slone, 2017). According to WHO European Region (2020), emotional disorders like anxiety and depression fall into the top 5 causes of overall disease burden among children and adolescents. Studies report high levels of chronic mild to moderate mental health and behavior problems, even in young children (Egger&Embe,2011). However, the benefits of Positive Education, such as prevention and management of psychosocial problems, increasing psychological resilience and shielding children from a young age are not well known among EU school staff (Shoshani et al., 2016). While there are valid and developmentally appropriate ways in which strategies and research from positive psychology can be meaningfully applied in early childhood settings – for the benefit of children and educators –these are currently underutilised/unknown (Baker et al., 2017). RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS Project proposes a more holistic approach to preschool education and gives emphasis on traits and capacities that will enable children to adapt efficiently to a fast pacing world with constant changes and challenges. In addition, by fortifying them with qualities that will shield them from possible future unwanted implication like emotional disorders or problematic behaviour. The importance of cultivating these capacities as early as pre-schooler’s age is pivotal, since the earlier children start to become aware and built on their own capacities and character strengths, the greater will be the results in the long-run. Although Europe has been making progress in recent years regarding finding new innovative ways to support both Educators and Students, the recent events with the general lockdown and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, will have a significant impact on education. Such bleak events, forces the scientific and social community of EU to turn the attention when it comes to Education from explicitly focusing on academic achievement to how we can support children emotionally and psychologically during challenging times. To achieve the aforementioned aims, the following objectives will be targeted: •Build the capacity of teachers, in nurturing children’s wellbeing, character traits and resilience. •Develop quality resources for positive culture in preschools, based on Positive Psychology practices and scientific findings. •Improve the overall quality of early educational system in the participating countries •Increasing awareness on the role of various actors on the importance of wellbeing and resilience in young children. To achieve these goals objectives, the RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project will develop a multifaceted toolkit and training package that will address several psychological characteristics that derive from Positive Psychology core principles, Positive Education approach and Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model. OUTPUTS: • IO1: Toolkit for Preschool teachers aiming to cultivate resilience and character strengths in young children. • IO2: Training Package for enhancing preschool teachers’ skills on how to foster resilience and wellbeing in their students • IO3: eLearning Space and OERs The RESILIENT PRESCOOLS CONSORTIUM includes 6 partner organisations from 5 EU countries (Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Romania and Czech Republic) For the dissemination and communication of this project, a website will be developed along with the project’s Facebook page. A social media campaign will also take place in order to spread awareness on the need for raising awareness on project outputs and its value. The impact of this project will be of great value for the education system. Preschool teachers will be able to obtain a deeper knowledge on how to nurture their students’ resilience, wellbeing, character traits and enable their holistic development. The experts and stakeholders themselves will be also able to better understand the value of promoting resilience and how it can contribute in improving the overall landscape of Education in EU premises and beyond.
A number of interventions in schools have demonstrated that resilience, well-being, and character traits can be learned and cultivated (Rey et al., 2014; Seligman, 2009; Shoshani, & Slone,2017). The project's primary aim was to build Preschool Teachers' capacity to foster Preschool Student’s psychological resilience and improve their overall well-being. The project aimed to provide the necessary tools and knowledge to preschool teachers to identify and nurture their students’ well-being, cultivate their capacity to become more resilient and cope with adversity, and set the foundations for building strong human connections and self-regulatory abilities. To achieve the aims above, the following objectives were targeted: • Development of resources for educators working in preschool education • Enhancement of competencies of teachers to perform their professional duties more efficiently • Improvement of preschool students' emotional and psychological resilience and overall wellbeing • Raise awareness regarding the importance of well-being and resilience in young children
Although Europe has been making progress in recent years regarding finding new innovative ways to support both Educators and Students, the recent events with the general lockdown and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted education. Such bleak circumstances force the scientific and social community of the EU to turn the attention when it comes to Education from explicitly focusing on academic achievement to how we can support children emotionally and psychologically during challenging times. The Project aspired to build the capacity of preschool teachers how to foster students’ psychological resilience and overall well-being. Moreover, by enhancing the well-being and resilience of the students, the overall school climate was improved and became a more hospitable environment for students to thrive. The project implementations and pool of knowledge helped educators acquire professional and well-being related competencies to flourish in a very demanding field and foster a positive and impregnable environment for resilience, inclusion, creativity, and happiness in schools.