Sardes International: Preschool Education
Widespreading and strengthening the quality of preschool education in Turkey
By the end of 2004, Turkey was given green light to start negotiations to become member state of the European Union. The task of the Turkish government is to harmonize their legislation, policy and practice with the guidelines and directives as laid down in the Acquis Communautaire of the EU. In cooperation with ICDI, Sardes provides technical assistance to the Directorate for Preschool Education of the Turkish Ministry of Education in strengthening policy and practice of preschool education in Turkey. Focus lies on the development of a vision on learning and a policy strategy for the (short- and middle-term) future of preschool education.
In close cooperation with our Turkish counterpart, we will analyse the way and the extent in which legislation and regulations are implemented in daily practice at preschools. We compare the Turkish situation with the one in The Netherlands and other countries. Wherever necessary we will formulate suggestions for improvement in the strategy document.
We will also provide a base for in-service teacher training for preschool education. All knowledge and skills will be shared with teachers and other professionals who work in preschool education in Turkey, by means of an epistemic community. An epistemic community is a network of teachers, researchers, policy makers etc. who bring in knowledge and experience from their own background, oriented towards development and application of knowledge. This group of experts in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) meets regularly in order to develop a shared vision on ECEC in Turkey and to enhance cooperation between stakeholders.
From the first meeting of the epistemic community in November 2006, a newsletter can be downloaded (in Turkish or Dutch).
Newsletter Turkish
The project runs from January 1st 2006 until December 31st 2007.
More information: Jeroen Aarssen
Preschool education in Russia
The Russian government has the wish to prepare children for primary school in the year before they formally enter the educational system. In the framework of the Dutch/Russian educational cooperation, Sardes and the Moscow State Pedagogical University are carrying out a project to strengthen the preschool education in Russia.
The aims of this project are:
- to analyse 'good practice' in Russia, The Netherlands and other countries
- to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills that are needed to prepare children for primary education
- to develop and test a curriculum
- to develop a strategy to raise parents' awareness of the importance of preschool education
As part of the project, a description was madeof the Dutch preschool education system.
Click here to view the document.
Project management Russia: Ludmila Trubina, Moscow State Pedagogical University
Project managment The Netherlands: Kees Broekhof, Sardes
More information: Kees Broekhof
Effective teaching and learning for minority children in preschools in Slovakia and Estonia
From 2004-2006, Sardes was partner in the project 'Effective Teaching and Learning for Minority Children in Preschool', funded through the EU Socrates and Comenius Initiative. The international consortium was lead by the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) and carried out together with Step by Step organizations in Estonia and Slovakia and two European partners, COSPE (Co-operation for the Development of Emerging Countries), an NGO located in Italy, and Sardes Educational Services. During this 2-year project a replicable teacher training module and learning materials were developed that fit the needs of early learners from minority language communities (Roma in Slovakia and Russians in Estonia). The project had three aims:
- Learning of the ‘state language' as a second language is most efficient if done in continuous, meaningful and interesting activities and in interaction with peers
- Language learning as an integrated approach: new concepts and constructs used in different contexts.
- Appraisal of the mother tongue and home culture. Teachers' beliefs may be even more important than specific skills/techniques.
Sardes task was to evaluate the materials, the training module and the project as a whole.
Click here to view the evaluation report.
More information: Jeroen Aarssen
This site has been modified on 13-03-2012