“LittleChildren,BigOpportunities”‘KleineKinderen,GroteKansen’aprojectfocusingon(future)preschoolteachersandteachertraininginstitutes-2016-2018

GeneralIntroduction

TheKKGKprojectinFlandersanditsoutput

Theinitiatorofthe2,5yearsproject“LittleChildren,BigOpportunities”(‘KleineKinderen,GroteKansen’,KKGKproject)wastheFlemishMinisterofEducation.Thegoalwas(andis)toprofessionalisestudentsinteachertraininginstitutesindealingwithpoverty,diversityandsocialequity.Theinterestingideaofthisprojectwastobringtogetherall14Flemishteachertraininginstitutes(TTI)(bachelor)focusingonpre-schooleducation(2,5to6yearsold–inFlanders,achildbecomessubjecttocompulsoryeducationon1Septemberofthecalendaryearinwhichitbecomes6yearsold).Theproject’smainmethodwasbringingtogetherlecturersofalltheseinstitutesinaProfessionalLearningCommunity(PLC–‘LerendNetwerk’)having8full-daymeetingsin16months(onceeverytwomonths).AlsopresentinthesePLC’swere,nexttothe14TTI’s:

- externalorganisationswithexpertiseinpovertyandsocialinequalities,children’srights,equalopportunities,earlychildhoodeducationetc.;

- pedagogicalcounsellorswhocoachandguideschoolteamsondifferentpedagogicalitemsindifferentlengthsoftrajectories.

Together,weworkedonthe‘deconstruction’ofwhatcompetencesa(future)professional/teachermightneedinordertoprovideeachchildwithanequalopportunity.Wecameto2mainfocuses:

QualityInteraction-Conceptualisation

- Trainingandchallengingtheprofessionalinqualitativeinteractionswithchildren(andstimulatingtheseinteractionsamongstchildrenaswell).Thisfocusisimportantinrelationtoeverychild,butchildreninsocialvulnerabilityneedcompensationandanticipatingactions.

- Trainingandchallengingtheprofessionalinconceptualising(alternativeterms:framing&perceptions)his/herownvaluesandbeliefs,thedominanteducationalframework,inrelationtopovertyandvulnerability,andactingaccordingly.ThisfocusisorientedtowardsthemainthemeoftheKKGK-project(dealingwithchildpoverty),andstimulatesameta-reflectingattitudeoftheprofessional(‘leavingyourownmindsetbehindandlearnaboutothermindsets’).

7+4+1=12Indeconstructingthesetwofocuses,wediscoveredthatthereare:

- 4leversonthefirstone(‘qualityinteraction’):becompetent/skilled1)inlanguagestimulatinginteractions(‘rijketaal’intheillustration),2)incognitive/exploring/researchstimulatinginteractions(‘onderzoeken’),3)inrelationalinteractions(‘warmerelaties’)and4)artistic-creative/expressiveinteractions(‘expressie).AdvicefromtheKKGKLearningCommunity:youneedtoseethisinaholisticapproach!

- 3leversonthesecondone(‘conceptualisation’):1)becompetentinknowingthemechanismsofpovertyandsocialinjustice/exclusion–the‘head’(inzichten’),2)trytocontactpeoplethatliveorhavebeenlivinginpovertyorvulnerabilityandorganisationswhodefendthemorareinvolvedinadvocacywork,be‘touched’bytheconfrontation/meeting–the‘heart’(‘geraaktworden’),

3)professionaliseinreflectionmethodsthatcanhelpyouinchangingbehaviour,attitude,actionsinordertodealwithchildreninvulnerablesituationsandbackgrounds–the‘hands’or‘themirror’(the‘doublestar’spinning:acting-reflecting-acting-…-InDutch‘handelen-reflecteren’)).AdvicefromtheKKGKLearningCommunity:startwithoneofthesethreeleversinyourtrainingprogramme,itdoesn’tmatterwhichone,buteventuallytakeallthreeintoaccount!Videocoachingisastrongmethodinthisspecificlever.

Result:7leverstoreachequaleducationalopportunitiesforeverychild.Inthesameprocess,wediscoveredthatitisstillimportanttoemphasiseotherconceptsaswell,whichcannotbetracedtooneoranotherlever.Wecalledthemthe‘connectingconcepts’.Forthemoment,wedefined4ofthem:

1–generalprofessionalattitudeofrespect,openness,flexibility,antiracism,antidiscrimination…2–competencesindealingwithdiversityinabroadsense,3–competencesinstagingpartnerships:withparents,withexternalorganisations(onseverallifedomains,intheschoolenvironment),…4–competencesincreatingapowerfullifeandlearningenvironmentintheclassroomandschool.

TheConventionontheRightsoftheChild(UNCRC)actsasanoverallandgeneralframeworkwhichguideseveryaspectofourprofessionalattitudetowardschildren.Thisisthe‘1’inthe‘7+4+1’-formula.

Website‘grotekansen.be’Thiswhole7+4+1-frameworkistranslatedintoawebsitefor(baseline)‘allprofessionalsguidingchildrenfromage0to6(andmore)’.Atfirst,theoutputofourKKGKprojectwouldonlyhavebeenthepre-schoolteachers(andstudentsstudyingtobecomeone)asthetargetgroup.Butbecauseweareinfavouriteofamoreintegratedsystemforchildrenbetween0and6,insteadofthesplitsystemthatweknownowinFlanders,theKKGKprojectteamdecidedto‘openitsdoorsandborders’andmakeawebsitethatissuitableforearlychildhoodeducators(ECE’s)aswell.(The‘andmore’inthebaseline:wehavetheambitiontobroadenthisframeworktoallteachersinprimaryeducation–andmaybesecondaryaswell?).Becauseofthischoice,weareworkingwithorganisationsthataresupportingandtrainingtheseECE’s,suchasKind&Gezin(‘Child&Family’),VBJK(‘InnovationintheEarlyyears’)…Theytooprovideourwebsitewithcontent.ThistextThistextgivesyouanideaofhowwehavedeveloped7ofthese12concepts.Weareawarethateachconceptmightresultinlargethickcoursesandprolongedtrainingmodules–andeventuallyshould.Butinordertokeepthisdocumentsurveyable,wewillsummariseourmainideas.Mostofthe12concepts,researchfindingsandgoodpracticeshavebeenintroducedduringtheLearningCommunitymeetings,derivedfromthemembersoftheCommunitythemselvesandfromotherresearchdoneindifferentuniversities.Mostofthetextsarebriefsummariesofthemainideas.Insomeleverswewillgiveyousomeresearchinputsaswell.OnourKKGKwebsitewewillprovidetheFlemishprofessionalswithchecklistsanditemlists,whichwewillskipinthistext.JanDeMetsandPietVanAvermaet,CentreforDiversityandLearning,UniversityGhentwww.steunpuntdiversiteitenleren.be

7leverstoreachequal(educational/development)opportunitiesforeverychildexplanationoftheusedconcepts

A-Qualityinteraction

Theprofessionalcanmakeallthedifference'Working on quality interactions' and 'bringing children to quality interactions' are corecompetencies in dealing with diversity, child poverty and disadvantaged situations. Internationalresearch of the past 20 years shows that for young children the professional can make all thedifference.Thisistruebothindealingwiththeindividualchild,withthegroupofchildrenandwiththeparents.Inaddition,weknowthathigh-qualityECEC-facilitiesespeciallyhaveapositiveimpactforsociallyvulnerablegroups,becausethatishowthespiralofdeprivationcanbebroken.Interaction becomes quality interaction when the professional stimulates 1) language, 2)relationships,3) thinkingandexploring,4) theartistic-expressiveandcreativeaspect (see the

illustrationwiththefourblue 'levers').Theprofessional’s interactionquality isan importantkeytofullgrowthanddevelopmentofallchildren,andparticularlyofthemostvulnerablechildren.Thisdoesnotmeanthattheprofessionalistheonlyexpertorthathe/shestandsalone.Ideally,heorshe looks for and findsexpertise and supportwith theparents, colleagues, in the institutions andpartnerswithinthecontextofprivatechildcare,familysupportoreducation.So,inthatway,therearealwayslinkswithabasicattitudeofflexibility,criticalreflection,dialogue,cooperation,learning-from-eachother,...FocusonvulnerabilityThiskindofcontentratingsystemandmentalmodelsareobviouslydesignedtoobserveallchildren.At the same time, each child has its own vulnerabilities, originated from very different causes:educational situation at home, survival mode, environment without stimuli, few challenges andexpression opportunities, ... The challenge for the professional is here to actwith foresight andcompensatory.Forchildrenwhohavelessexperientialopportunities,incentives,encouragement,...in the home context, the professional should compensate this by offering extra experiences,incentivesandcompliments.

Lever1–Richlanguage!Theprofessionalputsin‘languagedevelopinginteractionskills’Language is capital; cultural and symbolic capital. When children are challenged to form andcommunicatetheirthoughtsinoneorevenseverallanguages,theyholdthemostimportanttooltogrow, to learn. Here, family context and child care/pre-school education complement each otherperfectly. The challenges are nothing to sneeze at: how do you deal with multilingualism as aprofessionalandyourteam?Howdoyoustimulate28toddlerstolanguageinteractionwhenyouarealone – as is common in the Flemish context? How do you deal with the very different homelanguages that children and their parents bring with? How do you deal with children fromdisadvantaged linguistic, (half) illiterate contexts? How do we design our communication andlanguagepolicysothatanypersonconcernedfeelsrespectedandvalued?Itisabitartificialtoseparatethislanguage-leverfromtheotherones.First,thereisanunbreakablelinkwiththe lever ‘thinkingandexploringinteractions'.Second, languageisalsoaboutdevelopingrelationships. Positive dealingwith themany language repertoires of the children and families ispart of your basic attitude. And to express yourself through art and creative methods is alsolanguage,right?So,weshouldkeepinmindtheconnectionswiththoseotherlevers.Alotoflanguage!Childrenwanttotalk,wanttolearntotalk,liketobechallengedtoexpressinwordstheiremotions,desiresandopinions.Foreveryparent,educatororprofessionalthisisself-evident.Buthowexactlydotheprocessesoflanguageacquisitionwork?Whatcanwelearnfromlinguisticresearch?Howdoyou,asaprofessional,putthatintodailypractice?Andwhataboutmultilingualismandthepositionofthehomelanguageifitdiffersfromtheinstructionlanguage?

Inprocessesoflanguageandsecondlanguageacquisition–asconcludedbyinternationalresearch–the following concepts always seem to return: language input, language output, languageinteraction, feedback, hypothesis. By 'hypothesis' is meant that children try and practice, forexampleonthebasisofearlier(implied)scholarlyprinciplesandrules.Theprofessionalcanthenusethisexplicitexpressionsinthelanguageacquisition.

Itincludesboththelanguagelearningprocessinchildcareasinpre-school.Itisimportantforyouasaprofessionaltousearichandvariedlanguage,toofferthechildrenalotofspeakingopportunitiesandtoproperlyrespondtothelanguageutterancesofthechildren.Actuallyitcomesdownthis:lotsofeverything!

− alotofinteractionandproduction,− alotoflinguisticprovision(‘taalaanbod’),− alotofopportunitiestoproducelinguisticmessages(hypothesis),and− alotofopportunitiestogetfeedbackon.

Languagesensitisation

“Torejectachild’slanguageintheschoolistorejectthechild.”(JimCummins)Inadditiontoknowinganddevelopingtheseprinciplesoflanguageacquisition,thewhole'climate'setupbytheprofessionalandhisteamiscrucial.Adisadvantagedlinguisticenvironmentdoesnotcontribute to achieving language acquisition. Thinking about these very different aspects oflanguageandrichlinguisticenvironmentsandintegratingthisthroughoutthechildcareandpre-school approach, is called ‘language sensitisation’. Teaching with language sensitisation is aboutbuildingsocialrelationships,aboutspreadingapositivebasicattitude,anattitudeinwhichweseemultilingualismasawildcardanddaringtoplaythatwildcard.

Lever2–ThinkingandexploringTheprofessionalstimulatesthinkingandexploringskillsThinking problem-solving, learning how to plan, reflecting on the process, focusing on goodquestions,reasoning,actingself-managing,regulatingemotions.Wehavetoadmitit,thatis‘heavy

artillery’ontheusuallyplayful 'battleground'ofachildcareorpre-school.Andyet,youngchildrencan already quite early be stimulated and challenged in (the start of) these processes. This leverfocuses on howwe teach children to think, explore, look forward, ... from the intrinsic quality of'beingcuriousandsurprised'.Thislever,too,cannotbedisconnectedfromtheotherleversandconcepts.Themostobviousisthiswiththelanguage-lever.Afterall,howwouldyouthinkandexplorewithoutlinguisticinteraction?

Lever3–WarmrelationshipsTheprofessionalputsin‘relationshipdevelopinginteractionskills’Childrendevelopandlearninasafe,structuredandatthesametimechallengingcontextofferedbyadults. Relationships with parents and professionals determine their growth. Toddlers and pre-schoolersneedwarmandconsistentinteractionswiththeadultsintheirenvironment.Atthesametime,theylearnhowtobuildrelationshipswithotherchildren,howtoliveandworktogether.Owngrowth(autonomy,self-management)linkedtosocialrelations(solidarity).Thislevergoesintobothoftheseaspects.Well-beingandinvolvementTheconceptsof'well-being'and'involvement'areknownthroughandthroughinFlemisheducationby thewell-knownpublicationsof theCentre forExperientialEducation (CEGO–www.cego.be–university KU Leuven). Their descriptionmakes immediately clear their interest in this 'relational'lever:

Well-being: If children feel at home, are spontaneous, open to the world, inner calm andrelaxed,radiateconfidenceandvitality,fullyenjoy,...,thenweknowtheyemotionallydevelopproperly. Well-being indicates that the social-emotional development is unchallenged, thatchildren succeed to interact with the environment in such a manner that basic needs aresatisfied.Involvement: If children are concentrated and absorbed, fascinated, motivated, mentallyintense focused, fully experience sensations and thoughts, are driven by the urge to explore,balanceontheborderoftheirabilities,...,thenweknowthattheylearnindepth.Involvementisthe'zoneofproximaldevelopment'.

Does an approach centralising well-being and involvementmake a difference in the growth andlearningdevelopment inchildren?CEGOcurrentlycarriesoutprolongedand longitudinal researchintothis.Thefirstresultsareveryencouraging.Does that approachmake a difference for disadvantaged children? It refers to findings of theOECDthatcomparesinanotetwopedagogicalmodels:

"Generallyspeaking,weobservetwodifferentmodelsinvariouscountries.FranceandtheEnglish-speakingcountriestendtoseeapartnership[betweenchildcareandpre-schooleducation]fromtheschool’spointofview:earlyeducationbestservestheeducationalobjectivesandprovideschildrenin the best way with 'ready for school’ skills. In contrast, countries that adhere to the 'processapproach('socialpedagogytradition')(theNorthernandCentralEuropeancountries)seechildcare

asaprivateinstitution,morefocusedonsupportingthefamiliesandthebroadneeddevelopmentofyoungchildren."1

The process approach emphasises well-being, social-emotional development andmotivation forlearning,attentionforsocial relations,playandfreemoments inwhichownchoicescanbemade.Internationalresearchsuggeststhatthisapproachworksbetterforthelearningofyoungchildren.Inpre-schooleducation,therearefourleadingmodels,includingReggioEmilia(anapproachinwhichthevisualexpressioniscentral)andtheapproachofCEGO.

Lever4–ExpressionTheprofessionalputsinontheartistic-creativeaspectWorkingartisticistoexpressyourownexperienceusingthelanguageofthearts.Justliketheotherthreeleversof'high-qualityinteractions',thisartistic-creative-expressiveleverisalsoveryimportantinthedevelopmentofeverychild.Theartisticandexpressiveaspectispre-eminentlythelanguageofwonder,curiosity,exploration,fantasy,sometimesthenon-verbal.Thisgivesperfectoccasiontoalsouserichlanguageintheartisticprocess,tostimulateexploringskillsandtocreatesolidarityinthechildren'sgroup.

“The child has a hundred worlds to discover, a hundred worlds to invent, a hundred worlds todream.Thechildhasahundredlanguages(andanotherhundredhundredhundred)buttheschoolandsocietystealninety-nineofthem.”(LorisMalaguzzi2)

The artistic language is a universal language that can remove thresholds of social exclusion andinequality.Artrecallsrecognisableemotions,removesthresholdsandensurespeoplefromdifferentbackgroundstofindeachother.

Childrenwhodevelopartisticallypracticeanumberof21st-centuryskills inaplayfulway:creativethinking,self-regulation,communication,socialandculturalskillsandteamwork.Theuniversalityoftheartistic language increasesthechildren’s involvementandinterest,whichstimulatesthem,throughtheartisticmethod,tolearnlanguageinaverynaturalway,tolearnthevariousskillsandalsotolearntoexpressthemselves.

Thestrengthoftheartisticmethodisthatlanguagedoesnotlieattheheart,increasingchildren’sinvolvementandlinguisticdevelopmentatthesametime.Iftheartisticmethodalsoliesinlinewiththechildren’sdevelopmentlevel,youhaveaverypowerfulmedium.Thismeans,therewillbelesssocialexclusionandinequalitybecauseyoumakeallchildrenmorecompetentthroughtheartisticmethod.

1OESO,“EducationToday2010:TheOECDPerspective”,p.13.2MalaguzziisthefounderofthepedagogyofReggioEmilia.

Conceptualisation(alternativephrasing:framing&perceptions)

Thecoretheme'qualityinteractions'focusesontherelationshipbetweenprofessionalandchildren.This theme, 'conceptualisation', goes more into the meta level: how to look at ourselves as aprofessional,atourownframeofreference?Howtolearntocriticallyreflectonit,howtolearntotune our actionswith experiences and insights in terms of vulnerability, disadvantaged situationsandchildpoverty?All three levers in this core theme are of importance. It does notmatter fromwhat lever youwould start in a training or professionalising about conceptualisation: as long as you include theothertwo!Thatiswhatwecall'completethewholecircle'.

Lever1–BeingtouchedThe professional learns to know the world of poverty and socialinequality('tomeet–tobeimmersed')Being immersed into the world of social poverty and exclusion induces haunting experiences,sometimesashockeffect.Whetheryouareastudent, teacher,supervisor,pre-schoolteacher, ...,experiencing personallywhat social exclusion does to a person’s dignity, is a powerful lever for adeeperempathicability.Inteachertrainingsforpre-school, teachersand/orstudentsare immersed intotheworldofsocialinequality.Theydosobytalkingwith localpovertyandsocial justiceorganisations indistrictsandneighbourhoodswheretheyare located,bylettingstudentsdotheir internship(e.g.studysupportathome)andbycoachingthemwell,...Inoneteachertraining,theeffectshavebeenmeasured(byin-depthinterviewswithstudentsandteachers)andcanbesummarisedasfollows.

a) A sharpened consciousness: in each interview the lecturers spontaneouslymentioned'consciousness'or'Iammoreawareof...'aseffect.

b) Questioninghis/herownbackgroundc) Remarkablylessclichédimagesd) Moreempathyandrespectforthecomplexityofpovertye) Moreframestoindicatetheirintuitions

Invarioustrainingshasalsobeenexperimentedwithformingatandembetweenateacherandanexperienceexpertinpoverty.Thepurposeofformingthiskindoftandempartners is:strengthen

andsupportthepedagogicalsupervisors(lecturers)inpower-orientedsupportforpeopleinpoverty.One of the principles is to work binding and invigorating, in dialogue with people who dailyexperience exclusion mechanisms, racism and discrimination. Thus, insights are built and theenvironment perspective of people in poverty is central. At the same time, it is important to putpositiveexamplesinthespotlight,takingintoaccounttheirvulnerability.

Lever2–KnowledgeandinsightsThe professional learns to know frames, concepts and insights inpovertyand(mechanismsof)socialinequalityWhy do social and child poverty exist?What are themechanisms behind social inequality?Whatdoes poverty do to a person? Which theories, concepts and frames exist to explain well thestructural causes?Andhow can theyhelp us identifywhatwe see and experience in our classes,nurseriesandchildcare?(Therearemanymodelsandtheoreticalconcepts – inFlandersandabroad– that inaclearwayexplainoneaspectofthecausesofpovertyandsocialexclusion.Thatiswhywearenotgoingtogointothathere).

Lever3–Acting/reflectingTheprofessionalcanreflectcriticallyonownactionsandadjusthis/heractionstoitFromthetwootherleversat'Conceptualisation'–'beingtouched'and'knowledgeandinsights'–itis ultimately intended toadjust yourownactions as a (future) supervisorof children. Inorder toreally put in your class, school, child care and nursery practice to offer each child equaldevelopmentopportunities.Reflecting on your actions, and then acting to it, is actually a lifelong process. Thisprofessionalisationnever stops – or should at least be constantly stimulated. In addition, this is aprofessionaldevelopmentthatistakingplacenotonlyattheindividuallevelbutalsoonteamlevel.Whatmethodshavebeeneffectiveanddeserveattention?Whatisneededtoturnareflectionintoa'quality'reflection?BringleandHatcher3(1997)putfirstthesecriteria:"high-qualityreflection

− takesplaceonaregularbasis,− linksexperiencesto(proposed)learningandtraininggoals,− alsoleavesroomforpersonalvaluesandbehaviour,− reflectioniscontrolledandmonitored,− issucceededbyfeedbackandevaluation."

AccordingtoHattie,videocoachingisaverystrongmethodtoempowerthis.3Hatcher,J.andBringle,R.G.,"BringingtheGapbetweenServiceandLearning"(1997).Evaluation/Reflection.Paper20.http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slceeval/20.