Inclusive early childhood education : literature review

This literature review on Early Childhood Education (ECE)/Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) is part of the ‘Inclusive Early Childhood Education’ project, conducted by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. The project’s overall goal is to identify and analyse the factors that enable quality and effective pre-primary programmes for all children in inclusive early years settings. This review shows that international organisations and the European Union (EU) regard high-quality ECE/IECE as an essential foundation for lifelong learning. It is indispensable for success in modern knowledge-based economies. Participation in high-quality pre- primary education has long-lasting positive effects on children’s development and the benefits are greater for children from a disadvantaged background (Frawley, 2014). In many cases, the early childhood stage is critical because many children’s different needs are detected once they become part of the education system. Therefore, one EU benchmark in the strategic framework for European co-operation in education and training (ET 2020) is that at least 95% of children between the age of four and compulsory school age should participate in ECE. At the same time, there are concerns about the accessibility and quality of ECE/IECE provisions. Despite its importance – especially considering the latest data about provisions for children with special educational needs (SEN) and/or at risk of social exclusion (e.g. due to poverty) in Europe from birth to seven years – the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2004) reports that only one quarter of children with SEN are included in mainstream early education settings. This literature review aims to: • collect information about at-risk children and/or children with SEN in Europe at the pre-primary education level; • describe where those children are located during the pre-primary stages; • explore which resources are allocated to meet their needs; • describe the main characteristics of the educational contexts where these children are included. This document summarises major research and policy documents to analyse Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services and programmes implemented for at-risk children and/or those with SEN. Chapter 2 introduces the definitions of the concepts that are the focus of study. Chapter 3 summarises the main documents published by international organisations and reviews the main EU policy developments related to ECE/IECE which define the context in this area. Chapter 4 reviews the latest literature describing the benefits of ECE/IECE for at-risk children and children with SEN. Chapters 5 to 10 describe relevant academic research, aiming to identify the main factors that are important in early years programmes. The key research is framed within the five principles identified by the European Commission’s Thematic Working Group on ECEC (2014), namely: • Access/transition procedures • Workforce • Curriculum/content • Governance/funding • Monitoring/evaluation.peer-reviewe

Inclusive early childhood education new insights and tools – contributions from a European study

Quality in early childhood education is a prominent concern for policy-makers, and has recently become a priority concern for many international and European organisations. These include the OECD, UNESCO, UNICEF, the European Commission, Eurydice and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, among others. Over the past three years (2015–2017), the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (the Agency) has examined the latest policy documents and relevant research in this field. This has been a springboard for exploring the main characteristics of quality inclusive early childhood education (IECE) for all children from three years of age to the start of primary education. The project data from across Europe has provided an opportunity to closely examine how, within the inclusion perspective, early childhood education provisions are addressing the quality principles set out by the European Commission and the OECD. Sixty-four inclusive early childhood education experts from across Europe contributed to the project. They participated in data collection and analysis through descriptions of example provisions, as well as observations and discussions during field work and case study visits. This report first sets out the main policy and practice developments towards inclusive early childhood education, with particular reference to European policy issues (Chapters 2–3). It then presents the project’s three new contributions towards improving quality inclusive early childhood education (Chapters 4–6). These are: 1. A clear rationale for and an analysis of the implications of adopting an inclusive vision and goals as the main standards of inclusive early childhood policy and provision. The project found that high-quality services that benefited all children were guided by an inclusive vision and worked towards inclusive goals. As their primary outcome, they sought to ensure each child’s belongingness, engagement and learning. This reflects the changes in early childhood intervention in recent decades. The focus has shifted from ‘working with the child’ towards a holistic approach that creates an inclusive environment for all children’s engagement and learning. The report thus refers to quality early childhood education (ECE) as ‘inclusive early childhood education’ (IECE). It only uses the terms ‘early childhood education’ (ECE) or ‘early childhood education and care’ (ECEC) when referring to the literature. 2. A new Self-Reflection Tool for improving inclusive early childhood education settings. This enables practitioners to review their service’s quality in terms of the inclusiveness of the physical, social and other learning environments it offers to children and families. The tool has been validated by project experts and additional ecological studies. It is ready for use by practitioners in inclusive early childhood education settings in different education systems and countries across Europe and beyond. 3. A new Ecosystem Model of Inclusive Early Childhood Education for policy-makers and other stakeholders wishing to collaborate towards effective action in this field. This model can support policy-makers and practitioners to collaborate in planning, reviewing and improving quality IECE services. The model is founded on the project data. It is inspired by three major frameworks for quality IECE, namely: (1) The structure-process-outcome framework used by European and international policy-makers (European Commission, 2014; OECD, 2015; European Agency, 2009) (2) The ecological systems framework (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006) (3) The inclusive education perspective (European Agency, 2015). It incorporates all the principles of the EU and OECD frameworks for quality early childhood education. However, it enhances their applicability by locating them at different ecological levels (inclusive early childhood education setting, home/community and regional/national levels). Finally, the report gives an account of the lessons learned during the three-year project and the resulting recommendations (Chapter 7). These are presented within the framework of the new Ecosystem Model of IECE. They are mainly directed at policy- makers, but they also point to the implications for practitioners. Indeed, they are formulated in terms of how policy-makers can support practitioners to ensure quality provisions.peer-reviewe