Objectives of the project:
The main goal of the project "Young Children as Active LEarners - YALE" was to enhance the cooperation between the cities of Poznań and Berlin in the field of pre-school education, reinforcing and broadening in turn the existing "Oder-Partnerschaft". The objectives included:
- The exchange of experiences between educators of young children concerning improving the quality of pre-school education, especially in terms of developing competences in active learning methods in which the child is seen as an active competent learner;
- The delivery of professional development and in-service training opportunities using various adult education training methods during the exchange visits and during local training activities;
- The documentation of project processes and learning processes in kindergarten;
- The exchange of concepts and strategies related to service delivery, service planning, finance and monitoring of quality development between service providers and policy makers from both regions; and
- The dissemination of project experiences and results at local, national and European level.
Main results and conclusions:
Work within the frame of YALE resulted in many substantial changes in working with young children in the kindergarten. Participation and autonomy of children, fostering their curiosity and motivation to explore new experiences and knowledge were given educational priority. Practitioners learned a set of methodologies and practices to support and enhance the development of children.
The exchange visits followed by local training activities provided a solid base for professional development. Particularly the exchange visits brought significant insights into own professional behavior and the need for further development.
YALE strengthened the relationships between Berlin and Poznań focusing on educational rather than economic issues. While, the talks on the administrative level brought the differences to light in terms of statutory responsibility for early childhood services, there was common concern for staff development and training, financial issues as well as monitoring and quality development.
Impact and use:
For most of the practitioners, it was their first visit to a kindergarten in the neighboring country. The visits to the kindergarten and the professional exchanges left deep impressions. Some of those are documented in the 56-page YALE documentation which is being published in English, Polish and German. Both countries have developed training moduls as a result of the project which will be used beyond the project duration. In addition to the end-of-project conference in Poznań, a dissemination meeting will take place in Berlin with 100 participants organised in cooperation with the regional in-service training institute.