The role of crisis in inspiring democratic reform of early childhood education systems: experiences from Europe and Eurasia

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Critical Perspectives on Policy and Discourse

Proposal

This paper presents insights drawn from qualitative research conducted for a co-authored book documenting the impact and lessons learned from the Open Society Foundation’s flagship early childhood education program in Europe and Eurasia. Inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall and implemented over a 26 year period with an investment in excess of $100 million, the Step by Step Program aimed to introduce democratic reform, inclusion and social justice in early childhood education systems in 28 countries in Europe and Eurasia.

Overview of the Program:
Grounded in the belief in the intrinsic connection between a child’s experiences in the earliest years and the health and wellbeing of open societies, the initiative supported the nurturing of skills and attitudes essential for active citizens in a democracy, among them respect for different ideas and cultures, the capacity to make decisions and think critically, and the ability to take responsibility, make choices, and resolve conflicts. It celebrated and elevated teachers’ roles and emphasized their continuous professional development and collaboration; introduced child-centered, individualized teaching and learning, and social inclusion; supported children’s creativity, initiative and agency; advanced parents as primary educators of their children; and promoted community members in governance roles in early childhood institutions. Step by Step promoted democracy on many levels: it sought to instill in children lifelong skills and attitudes; to reinforce parents’ leading role in shaping young children’s education; and to establish independent organizations capable of advancing children’s rights, and the quality and accountability of early education services within local, national and regional early childhood eco-systems.

Research Methodology:
The research to be presented draws mainly on oral histories of people who played an important role in the Step by Step program. Through interviews and focus groups lasting between one and two hours the authors were introduced to the experiences, successes and failures of a number of key actors in the program and to the social and political contexts in which they worked. Data collection followed methodological protocols using a core set of open-ended interview questions, guided by Early Childhood and Open Society, a publication consolidating Open Society Foundation’s work in early childhood over two decades, and the experiences of the authors with early education reform initiatives. Interviews offered opportunities to explore individual experience in depth. Focus groups provided insight from several perspectives on a specific topic, for instance, early childhood in times of war, inclusion of Roma children, etc.

In total, forty-three people located in different parts of the world participated in taped video interviews: thirty three in individual interviews and ten in four focus groups. Participants were selected from across the main stakeholder groups and from a range of leadership roles, reflecting the geographic and thematic scope of the program. Interviews and focus groups were conducted throughout 2021. Additionally, a focus group with representatives from organizations responding to the war in Ukraine was organized in summer 2022 and several follow up interviews were conducted in 2022 and one in early 2023.

Interviews were transcribed and coded using the key themes identified by the authors, as a guide. Coding of interviews took place in parallel with review of relevant external evaluations, reports and documents, which have been collected in an online archive documenting the program, and internal documents to which the authors were provided access. Each interview was coded by one author and reviewed by the other two. Once interviews were coded each chapter was assigned to a lead author. Draft chapters were reviewed, discussed and added to by co-authors, through an iterative process and emerging themes were identified, emphasized and reinforced in the final chapters. Throughout the process, chapters were shared with colleagues for feedback. The final manuscript was reviewed by external evaluators selected by the publisher prior publication. The published book is available open access.

Findings:

Interviewees reflected on how the program used the opportunity of the shifting political landscape in Europe to introduce democratic practices and institutions on multiple levels. The scope of the aims and activities of the program – the fact that it sought to impact the early childhood system at so many levels over such a long time – contributed to its success at introducing new democratic models in so many contexts. Of particular importance were the strong community and high levels of trust that the program built across the implementers and beneficiaries. This emphasis on the healing power of professional relationships in times of war and political change was a feature of almost all of the interviews and focus groups. Programming to advance inclusion of Roma and children with disabilities was seen as breaking new ground and creating effective models, but it is not enough to counter the deep roots of exclusion. Efforts to network higher education professionals was welcomed, but reform of teacher training at the higher education level was stymied by rigid institutional structures that have proven to be almost impentrable. The program has had a positive influence on a wide range of early childhood policies and curriculum, often without attribution.

Authors

• Sarah Klaus, Georgetown University

• Jan Peeters, VBJK

• Tatjana Vonta