Abstract
The being together intervention intends to raise teacher capacity in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions and promote social and emotional development in preschoolers by implementing an authoritative (warm and predictable) adult style in the institution. An authoritative adult balances between building up high quality interactions with children, while at the same time having a predictable structure with clear norms and social expectations in the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate what helped the ECEC institutions to successfully implement the program principles and core components, and what were the challenges. The staff groups of seven Norwegian ECEC institutions in different municipalities who took part in the innovation were interviewed at the beginning and before the end of the first year of implementation. Data analysis identified five success criteria in the implementation process; strong commitment to the authoritative adult style, strong focus on the implementation process, advanced support systems, highly involved leaders, and a collective orientation. These elements resulted in a shared vision and an academically grounded practice in the ECEC institutions. Staff members without formal professional training and a lack of written documentation in the ECEC institutions should be given more consideration in further improvement of the capacity building.
Highlights
Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is one of the best investments a country can make to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and prevent later remedial interventions (UNESCO 2015)
The aim of this paper is to examine the conditions in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions that help to successfully phase-in the Being Together (BT) program principles during the 1 year of implementation
Supervisors were taught and practiced methods that were intended to facilitate the implementation of the program principles into the ECEC institutions during the tutor training program
Summary
Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is one of the best investments a country can make to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and prevent later remedial interventions (UNESCO 2015). Standards for the ECEC system are essential to provide guidance and continuity so that all young children and their families are guaranteed a minimum level of quality (The World Bank 2013). There are common organizational (e.g. initial education, training, mentoring/supervision, parent involvement, curriculum), structural (e.g. adult–child ratios, group size, physical environment and availability of equipment and pedagogical materials) and process (e.g. caregiver–child and child–child interactions) elements of quality that predict child development outcomes including their physical, cognitive, linguistic and socioemotional development (The World Bank 2013). It is assumed that ECEC teachers need several professional competencies and skills to offer high-quality learning environments for young children so that they can reach their full potential (OECD 2015). International research evidence shows that a child-oriented conception of ECEC may lead to better outcomes regarding socioemotional development, interests and motivation (Ministry of Education and Research 2015)
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