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Nova znanja i kompetencije za europski vrtić
Start date: Jun 1, 2014, End date: May 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The importance of early childhood education is visible in lifelong learning, social integration, later employment and personal growth. Achieving firm foundation in the early years results in effective learning ability which is more likely to continue longer through life. High quality early education creates qualified human resources who's work will follow technology development. It can achieve long-term challenges as well as professional competencies for future EU citizens. Staff key competencies are the key for high quality of early years education. Innovations in education, child-centred learning environment and professional development of educational staff are assurance for fulfilment of European education system demands in the future. The objectives of our project - the improvement of lingual and digital competencies of our teachers, comprehension of multiculturalism, the opportunity for creating the international teachers network and building the European identity of our organisation - will help us create activities and programmes which will correspond with European society and educational system. Therefore we chose two key areas of development for our organisation. First area includes the implementation of innovations, new educational methods and models and direct teaching-learning process with children. We would like for our teachers to get information and knowledge about models and approaches focused on learners individual abilities and learning styles, about natural and innovative learning environments that stimulate creativity in education, to learn about models of excellence in education. The second key area is learning and development of digital competencies as well as utilization of interactive media in education. The proper usage of computers can enhance child cognitive and social skills, creative play, problem – solving skills and language skills. Due to understanding of the importance of computer literacy and interactive media in learning process, we created a new programme called „Computer Science: The First Steps“ which is unique in Croatian early years educational system. Except upgrading it's quality, our goal is to compare our experience with other colleagues in the field on the international level. Nine of our employees are engaged in five different professional training courses. Their profiles are: school principal who is early years teacher and pedagogue, psychologist, speech therapist and six pre-school teachers. Main project activities include structured courses and one conference as follows: „Brand new teaching approaches“ organized by Erasmus Education Centre from Latvia, international conference „Excellence in education – The creativity – Innovation challenge“ organized by International centre for innovation in education (ICIE) in Paris, „Inspiring environmental learning – the touch of nature“ organized by Cursus Iceland in Reykjavik, „Web 2.0 Tools for Effective Teaching and Project Work“ organized by Teachers Training Institute from Poland and „Play to learn in Dublin“ organized by Interacting Madrid from Spain. The expected results of the project are: development and improvement of basic competencies of our employees – digital competencies, English language competencies, communication and presentation skills, new theoretical and practical knowledge in the education field. Innovation in curricula, learning outcomes and child competence development will lead to higher level of parent approval and satisfaction. Our plan is implementation of the acquired knowledge: from project planning, action surveys, anecdotal and narrative notes to systematic observing, monitoring and recording of child learning development. Long-term effects of participating in this project will be acquired knowledge and skills integrated in school curricula with teachers as creators of their own development as the final objective. The new methods will be presented via different workshops and lectures inside and outside the school: through professional organizations, local, regional and national conferences. It can stimulate the changes in Croatian educational system and contribute to its adaptation to the European models. Internalization and modernization of the curricula according to the European practice, the development of high quality early childhood programmes, learner-centred education, stimulation of creativity and exploration, support for children with challenged learning capabilities and implementing the European dimension in educational contents are our strategic objectives within this project.

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