AIMS - BACKGROUND AND TARGET GROUPS

AIMS

The project aims

  • to improve the profiles of early education teachers,
  • to encourage and equip the teachers with digital competences and pedagogical skills,
  • to provide teachers with the necessary tools and resources to deal with the challenges presented by Covid-19 in education systems across Europe.
  • To promote the European values of respect, acceptance, diversity, equality, solidarity etc.
  • To prevent the digital divide across member states

Furthermore, the main goal is

  • to advance the methods in pedagogies used in early childhood education,
  • eliminate disparities in digital education and teacher skills among member states.

BACKGROUND

STEAM education in early childhood is often given a lack of attention. Studies show that STEAM education should be taught at an early age so children become more prepared and attracted to the next generation of professions that correspond to the digital and scientific fields. The EU in this context in the ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’ policy, stresses that ‘a digital solid economy powered by Europeans with digital skills is vital for innovation, growth, jobs, and European competitiveness’. However, according to the 2020 DESI analysis, it is depicted that around 57% of enterprises that seek to recruit ICT specialists face many obstacles in filling these vacancies, which demonstrates the significance of creating an interest in the scientific fields in children, thus ensuring their participation in the labour market and digital sectors later on. Moreover, the Digital Education Action Plan prioritizes ‘enhancing digital skills and competencies for the digital transformation, especially in computing education, digital literacy, and advanced digital skills that enable creating digital specialists. In the Action Plan 2021-27, the role of STEAM is further enriched. Moreover, the Council Recommendation on High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems state that ‘the early years in human life are the most formative for developing the foundational competencies and learning dispositions that influence greatly later education and employment prospects and more comprehensive life achievements and satisfaction.

TARGET GROUPS

  • Early childhood education teachers
  • Children aged 3-6 years old
  • Parents/caregivers
  • Stakeholders, training providers, authorities