ISOTIS addresses the following objectives:
Determine educational inequalities in European countries and changes over time in the patterns of inequality as related to changes in educational institutions and policies.
Knowledge of when, where and how early education gaps emerge, and how characteristics of countries’ education systems reinforce or attenuate disparities is needed for informed policy making at the local and national state-level.
ISOTIS has the objective of determining educational inequalities in European countries and changes over time as related to changes in educational institutions and policies. To realise this objective, our team proposes to:
- Analyse the relations of educational attainment and labour market position with socioeconomic background, migrant and native minority background.
- Examine the relations between educational inequalities and characteristics of the national education systems, focusing on the age of onset of early childhood education, the transition to primary and secondary education, and the degree of tracking in secondary education.
ISOTIS expects to contribute to an informed and constructive public discourse and policy making on inequalities in the context of cultural diversity.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on inequalities in educational careers
Examine the resources, experiences and perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse groups in Europe as related to the preschool and primary school system and the local system of support services.
ISOTIS has the objective of examining the resources, experiences and perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse families as related to the preschool and primary school system and the local system of support services.
To realise this objective, our team proposes to interview families about their experiences with educational systems and support services, cultural and linguistic resources, values and aspirations, and support needs. The interviews are aimed at families with children in the 3-6 and 9-12 years age range to capture important phases and transitions in education.
Our team proposes to interview families with a Turkish background living in England, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway; families with a North-African background living in France, Italy, and the Netherlands; Romani families living in the Czech Republic, Greece and Portugal; and native families with a lower socio-economic background living in the same areas. The countries represent different national income levels, education systems, welfare regimes and integration policies. Therefore, interviewing families from different countries and areas within these countries allows for comparisons that can reveal effects of local and national policies.
ISOTIS expects to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of integration of culturally and linguistically diverse families, and to inform innovation in services, education and policy making.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on parents' experiences related to children's education
Collect research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice in supporting families of culturally and linguistically diverse groups to provide informal education and a safe, healthy, nurturing and stable environment to their children.
Supporting parents to provide safe, nurturing and stimulating environments to their children is of utmost importance to empower families. Strengthening parents’ roles as co-educators is also a cornerstone of establishing collaborative partnerships in early and primary education.
ISOTIS has the objective of collecting research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice in supporting diverse culturally and linguistically families to provide informal education and a safe, healthy, nurturing and stable environment to their children. To achieve this objective, our team proposes to:
- Create an inventory of proven or potentially effective approaches to support parents and families.
- Select promising approaches based on this inventory for in-depth studies, to identify effective characteristics, and to generate concrete recommendations for development and implementation.
- Develop a Virtual Learning Environment prototype (with information, activities and materials), that can be used by children and parents, teachers and other professionals, to support the use of home-based first language, and enhance the parent-school partnerships.
ISOTIS expects to provide practical knowledge, guidelines for development and concrete tools for wider implementation of effective programs for families.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on parent and family-focused support
Collect research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice in curriculum, pedagogy and inclusive climate development in early childhood and primary school education to enhance the accessibility, effectiveness and inclusiveness of these provisions.
Providing access to stimulating and inclusive education and care provisions is a key strategy to combat early developmental and education gaps.
ISOTIS has the objective of collecting research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice in curriculum, pedagogy and inclusive climate development in early childhood and primary school education. To achieve this objective, our team proposes to:
- Create an inventory of proven or potentially effective approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom and school climate.
- Select promising approaches based on this inventory for in-depth studies, to identify effective characteristics and to generate concrete recommendations for development and implementation.
- Develop a Virtual Learning Environment prototype (with information, activities and materials), that can be used by children, parents, teachers and other professionals, to support multilingualism, enhance the parent-school partnerships and promote inclusiveness in the classroom.
ISOTIS expects to provide practical knowledge and concrete tools to increase the inclusiveness of early childhood and primary education.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on inclusive curricula, pedagogies and educational practices
Collect research evidence and expert knowledge on innovative practice in professional development in early childhood and primary education to increase the quality, effectiveness and inclusiveness of education practice.
Developing and implementing effective and inclusive curricula in early childhood and primary education, and aligning extra-curricular activities to support children’s development and learning, requires effective approaches to competence building and professionalization.
ISOTIS has the objective of collecting research evidence and expert knowledge on innovative practice in professional development in early childhood and primary education to increase the quality, effectiveness and inclusiveness of education practice. To achieve this objective, our team proposes to:
- Create an inventory of proven or potentially effective and innovative approaches to professionalization, that focus specifically on increasing cultural and linguistic awareness among professionals; special attention is given to approaches of team-based learning, and use of ICT.
- Interview (para)professionals working with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families, to identify the needs and obstacles they face in their work and to examine the characteristics of organizational culture and structure that can support them.
- Develop a Virtual Learning Environment prototype (with information, activities and materials) to promote professionals’ cultural and linguistic awareness, and to support them in creating inclusive practice.
ISOTIS expects to contribute to more effective competence building and professional development of key social agents by bringing innovative models of professionalization, in order to support diversity and inclusion.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on professional and organizational development
Collect research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice regarding inter-agency coordination and local governance of comprehensive inter-sectoral support services to culturally and linguistically diverse children, families and communities.
To enable parents to promote the home learning environment and to sustain the long-term beneficial effects of early education, a system of comprehensive services is relevant to be in place to reach out to parents, and provide them with support.
ISOTIS has the objective of collecting research evidence and expert knowledge on best practice regarding inter-agency coordination and local governance of comprehensive inter-sectoral support services for culturally and linguistically diverse children, families and communities. To achieve this objective, our team proposes to:
- Gather information on the factors that are found to determine coordination, collaboration and integration of multiple services.
- Select promising approaches for in-depth studies, in order to illuminate processes leading to successful inter-agency working.
- Interview service providers, service coordinators and policy representatives, to identify key features of successful inter-agency working, facilitators and barriers.
- Integrate findings from ISOTIS studies to establish a comprehensive overview of inter-agency working and the relations with experiences of parents and (para)professionals.
ISOTIS expects to contribute to improve the out-reach and coordination of services for children and families, by providing recommendations for future European developments in this field.
Read ISOTIS PUBLICATIONS on inter-agency coordination