An introduction to the ISOTIS-project

MARTINE BROEKHUIZEN (UTRECHT UNIVERSITY)

THOMAS MOSER (UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOUTH-EAST NORWAY)

ISOTIS • Inclusive Education and Social Support to Tackle Inequalities in Society.

• ISOTIS comes from the Greek word ʾισότηϛ (say in English “eesótis”), which means equality, evenness, fairness,

• January 2017 – December 2019

• Funded by the Horizon2020 framework of te European Union

Collaborative project: 17 partners in 11 countries

Mission and approach ISOTIS

Social mission and overarching commitment: helping to increase the inclusiveness and equality of current European societies.

Positive focus on strengths and potentials of disadvantaged groups, giving voice to them, adapting education and support services to build on strengths.

Improving the contribution of (early) education systems and support services to the main goal of inclusiveness and equity.

• To determine the patterns of inequality as related to (changes in) educational institutions and policies across Europe (WP1).

• To examine the resources, experiences and perspectives of significant disadvantaged groups as related to the (early) education system and local support services (WP2).

• To collect research evidence on best practice in supporting families in disadvantaged groups to provide informal education and nurturing homes (WP3).

• To collect research evidence on best practice in curriculum and pedagogy in (early) education to enhance effectiveness and inclusiveness of these provisions (WP4).

Objectives (1)

WP1 will use longitudinal data from Norway (BoNDS, MoBa) the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the UK to assess the

roots and development of skill gaps.

• To collect research evidence on innovative practice in professional development in (early) education to increase quality, effectiveness and inclusiveness of practice (WP5).

• To collect research evidence on best practice regarding inter-agency coordination and local governance of support services to disadvantaged communities (WP6).

• To disseminate research findings to stakeholders, to initiate debates and to involve stakeholders in developing the final policy recommendations (WP7).

• To develop a set of concrete recommendations and innovative (ICT-based) models for family support, curriculum, professionalization, and governance (WP3-5).

Objectives (2)

Structure

Bio-ecological model

• Micro-level actions & interactions drive development and learning. o Process = Person x Context x Time.

o Quantity, quality and content

• Embedded in and co-determined by wider meso-, exo- and macro-systems. o Family, classroom, neighborhood, peer-

group, extra-curricular activities, services.

• Time, transitions and change

Types of research and methods

• Systematic reviews of intervention programs, curricula, approaches to PD and parent support services (WP3, WP4, WP5, WP6).

• Secondary data-analyses (WP1: panel data, intergenerational data, longitudinal cohort studies).

• Quantitative large scale surveys (WP2: parents; WP5: professionals; WP6: service providers & policy makers).

• In-depth qualitative interviews with parent and children (WP2)

• In-depth case-studies of good practices – documents, observations, interviews (WP3, WP4, WP5, WP6)

• Design-based research & formative evaluation of virtual learning environments (WP3-5)

Core strategy...

• Comparative multi-system, multi-actor design with a focus on transitions and educational decisions.

• We compare:

– Parents with a Turkish, Maghrebian, Romani and Native low SES background

– Children, parents, professionals, coördinators, and policy makers.

– Younger children (3-6 yrs), older children (10-12 yrs).

– Ten countries (with different educational and service systems and policies), two localities per country (differing in local service systems and policies).

• We have the ambition to combine data in multi-level models (WP2, WP5, WP6).

WP7 T7.1

WP2 T2.3 Structured interview study among

parents in targeted communities – data set & technical report

WP1 T1.2 Comparative analysis of educational

inequality in Europe - report

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3

WP1 T1.3 Comparative analysis of early gaps using

longitudinal data sets – report

WP2 T2.4 In-depth interviews with parents – data &

report

WP8 T8.1

WP8 T8.2 & T8.3 Project management and scientific coordination

WP8/All T8.4 Report

WP1 T1.5

Report

WP1 T1.1

Review

WP3 T3.1

Review

WP4 T4.1

Review

WP5 T5.1

Review

WP6 T6.1

Review

WP2 T2.6 Analysis &

Integrated report

WP6 T6.2 Inventory, review and case studies of inter-agency

coordination – data & report

WP6 T6.3 Survey among agencies & coordinators – data & report

WP6 T6.4 Integrated analysis (WP2,

WP5, WP6) – tool & report

WP3 T3.2 Inventory and review of home-based

& family support programmes – expert meeting & report

WP3 T3.3 Case studies of family-focused programmes

WP3 T3.4 ICT-based home-based education & L1 support – programme

prototype

WP4 T4.3 Case studies of inclusive curricula

WP7 T7.2 to T7.5 periodical newsletter, announcements, web site maintenance, closing conference

WP4 T4.4 Diversity& trans-languaging in education - programme prototype

WP4 T4.2 Inventory and review of inclusive

curricula & pedagogies - expert meeting & report

WP5 T5.2 Inventory and review of

professionalisation – expert meeting & report

WP3 T3.5

Report

WP4 T4.5

Report

WP5 T5.5

Report

WP5 T5.3 Internet survey among staff in ECEC

centers & schools – data set & report

WP5 T5.4 ICT-based diversity & inclusiveness PD - programme prototype

WP7 T7.6

WP2 T2.5 In-depth interviews with

children – data & report

WP1 T1.4 Explaining inequalities in

instutional perspective – report

WP6 T6.5

Report

WP2 T2.1

Design & topics

WP2 T2.2 Developing & piloting interview

tools

Potential impacts

Contribution to a more careful, informed and constructive public discourse and policy-making related to the issues of integration, inclusiveness and equity.

Innovation regarding family support, educational partnerships between the family and (pre)school, and curriculum for increasing equity and integration.

Further development of (digital) approaches to support intercultural (and multilingual) education.

Recommendations and tools for policy-development for education and service provision.

www.isotis.org