When Zoë joined the group, she was overwhelmed by everything. When another child approached her, she would hit or bite that child. She didn’t talk and closed herself off to others. Educational staff member Lotte carefully made contact with Zoë and showed her that she understood her. Lotte remained calm and predictable, even when Zoë…

This blog post was contributed by Pauline Slot (Utrecht University). How are the poor children doing that participated more than 40 years ago in the famous Perry Preschool Project, now they are middle-aged adults? Renowned scholar James Heckman analyzed the effects of high quality early childhood education on child outcomes on the short and the…

By Pauline Slot (Utrecht University) When a child with a heritage language that is different than the school language enters a daycare or nursery school, the idea is often “how can we teach this child to speak the school language as quickly as possible”. The idea is rarely “how can we make the best use…

By Christel Elias (Fontys) While I was waiting on the schoolyard I heard a girl say to her mother: “Hamza sang a song in a very difficult language”. Then my son comes running to me and says: “Mom, Hamza is going to participate in ‘Child Centre’s Got Talent!’“. While we walk back home, I hear…

By Annemiek Hoppenbrouwers (Fontys) When all children are having Circle Time again after the summer vacation, the teacher asks:  “What did you do during the holidays?” “Where did you go on holiday?” It’s nice to meet again after the holidays and to give each child the opportunity to talk about what they did, right? Or…

By Ruth Heuvelman (CED-group) and Pauline Slot (Utrecht University) Recently, an increasing number of childcare organizations have been taken over by large investors. This evokes reactions from both proponents and opponents. Proponents indicate that this leads to investment in quality, whereas opponents consider it a worrying development at the expense of quality. What does scientific…

This blog post was contributed by Pauline Slot (Utrecht University). Pedagogues, special education teachers or other types of specialists working in ECEC sometimes have to deal with teacher’s concerns about a child’s development, behaviour or home situation. It is good to know that programmes exist to help children and/or their parents. But how can one…

This blog message was contributed by Mehrnaz Tajik (CED-Group)  A glance at lunch time in inclusive child care The children – cheerful babies and toddlers – sit down at the table for lunch. Not all children receive the same food. One child receives bread, the other is connected to the feeding tube and another child…

This blog post was contributed by Annemiek Hoppenbrouwers (Fontys hogeschool). “Did you have a nice holiday?” I ask my colleague. She starts telling me about the activities she and her children did together and how much fun that was. “So yes, the children were having a very good time and when they enjoy themselves I’m…

Every child wants to feel that they are seen and heard; that they belong. This applies to Dutch children and also, perhaps even more, to children from different cultural backgrounds or who speak a different language at home. How do you ensure that all children have the feeling that they belong in the group?