What's New in the ISSA Network:

ISSA Co-hosts Major International Conference on Inclusive Education

Between 11-14 July 2010, ISSA was pleased to co-host Riga 2010: Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special Education Needs. The conference, co-hosted by The Division of International Special Education and Services, the Council for Exceptional Children, the Center for Education Initiatives, and the International Step by Step Association, under the patronage of the Latvian First Lady Lilita Zatlere, took place in Riga, Latvia. This conference was intended for all those who believe that children and youth with special education needs deserve all possible support to develop their potential and become equal members of society; who agree that inclusive education is the best way to guarantee the rights of each child; who want to learn about interesting innovations and best practices for making the world a more inclusive place for every child, as well as to contribute their own experiences.

ISSA and UNICEF Launch Databases of Early Childhood Development and Education Human, Technical, and Institutional Resources in CEE/CIS Region

ISSA is pleased to announce the launch of the Online Databases of Human, Technical, and Institutional ECDE Resources in the CEE/CIS Region, the result of a partnership project between ISSA and UNICEF. The Databases provide rich information about policies, resources, and initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS), which guarantee and promote the rights of young children. In addition to providing details with respect to human, technical, and institutional resources in 26 countries of the region, these Databases also include information on relevant policies and legislative frameworks, as well as information on whether these resources are involved in or prepared for disaster risk reduction and emergency response.

www.issa.nl/issadatabases.html
User login name: issadatabases@issa.hu
Password: user01.

ISSA Project Supports Development of Community Early Learning Initiatives in Kazakhstan

Between August 2008 – August 2010, ISSA worked with its Kazakh member organization “Step by Step Community Foundation” and the Comenius Foundation Poland to implement the EU-TACIS and OSI funded project “Civil Society Partnership for Rural Children.”

Children from school #5, in Almaty, Kazakhstan

From August 2008 – August 2010, ISSA worked with its Kazakh member organization “Step by Step Community Foundation ” and the Comenius Foundation Poland to implement the EU-TACIS and OSI funded project “Civil Society Partnership for Rural Children.” The goal of the project was to support every child’s right to a quality education by developing models of child-centered, cost-effective early education services for rural areas in Kazakhstan in partnership with parents, local education institutions, and municipal governments by reinforcing civil society through work with local communities.

ISSA Members’ Early Education Programs for Roma Children Highlighted in UNICEF Report

While pursuing its own organizational goal of promoting access and equity of care and education for all young children, regardless of ethnicity, ability, gender, or financial status, ISSA is always heartened to see other organizations bringing attention to the needs of traditionally excluded populations. In this vein, ISSA salutes UNICEF for its recent publication Towards Roma Inclusion: A Review of Roma Education Initiatives in Central and South-Eastern Europe, a work which will serve an important role in defining programs which have been successful and are worth replicating or scaling up. ISSA would also like to honor its members – Center for Interactive Pedagogy (Serbia), Wide Open School Foundation (Slovakia), Foundation for Education and Cultural Initiatives Step by Step (Macedonia) – whose work with Roma children has been highlighted in the report.

Work of ISSA Member Highlighted in Republic of Moldova EFA/FTI Newsletter

ISSA congratulates the staff of Pas cu Pas, ISSA’s national member in the Republic of Moldova, for being recognized officially by the Moldovan Ministry of Education for their hard work contributing to the creation of child-centered classrooms and further institutionalizing child-centered teaching methodologies in the Republic of Moldova. Pas cu Pas’s work was recently recognized in the Education for All Fast Track Initiative Newsletter. To read more about their work and to download the newsletter, please click here. The work of Pas cu Pas in the creation of a Guide on Early Development Community Centers Establishment was also recognized in a recent issue. The Guide was written by Executive Director Cornelia Cincilei and Raisa Ghilan, in partnership with Nadejda Velisco, Lia Sclifos, Larisa Virtosu, and Ala Pinzari. Available in Romanian and Russian, the Guide outlines seven steps for the creation of early development community centers. To learn more about the Guide, please contact Cornelia Cincilei at ccincilei@gmail.com.

ISSA Participation in International Initiatives

Beyond Child Indicators: A Framework to Assess and Evaluate the Quality of Early Childhood Services and Programs in a Global Context

ISSA is pleased to be a part of an international group developing a conceptual framework and set of guidelines for the measurement and assessment of Early Childhood program quality in global contexts. Given the lack of existing information to build such a framework and the implications for use with a global audience, the conference brought together a consortium of key stakeholders, including representatives from international development agencies, regional networks, national-level practitioners, researchers, and academics, to develop an Early Childhood program quality measurement framework. The conference took place in Abu Dhabi inApril 2010 and was organized by New York University - Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Yale University, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

ISSA Participates in Study on the Competence Requirements of Staff in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)

ISSA has entered into a collaboration with DECET (Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Training) and Children in Europe in a research project being led by the University of East London and The University of Ghent for the European Commission DG Education and Culture on the Competence Requirements for staff in early childhood education in the EU (CORE). The research focuses on the interrelations between caregiver/teacher competences and the provision of high quality early childhood services that are understood to ensure better outcomes for children.

ISSA Members Participate in Study Tour on Inclusion in Poland

In May, representatives from ISSA Member Organizations Helena Buric (Croatia) and Dragana Koruga (Croatia) participated in a Study Tour to Poland “Working in an Inclusive Way with Children and Families, Across Agencies and Age Groups.” The study visit was part of an ongoing programme “Working for Inclusion” which is a cross-European programme examining how improving qualification of skills of those working with our youngest children can help reduce poverty and improve social inclusion. The program is led by Children in Scotland, in partnership with The Comenius Foundation for Child Development (Poland), La Bottega Di Geppetto (Italy), and Nordland Research Institute (Norway). Support for the visit was provided by Eurochild and the Open Society Institute. To read the full report, click here.

What's New in the ISSA Network:

ISSA Participation in International Initiatives

ISSA Publications

ISSA Network Events:

ISSA Board Meeting and Council Meeting

International ECD News:

Resources:

Events organized by some of ISSA’s partners: