The EDUCAS project planned to start the Continuous Professional Development Paths (CPD) in the three countries involved (Belgium, Lithuania, Italy) with specific focus groups involving families and staff in the ECEC centers partners of the project. The aim of the focus groups has been:

1) gaining insight about families’ and staff’s ideas/beliefs/feelings in relation with the ECEC spaces where their children are and their connection with education and care;

2) exploring ideas concerning the ‘ideal’ ECEC service for families and staff (which core elements)

Through the focus groups, partner organizations aimed at getting a better insight concerning the needs, ideas and beliefs of staff and families concerning the theme of the project, with the purpose of elaborating a bottom-up participatory implementation path (case study – action research).

Each research center carried on two focus groups in each of the two ECEC centers involved in each country (plus an extra one in Italy): one with parents, one with staff, for a total of four focus groups per country (five in Italy). In total 13 focus groups took place, involving 47 professionals and 36 parents. The method and themes of the focus groups have been discussed and agreed in advance, in order to have ‘similar readable data’ at the end of the process.

This report presents the summary of the analysis of the focus groups with staff and parents, and of the drawings and interviews with the children in Belgium, Lithuania, Italy.