Contact ISSA Member


VBJK

VBJK
Ghent
Belgium
(+32) 9 232 47 35
Geographical Focus
Regional levelInternational level
Type of organisation
NGO
Main Activity Type
Service ProvisionCapacity BuildingPolicy developmentAdvocacyResearch and knowledgeMonitoring and EvaluationPublishing
Focus
Quality PedagogyChild RightsAccess to ServicesParenting SupportSocial inclusion for Romani and migrant childrenSocial inclusion special needs
Targeted Age Groups
Birth to threeThree to SixSix to Ten
Members target groups
ChildrenVulnerable marginilized childrenParents/care-takersEducatorsPractitioners with migrant backgroundIn-service training providers

Mission

VBJK wants to support parents and educators, in a scientifically sound way, in the education of children within the family, the school and all early childhood services as fully-fledged educational environments, and this from a perspective of emancipation and solidarity, respecting children’s rights and diversity among families.
Main focus is aimed at values and projects dealing with:
- accessibility: early childhood services as a right for all children and their parents
- affordability of services
- a pedagogical approach, focusing on the holistic and multiple development of children
- participation as an essential value
- coherence and global approach
- focus on diversity, non-discrimination, and democracy
- looking at evaluation as a permanent, participatory and democratic process
- working towards a ‘new’ early years professional, being critical, reflective, open to dialogue and respecting diversity
- considering school and early childhood services as equal partners, sharing the same image on childhood and education
- valuing international cooperation and exchanging knowledge and ideas

News

EDUCAS project – Achievements of the Consortium

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ISSA Members are at the Forefront of Innovations in the Early Years Sector in Europe

The European Commission’s ECEC webinar “Working with families and the whole community” last week highlighted 7 initiatives from across...

New Flemish ECEC Magazine is Launched by the ISSA Member

ISSA Member VBJK is launching the new Flemish magazine on ECEC Kindertijd (which means...

‘I Like it Here, it Feels Like a Second Home’ – EDUCAS Presented to a Broad International Audience

EDUCAS project was presented to a broad international audience during the

Early Childhood Education and Care Spaces - Children’s Vision

EDUCAS Project aims to create Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) environments that support...

Playing at Home is also Learning

Two months without school and preschool. Two months without learning? Not at all, because playing is learning!...

Resources and practices

Initial training as a significant forum to build professional competences for smooth and inclusive early years’ transitions

InTrans project aims to support professionals through action at the policy, advocacy and training levels to ensure that all children and families...

Executive Summary - Challenges and opportunities emerging from cross-national comparison

The InTrans

InTrans Infographics - status of early childhood care and education systems in seven EU countries

The ultimate goal of the 

InTrans Policy Baseline Reports

The ultimate goal of the 

Multilingual early childhood education and care for young refugee children

This is the Toolbox of the Erasmus+ project Multilingual early childhood education and care for young refugee children. In this project (2016-2019)...

EDUCAS Toolbox - Wonder and Beauty: Connecting ECEC spaces and educare

EDUCAS Toolbox aims to support coordinators, coaches, trainers, professionals that seek to stimulate professional development paths with ECEC...

EDUCAS - Case Study Belgium (FL): Re-thinking ECEC spaces/materials by reflecting on practice

Throughout the three years of the EDUCAS project, partners in...

EDUCAS - Policy recommendations: Strengthening the importance of SPACE and EDUCARE approach

Educating and caring for young children is a big responsibility, challenge and commitment. The POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS for strengthening the...

Reclaiming transitions as inclusive relational spaces in times of crisis and beyond

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic...

Investing in professionalization of ECEC staff to foster smooth transitions in times of crisis and beyond

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic...

InTrans General Framework: What are Warm and Inclusive Transitional Inclusive Practices Across the Early Years

The InTrans project aims at influencing the systemic conditions needed in order to disseminate and implement good transitional practices on a wider...

START- Sustaining Warm and Inclusive Transitions across the Early Years. Final report with implications for policies and practices

Transitions across the home environment, early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings and compulsory school education (CSE) mark significant...

The points of view of families, professionals, children

The EDUCAS project planned to start the Continuous Professional Development Paths (CPD) in the three countries involved (Belgium, Lithuania, Italy)...

Supporting the collaboration between ECEC core and assisting practitioners: Experiences of professional learning communities in two Slovenian pilot kindergartens

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate development and implementation of a common path of professional development for professionals: ECEC...

Supporting the collaboration between ECEC core and assisting practitioners: Experiences of contextual professional development in two Portuguese pilot schools

In this report we present a description and reflection of the learning path carried out in Portugal, by the teams of Lisbon and Santarém. After...

Supporting the collaboration between ECEC core and assisting practitioners: Experiences from Learning Labs at the three Danish pilot schools

This report examines the question "How can professional development in learning laboratories enhance professional identity, a holistic perspective...

Supporting the collaboration between ECEC core and assisting practitioners: Experiences of two Belgian pilot schools

In this Belgian Pilot Report, conducted as part of the VALUE project, we examine how collaborative learning between ECEC core and assisting...

Value Roadmap: Pathways towards strengthening collaboration in early childhood

The ambition of this roadmap is to inspire you, as a reader, to strengthen collaboration between assisting and core practitioners in ECEC. The...

Supporting the collaboration between ECEC core and assisting practitioners: endline report of the VALUE project in four countries

In this VALUE endline report, the following question is examined: How can continuous professional development (CPD) strengthen professional...

Supporting Social and Emotional Well-Being of Children in Early Childhood Education and Care through Team Reflection

These Guidelines are the outcome of the second part of the SEED project, during which a group reflection pathway, called WANDA1, was piloted with...

The WANDA Method: Overview and Steps Forward

This resource summarizes the contents of the Peer Learning Activity (PLA) among ISSA members during 5 years, which focused on the WANDA...

WANDA

To develop a new method of professionalization for low qualified practitioners in the 0-3 sector of the Flemish Community of Belgium, in 2010...

Quality of Early Childhood Education Services - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro

The report Quality of Early Childhood Education Services - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro resulted from a consultancy carried...

NESET II Analytical Report: Transforming Europen ECEC services and Primary school into professional learning communities: drivers, barriers and ways forward

NESET II report on Professional Learning Communities. Each child its own story: Diversity in child care centres (from birth to 13 years) is a book...

European Quality Framework: High 5 Quality Scan

The High 5 Quality Scan is an evaluation tool based on the European Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care accompanying the...

European Quality Framework: 5 Steps to Quality

The training package 5 Steps to Quality is promoting the implementation of the European Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education...

Manual for Diversification of Programs for Preschool Education

Two ISSA members, CIP (Center for Interactive Pedagogy/Serbia) and VBJK/Belgium, co-authored this manual as a result of the work...