About the project
The aim of the project is to contribute to effective policy and practice development to combat inequalities. Quasi-panels and pooled longitudinal datasets will be used to examine the variation in early educational gaps and developmental trajectories across countries, systems and time. To disentangle the complex interactions between characteristics of systems and target groups, ISOTIS will study significant immigrant, indigenous ethnic-cultural and low-income native groups, associated with persistent educational disadvantages. ISOTIS will examine current resources, experiences, aspirations, needs and well-being of children and parents in these groups in the context of acculturation and integration, and in relation to local and national policies.
ISOTIS aims to contribute to effective policy and practice development by generating recommendations and concrete tools for
- Supporting disadvantaged families and communities in using their own cultural and linguistic resources to create safe and stimulating home environments for their children
- Creating effective and inclusive pedagogies in early childhood education and care centres and primary schools
- Professionalization of staff, centres and schools to improve quality and inclusiveness
- Establishing inter-agency coordination of support services to children and families
- Developing policies to combat educational inequalities.
ISOTIS will develop inter-linked programmes for parents, classrooms and professionals using Virtual Learning Environments for working in linguistically diverse contexts.
All this work together is expected to support the education practice and policy field in Europe in meeting the challenges of reducing social and educational inequalities.
Outcomes
Results will be updated when the project is finished.
Background
ISOTIS is a collaborative project, funded by the European Union, that includes 17 partners from 11 countries. The project started on January 2017, and will be running until December 2019. The central goal of the project is to combat inequalities and increase inclusiveness, and the theoretical framework on which ISOTIS bases its core, is the Bronfenbrenner´s bio-ecological model of personal development. The main strategy of the project is comparative research; comparisons using existing cross-sectional and longitudinal data bases, as well as new data, from the participating countries.
Sub-projects
The ISOTIS project is divided into eight extensive work packages:
- Work Package 1 - Inequality in Educational Careers
Focuses on the macro-level f educational systems and educational policy
- Work Package 2 - Interviews with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families
In-depth interview studies with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families across Europe
- Work Package 3 - Family Support to Increase Educational Equality
Focus on family support and home-based education program to create nurturing home environments
- Work Package 4 - Inclusive Curricula and Educational Practices
Focus on curriculum and pedagogy development to increase effectiveness and inclusiveness
- Work Package 5 - Development of Professionals and Organisations
Innovative strategies of professional development in childhood education and care
- Work Package 6 - Interagency Coordination of Services for Children and Families
Service-coordination as a factor in combating inequality and exclusion.
- Work Package 7 - Dissemination, and Communication
- Work Package 8 - Project Management
Financing
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 727069.
Cooperation
(external links):
- UTRECHT UNIVERSITY (UU), THE NETHERLANDS (COORDINATOR)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (UO), ENGLAND
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOUTHEAST NORWAY (HSN), NORWAY
- UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM (UVA), THE NETHERLANDS
- TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN (TCD) - IRELAND
- FREE UNIVERSITY BERLIN (FUB), GERMANY
- UNIVERSITY OF MILANO-BICOCCA (UNIMIB), ITALY
- UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA (UC), PORTUGAL
- UNIVERSITY OF PORTO (UP), PORTUGAL
- ISCTE - UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LISBON (ISCTE-IUL), PORTUGAL
- HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY (EAP), GREECE
- UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW (UW), POLAND
- INTERNATIONAL STEP BY STEP ASSOCIATION (ISSA) - THE NETHERLANDS
- WISE & MUNRO - THE NETHERLANDS
- MASARYK UNIVERSITY (MU), CZECH REPUBLIC
- UNIVERSITÉ PARIS-EST CRÉTEIL VAL-DE-MARNE (UPEC), FRANCE
Tools
(external links):