The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, JICA and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University will hold the third International Conference in Georgia on Early Childhood Education and Care – Inclusive Systems, Services and Practices for Every Child.
The aim of the conference is to (1) facilitate academic discussion and knowledge sharing on quality, access and inclusion in early childhood education and care. (2) support the development of pre-service and in-service professional development and (3) raise the awareness of the wider public and policymakers about the importance of inclusive early childhood education.
The two-day conference will bring together professors, researchers and students, representatives of the Georgian government, members of the parliament, representatives of federal and local government, members of the diplomatic corps in Georgia, representatives of UN agencies and international organizations, early childhood education specialists and practitioners.
The working languages of the conference are Georgian and English. Georgian-English and English-Georgian simultaneous translation will be provided at the conference.
The Conference will take place on 26-27 September, at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University.
Submission of Abstracts, Presentations and Articles
We invite participants to submit theoretical, empirical, or practice-based abstracts for early childhood education and care related topics for paper presentations for the following thematic strands:
- Access: Equitable access to ECEC for all young children from 0-6 years of age with a concerted focus on the most marginalized and vulnerable groups: children with disabilities, children living in rural and remote areas, ethnic minority children, those facing economic hardship, children in transient situations and children left behind.
- Policy and Governance: Policies, regulations, strategies and funding mechanisms that facilitate or hinder access to quality ECEC for specific vulnerable groups.
- Service Delivery: Service delivery modalities and partnerships to ensure improved access, inclusion, and quality of ECEC services, with a particular focus on children underprivileged or at risk.
- M&E: Monitoring and evaluation systems to effectively track the progress and identify problems for timely policy and programme interventions.
- Curriculum: Curriculum development, revision, implementation and assessment to support inclusion in ECEC.
- Curriculum Development/Revision: Exploring curriculum development from both local and international viewpoints to reflect on diverse perspectives and experiences that promote inclusion.
- Curriculum Implementation: Inclusive approaches, practices, and developmental and educational resources that enable individualized support for learning and development to accommodate diverse backgrounds and abilities within the same learning environment (e.g., innovative and assistive technologies for play and learning for children with special needs, bilingual educational approaches to promote inclusion of ethnic minority children, etc.)
- Assessment: Utilizing inclusive and diversity-sensitive assessment tools to measure the progress of individual children.
- Professional Development: Pre-service and in-service training of ECEC professionals to prioritize reflective practices responsive to diversity in all its forms, including cultural, linguistic, and individual differences.
- Pre-service Training: Opportunities and challenges in establishing pre-service training courses that equip future ECE teachers with inclusive teaching practices, cultural competencies, and strategies tailored to support diverse learners.
- In-service Training: Continuous professional development for existing ECE teachers with a focus on strengthening inclusive teaching practices.
- Bilingual Education: Preparing and supporting educators of bilingual early and preschool education and professional development opportunities for caregivers and teachers working in ethnic minority institutions/with ethnic minority children.
- Cross-sectoral Cooperation: Implementing cross-sectoral approaches and fostering coordination to provide integrated services for young children, parents, and caregivers across education, health, and social support systems. This entails cross-sectoral coordination at both national and local levels.
- Establishing cross-sectoral and inclusive early childhood policies and coordination mechanisms at national and sub-national levels
- Developing integrated services centered around the holistic needs of the child and family, including Early Intervention and Support Services, with seamless coordination between health and education sectors.
- Encouraging collaboration and partnerships among educators, parents, caregivers, and community stakeholders to establish a robust support network for children’s development.
- Offering parenting support programs and promoting active Parent and Community Involvement, ensuring the participation of parents and caregivers in their child’s learning journey.
Abstracts
The deadline for submission of conference abstracts is May 31, 2024, 18:00 Georgian time.
Conference abstracts should address the conference thematic strands and shall include the following:
- Title of the abstract
- Keywords
- Abstract (main text)
Each author can submit a maximum of 2 abstracts.
Abstracts that will be accepted for submission to the conference will no longer be subject to change after the deadline for submission of abstracts.
The Scientific Committee of the Conference will review and select the abstracts to be presented at the conference and will contact their authors no later than June 30, 2024, 18:00 (Georgian time).
Please register here to send your abstracts.
Presentations
Authors of selected abstracts should prepare presentations in PowerPoint or other presentation program. Detailed instructions for submitting presentations will be provided to the authors of the selected abstracts.
The deadline for presenting the conference presentations is September 5, 2024 18:00 (Georgian time). Conference presentations should be sent to the Conference Organizing Committee at the following e-mail: [email protected] The title of the e-mail must indicate: “Presentation – Early Education and Care Conference”.
Articles (optional)
The deadline for submission of full papers for the conference is October 31, 2024, 18:00 (Georgian time). Final conference articles can be sent to the Conference Organizing Committee at the following email: [email protected] The title of the e-mail must indicate: “Article – Early Childhood Education and Care Conference”.
Articles submitted to the conference will be published as conference proceedings.
Financial Support
Financial support is available for financing the costs of accommodation of selected authors of abstracts. Please note that only one author per abstract can receive the financial support.
Important dates
May 31 – The deadline for submission of conference abstracts is May 31, 2024, 18:00 (Georgia time).
September 5 – The deadline for submission of the full presentation of abstracts selected for the conference is September 5, 2024, 18:00 (Georgia time).
October 31 – The deadline for submission of articles of abstracts selected for the conference is October 31, 2024, 18:00 (Georgia time). Submission of articles is not mandatory.
September 26-27- The conference will be held on September 26 and 27, 2023 at Shota Rustaveli State University of Batumi, Batumi.
For additional information, contact: [email protected]
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