Resilient Preschools

Title and acronym: Resilience and Wellbeing in Preschool Education to Prevent Emotional, Social and Behavioral Problems [Resilient preschools]

Project type: Erasmus+ KA2 Project, Strategic Partnership for School Education

Ref. no.: 2020-1-CY01-KA201-066080

Promoter /Coordinator: PAIDAGOGIKO INSTITOUTO KYPROU – Cyprus

Duration: 01.12.2020 to 30.11.2022

Total project grant: 207.425 Euro

Total expenditure (grant) for the University of Pitești: 29662 Euro

Local coordinator for the University of Piteşti: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Dumitru CHIRLESAN

Summary:

The RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project focuses on building the capacity of preschool teachers in order to foster to pre-school psychological resilience and safe proof their overall wellbeing.

Research shows that early childhood education plays pivotal role in the child development and future success. However, very little is done in the area of preventive and proactive education that will build the social and emotional skills of young learners. Traditionally the focus of most pedagogical methods was put on the notion of achievement and academic performance, thus other important aspects of children’s development such as their psychological resilience, character strengths and moral principles have been marginalised (Shoshani & Slone, 2017).

According to WHO European Region (2020), emotional disorders like anxiety and depression fall into the top 5 causes of overall disease burden among children and adolescents. Studies report high levels of chronic mild to moderate mental health and behavior problems, even in young children (Egger&Embe,2011). However, the benefits of Positive Education, such as prevention and management of psychosocial problems, increasing psychological resilience and shielding children from a young age are not well known among EU school staff (Shoshani et al., 2016). While there are valid and developmentally appropriate ways in which strategies and research from positive psychology can be meaningfully applied in early childhood settings – for the benefit of children and educators –these are currently underutilised/unknown (Baker et al., 2017).

RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS Project proposes a more holistic approach to preschool education and gives emphasis on traits and capacities that will enable children to adapt efficiently to a fast-pacing world with constant changes and challenges. In addition, by fortifying them with qualities that will shield them from possible future unwanted implication like emotional disorders or problematic behaviour. The importance of cultivating these capacities as early as pre-schooler’s age is pivotal, since the earlier children start to become aware and built on their own capacities and character strengths, the greater will be the results in the long-run.

Although Europe has been making progress in recent years regarding finding new innovative ways to support both Educators and Students, the recent events with the general lockdown and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, will have a significant impact on education. Such bleak events, forces the scientific and social community of EU to turn the attention when it comes to Education from explicitly focusing on academic achievement to how we can support children emotionally and psychologically during challenging times.

Objectives:

To build the capacity of teachers, in nurturing children’s wellbeing, character traits and resilience;
To develop quality resources for positive culture in preschools, based on Positive Psychology practices and scientific findings;
To improve the overall quality of early educational system in the participating countries;
To increasing awareness on the role of various actors on the importance of wellbeing and resilience in young children.

To achieve these goals objectives, the RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project will develop a multifaceted toolkit and training package that will address several psychological characteristics that derive from Positive Psychology core principles, Positive Education approach and Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model.

Outcomes:

IO1 - Toolkit for Preschool teachers aiming to cultivate resilience and character strengths in young children
IO2 - Training Package for enhancing preschool teachers’ skills on how to foster resilience and wellbeing in their students
IO3 - eLearning Space and OERs

Partnership: