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The case study of  the Roma Community Outreach (RCO) project in Belfast, Northern Ireland  features the potential of small scale community based interventions and the need to have strong anti-discrimination, social justice and peace-building components when working on Roma inclusion.

The Roma Community Outreach (RCO) project in Belfast, Northern Ireland was implemented by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Mediation Northern Ireland and South Belfast Roundtable. The project was aimed at empowering Roma parents and grandparents with young children (birth to age 5) through programmes aimed to increase their parenting skills and employability. The project was guided by a slogan “Nothing about us, without us” and promoted Roma leadership and participation in many different capacities, with a strong emancipation component for the Roma community through professional development opportunities. This case study features the potential of small scale community-based interventions and the need to have strong anti-discrimination, social justice and peace-building components when working on Roma inclusion.

The case study is available in English.

Ponies from the Land of the Rainbow: A collection of pro-diversity stories | Căluții din ținutul curcubeului: O colecție de Povești pro-Diversitate. This resource is a collection of children's stories designed to awaken empathy and appreciation for diversity through the use of colorful metaphors.

The manual for organizations and outreach workers - Establishing and Management of Outreach Work in Support to Early Childhood Development of Children from Marginalized Groups is a result of the project "Supporting the Early Childhood Development of children from marginalized groups in Novi Sad" implemented in 2015/2016 and financed by Otto per Mille Valdese Organization.

This manual is a contribution to the development of low budget, practical, outreach programs in the local community which can have a huge strategic impact on social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups including families coming from poverty, families with children with developmental delays and difficulties, single parent families or foster families. The manual can be used by organizations willing to start similar programs and also by field workers including volunteers.

This resources provides in depth information needed to adapt early childhood education and care programs to be inclusive. Special focus is on inclusion of ethnic minorities, in particular the Roma, inclusion of children with special needs, and avoiding gender stereotyping.

The Learning for Well-being Magazine was created in 2016 by the Learning for Well-being Foundation and is published online twice a year. The articles are free to download. Each issue explores a theme of interest for all those who wish to expand their perspectives on creating and encouraging inclusive and supportive societies, cultivating capacities and environments that place well-being at the centre of all our endeavors. The themes are explored from multiple perspectives by inviting contributors who work (and learn) in different fields, professions, disciplines and countries.

To date, the themes have included: Measuring what Matters (January 2016); Relationships for Learning (September 2016); Engaged Participation (March 2017); Meaning and Purpose in all our Endeavors (September 2017); Living Systems (April 2018)

The article  ISSA's Principles of Quality Pedagogy: Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Through Democratic Processes published in the first edition of Learning for Well-being online journal, is exploring  how ISSA's Quality Principles, their accompanying resources, and the collaborative mechanisms for reflecting on pedagogical practice (observation, peer mentoring and professional learning communities)  help early childhood educators be more democratic in their practice.  

You can read the full article here.

This report was written within the INTESYS project in order to map the state of integration of ECEC provision in EU Member States, with a special focus on vulnerable groups regarding workforce policies and practices, stakeholders, governance and also key success factors, gaps (policies, practices etc.), obstacles and inspiring good practices.

The report was developed based on collected data through a European survey focusing on promising and inspiring practices regarding the integration of services, a survey in each of the four piloting countries in the INTESYS project (Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Slovenia), and literature review.

The European survey aimed to answer the underlying, and somewhat paradoxical question: if integrated work and close cooperation are so evidently positive, how did we end up with such segregated services in the first place? Complementary to the survey, the literature review provides a well-rounded picture of the state-of-play concerning the current approaches to and levels of integration (or lack of it) in different European countries. Drawing on previous and other on-going work by the project partners, it focuses on governance, systems, workforce, transitions and what is meant by addressing the needs of the 'whole child'.

Communication, Speech, and Language Guidebook for professionals in early education is a guidebook based on contemporary, evidence based knowledge in the field of speech, language and communication. Most logopeds (speech therapists) in Georgian kindergartens are part of the kindergarten team that are responsible for the development of early inclusive education in their centres. The guide addresses the practical needs of these professionals.  

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This resource is a collection of personal stories and experiences shared by people marginalised due to their ethnicity or level of ability. The views and the voices of these people are presented in a way to evoke solidarity and emphaty.

The resource promotes friendship as a way to combat and overcome prejudice, stereotyping and marginalisation of certain individuals and groups. Storytelling is a powerful tool for building friendships - by telling stories and listening to other people's unique stories empathy is nurtured and and bridges among people are built. 

Manual for educators and parents for use of picture books is an adaptation of ISSA’s activity books "Opening Magic Doors – Reading and Learning together with children" done by Step by Step Foundation for Education and Cultural Initiatives Macedonia (FECIM). The ISSA's activity books are adapted for eight of the 20 children's picture books that FECIM had selected to publish under the USAID "Readers are Leaders Project".

Additionally, the project team developed activities and guidelines for reading and learning with young children for the remaining 12 picture books. In this manual, educational and creative activities combining reading, math, science, and art are offered for all 20 picture books, along with recommendations for how both parents and educators can adapt these activities for different age groups of preschool and early-grade children, in accordance to the children’s needs and interests.

The Aflatoun Manual for Non Formal Education is developed for all children who happen to be learning in a non-formal environment. The partnership with Liliane Fonds has encouraged us to pay particular attention to issues of inclusivity and diversity, especially where disabled children are involved. It is a sobering thought that around the world, the majority of children with disabilities remain out of schools.

This Manual is written out of a conviction that inclusive learning environments, where children of all abilities work together, offer at least as many advantages to children with disabilities as do projects or systems which segregate them in the interests of affording them specialized care. This Manual hopes to promote diversity as a source of richness and as a celebration of the varied and unique nature of human life.

The publication Teacher Assistant in the Inclusive Classroom outlines the necessary information about the position of the Teacher Assistant (introduced in 2010 in Ukraine). It includes legislative documents, description of the main functions and tasks, etc. It also includes the main content related to inclusive education: how to develop individual educational plans, team work, co-teaching practices, basic information about different kinds of disabilities and examples from practice. 

Roads to Quality - Strengthening Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care Systems is showcasing ISSA’s approach towards practitioners’ professional growth and nurturing their professionalism.

It helps organizations to find and establish clear targets to their practitioners’ professional growth by continuous improvement and nurturing of their professionalism. This guidebook also serves as a quality framework for early childhood education practices including helpful tips to turn theory into practice, a “know-how” approach that reflects the consistency between scaffolding children’s development and learning, and scaffolding practitioners’ professional growth in such a way that each achieves their full potential.

In the article 'Power of Associations in Early Childhood Education and Care,' published in the Official Journal of the Association for Childhood Ecucation International, ISSA Program Director, Mihaela Ionescu, unpacks the power of membership associations in the early childhood field, with a particular spotlight on ISSA and the added-value the organization brings to the field by strengthening knowledge and capacity among the its membership.

The full article is avaliable here.

Published by Bernard van Leer Foundation, Early Childhood Matters is a journal about early childhood, which looks at specific issues regarding the development of young children, in particular from a psychosocial perspective. In June 2015 issue, ISSA contributed the article Quality in Early Childhood Settings: universal values and cultural flexibility.