Step by Step Program | About the Book
This open access book describes the extraordinary journey of early childhood education pioneers across Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CEE) and Eurasia during the pivotal democratic transitions of the 1990s. More than just a historical account, it weaves together new interviews and unpublished reports, offering firsthand insights from dedicated practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Their narratives illuminate the transformation of approaches to early childhood education during a time of significant change. The book highlights the experiences of young children and their families affected by social and political reforms, including those who face poverty, discrimination and war. It traces the extension of Step by Step-inspired programs to Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia exploring how democratic early childhood education takes different shapes in new contexts.
What truly sets this book apart are the resounding voices of educators, experts, and NGO leaders, united under the Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program. Together, they forged a powerful movement, inspiring change and promoting democratic values and social inclusion. Their narratives offer invaluable lessons for the early childhood education and international development communities.
An essential read for those eager to catalyze positive change and embrace inclusive early childhood development, it serves as a guide for policy makers as well as professionals in foundations, NGOs, education, social services, and academia.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Open Society Foundation (OSF).
To access the open source book in English or purchase a copy of the book, visit:
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Introduction: Building Democracy Through Early Childhood Education
Part I: Why Invest in Early Childhood During a Political Transformation Process Towards Democracy?
1. 'Everything was Planned': Early Childhood Education in Former Socialist Countries before and during their Transition
2. 'It Was Just a Magic Time': Investing in Early Childhood to Build Democratic Societies
Part II: Inventing a Democratic Pedagogy
3. 'Who Says We Can't Change the World?': Implementing the Step by Step Program
4. 'The Teachers Believed in Us': How Teachers, Parents and Children Experienced the Programs
5. 'Slowly We are Getting There': Creating Opportunities for Children Experiencing Exclusion
6. 'Don't Think That It Won't Happen': Young Children in Times of War
Part III: Extending and Sustaining Democratic Pedagogy Through Civil Society Networks and Expansion to New Regions
7. 'The Seed Beneath the Snow': The Growth of National and Regional Professional Early Childhood Networks
8. 'Surprised and Thrilled': Rolling Out the Programs
Part IV: Transforming Early Childhood Education Systems
9. 'This is Yours': Successful Transformations of Early Childhood Education Systems
Conclusion
10. 'Systems Change When People Change': Lessons Learned from Long-Term Investing in Early Childhood
Annexes
Annex 1. Biographies of Interviewees and Focus Group Participants
Annex 2. Methodology: Oral History Interview and Desk Review of Evaluations, Reports and Documents
