GENDERBEST

GENDERBEST is 24 months involving 4 partners from Serbia, Italy and Slovakia with the aim to support ECEC teachers, preschools’ leaders and other training providers to improve gender and gender related digital access equality in ECEC settings in all aspects that ensure inclusive quality ECEC as per EU Quality Framework Recommendations, whilst empowering them to monitor and (self)evaluate the gender mainstreaming in ECEC.

Challenging gender stereotypes from early years is one of the key objectives of the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 and the first target of the UN SDGs 2030 (Goal 5), incorporating a gender equality perspective in core activities, processes and policies is seen as the most effective way to achieve the set EU and UN goals. Given that the EU Quality Framework Recommendations for inclusive quality ECEC provide comprehensive guidelines to all the areas of ECEC that need to be addressed in order to achieve the overall ECEC quality, partners see enabling the ECEC providers to monitor and evaluate how gender equality is mainstreamed in each of the areas as the best way to improve gender equality in early years.

Objectives:

The specific objectives are:
1. To improve ECEC professionals’ and other supporting staff’s competences to self-assess their own gender biased prejudice and discriminatory attitudes and practises;
2. To develop tools and guides for policies and practices reducing gender and gender related digital use gaps in the ECEC settings in 5 quality areas per EU Quality Framework Recommendations;
3. To create and strengthen learning community of teachers, parents, civil society and other stakeholders that can effectively monitor, (self)evaluate gender and gender related digital use and plan measures to reduce it.

Tools:

The project foresees the elaboration of 3 types of tools:

• Tool for (self)assessment of gender related personal prejudice, stereotypes and (un)conscious bias affecting the practices of preschool teachers and other ECEC staff in their interaction with young children
• Best Practices in Achieving Gender and Gender Related Access and Use of Digital Tools Equality in ECEC
• Toolkit for Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender Equality in ECEC settings.
  
  In addition, partners will train 20 future trainers for ECEC teachers and other professionals to use these tools, who, in turn, will each share the information and support at least 15 teachers and other professionals from at least 5 ECEC settings in each project country. The developed tools will be tested in at least 5 ECEC settings per project country and the lessons learned will be incorporated in the final version of the Tools.

Activities:

The activities will lead to:

• Improved skills of the ECEC professionals to close the gender and gender related use of digital tools gaps in all areas determining inclusive quality ECEC as per EU Quality Framework Recommendations in at least 5 ECEC settings/institutions per the partner’s country (Serbia, Slovakia and Italy)
• Raised competences and self-confidence of preschool teachers, ECEC professionals, professional support teams and paraprofessional support teams in the pilot ECEC settings/institutions to monitor and evaluate the change in children’s attitudes about social and family roles of boys and girls, male and female members of the family
• Preschool professionals in the pilot ECEC settings/institutions equipped with tools and empowered to (self)assess gender stereotypes in themselves and with parents and families of the young children (including those with health and ability challenges, from poor, rural and Roma backgrounds who have stronger attitudes towards different roles of boys and girls and male and female family members)

More information:

Adina Curta - curta@azione.com

A project co-funded by the Erasmus+ project of the European Union.

No id. 2021-1-RS01-KA220-SCH-000027947