TITLE: Democracy, schools and political education: What-if?
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Isabel Menezes
At least since Dewey, there has been a recognition of the intersections between education and democracy, not only because education is the anticipation of life (in a democracy) but also because education is – as Dewey (1916) himself underlined – life itself. This presentation uses my experience of growing up during a revolution as a starting point for thinking about the relationship between school, politics and democracy – illustrated by research carried out with children, young people and their teachers on the place of politics and political education at schools.
While the revolution of April 25 1974, resulted in a surge of democratic living, both in and out of schools, educational policies maintained considerable ambivalence about the place of political education. This ambivalence, visible to this day, is deeply intertwined with a vision of children and young people as ‘citizens in the making’ to whom politics (or life, for that matter) is too complex to understand – a vision that captures their existence as political beings and denies their presence in ‘our common world’.
Meanwhile, decades of research support the idea that power imbalances and inequalities mark the daily existence of children and young people at school. Politics is embedded in school life, whether acknowledged or denied – schooling is an inevitable political experience. Schools are places where we learn about justice, unfairness, compliance, challenge, confrontation, dialogue, speaking out, looking the other way, being soft, and being tough. This centrality might help explain why school still stands out in the voices of young people as their place of choice for political education – a trustworthy site in a growingly polarized and contested world.
In fact, the contemporary risks of democracy call for a return to educational theory and research. Educational theory and research can sustain advocating for an education that favours, for all children and young people, the complexity of cognitive processes, the recognition and acceptance of emotions and the ability to interact and dialogue with other people who are inevitably different. As I (strongly) believe there is still a 'revolution in the making' and that hope is a powerful political emotion, I will consider the what-ifs of this return.
TITLE: Equal opportunities in context of diversity? Challenges of access and quality in childcare
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Michel Vandenbroeck
Resumo: There is now robust longitudinal research that demonstrated the potential beneficial impact of childcare at an early age (0 to 3 years) on cognitive, social and emotional development of children. In addition, the research also documents positive impact on adults (i.e. equal opportunities on the labour market, parenting, …) as well as on local communicates (social support and social cohesion). However, in order to benefit from this unique potential, there are still many challenges to overcome in terms of unequal accessibility and unequal quality as well as on the governance levels.
Regarding accessibility, the recent Child Guarantee initiative of the European parliament shows a way forward, but also illustrates that many European Member States still need to take significant steps to facilitate access to high quality ECEC for vulnerable children (children with a migrant background, children in poverty, children with special needs and Roma children). Unfortunately, European policy only uses quantitative benchmarks, not qualitative ones, despite the renewed Barcelona targets, set by the European Commission.
Regarding quality, there is a consensus that process quality (meaningful interactions) matter most and increasingly, it becomes clear what structural quality aspects warrant process quality. Levels of qualification and professional development, adult child ratio and group size mater, as is shown in a comprehensive study on process quality in Flanders, through observations in 200 centre-based and 100 family-based provision. However, too often, we see that vulnerable children are enrolled in childcare form poorer quality. In accordance with the latest OECD report on the matter, additional support in a context o progressive universalism is required.
Regarding governance, it is clear that there is little (if any) convergence in Europe, despite initiatives such as the European Quality Framework. On the contrary, several countries have recently shifted the funding from the provision to the parents, facilitating forms of state-led privatisation and marketisation. In most countries this has led to a documented decrease in accessibility of vulnerable children as well as to a decline in working conditions and quality.
In conclusion, I plead for a comprehensive policy from the end of parental leave to the start of compulsory school age (beyond a split system between childcare and preschool), and a renewal of public responsibilities in this.
TITLE: Reimaginar la educación poniendo en el centro la participación de la infancia. Reto colectivo
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ana Maria Novella Camara
La educación y los diversos contextos que conforman su ecosistema educativo desempeñan un papel crucial en el acompañamiento de la construcción de una ciudadanía corresponsable y comprometida. En el informe “Reimaginar juntos nuestros futuros” Un nuevo contrato social para la educación” (UNESCO, 2022) apuesta por educación con capacidad transformadora, más justa y equitativa que desempeñe un papel fundamental en el fomento de una ciudadanía comprometida y activa a nivel local, nacional y global. Exige, también, una gobernanza alternativa, dinamizada por la participación ciudadana, en la que tanto la equidad como la justicia fortalezcan el compromiso, la cooperación y la solidaridad. Con la vista puesta en el horizonte del 2050, el informe promueve planes de estudio que tengan como base los derechos humanos y la participación democrática como principios y contenidos fundamentales. Asimismo, promueve renovar la educación sobre la base de una pedagogía fundamentada en principios de cooperación, colaboración y solidaridad, promoviendo el desarrollo de las capacidades intelectuales, sociales, políticas y morales del alumnado para trabajar juntos y transformar el mundo con empatía, compasión y corresponsabilidad. Además, se enfatiza la importancia de capacitar al profesorado y a los educadores para promover un cambio de paradigma que influya en la percepción que tienen sobre la infancia, la participación y su implicación en la relación de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Se busca que estos construyan un imaginario de las niñas, los niños y adolescentes como sujetos activos, activistas y políticos desde donde incorporar espacios de debate, procesos participativos, prácticas colaborativas, relaciones empáticas y la construcción de presentes continuos (futuros) compartidos.
Es necesario reimaginar prácticas que permitan avanzar en el giro conceptual de la participación social y política de la infancia. Por ello, el objetivo de esta presentación es analizar elementos reflexivos y claves estratégicas para fortalecer los componentes pedagógicos de la participación en las prácticas socioeducativas en los centros. Se proponen ideas que impulsen un concepto de infancia como sujeto político capaz y participación ciudadana, tejiendo un imaginario colectivo que supere creencias limitadoras y que se ancle en miradas capacitantes desde donde sea posible integrar a la infancia en el liderazgo de la participación. Se presentarán algunas estrategias que amplifiquen la densidad de la cartografía de prácticas participativas de la infancia, desde una construcción participada de carácter colaborativo que incremente las oportunidades de acción implicativa y la toma de partido en lo común. Estas prácticas incluyen componentes de cuestionamiento, evaluación, servicio, cocreación o codiseño, acción implicativa, participación liderada compartida, cogobernanza y movilización, todos ellos destinados a alimentar la construcción del sentido de agencia en la infancia.
Para saber más:
AAVV (2024). Los derechos de la infancia, ciudadanía activa y participativa. YOUARECITIZEN. Herramientas para docentes y educadores. IMCITIZEN (CERV-2022-CHILD). Universidad de Barcelona. http://hdl.handle.net/2445/207061 [**Various authors. (2024). Children's rights, active and participatory citizenship. YOUARECITIZEN. Toolbox for teachers and educators. IMCITIZEN (CERV-2022-CHILD). University of Barcelona http://hdl.handle.net/2445/207060]
TITLE: Participation as a generic intervention means in pediatric rehabilitation and special education interventions
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Mats Granlund
This presentation discusses participation as a generic intervention means in pediatric rehabilitation and special education interventions, emphasizing its role for achieving lasting participation outcomes. Participation in the intervention process necessitates creating a learning experience, with children and families actively participating in every step of the process: identifying participation issues, seeking explanations, prioritizing intervention goals, selecting methods, implementing interventions, and evaluating the process and outcomes.
TITLE: Culture, Arts, Heritage: Educating for the Future
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Carla Figueira
In this keynote I reflect on the role of Higher Education in tackling global challenges and suggest how social learning can be a pathway for inclusive and innovative learning that sustains regenerative futures. I focus particularly on education for the arts, heritage and cultural and creative sectors and use my experience in UK Higher Education as a starting point to discuss inhibitors and enablers of social learning, as well as to consider challenges and opportunities for universities navigating complex and changing landscapes where learning is happening everywhere and all the time. In the spirit of social learning, I hope the Q&A to be a social learning space, where we all can learn from each other.
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