th 29 EECERA ANNUAL CONFERENCE Early Years: Making it Count Thessaloniki, Greece th rd 20 – 23 August 2019 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 1 EECERA is an independent, self-governing, international association which promotes and disseminates multi-disciplinary research on early childhood and its applications to policy and practice. It has a substantial and influential worldwide membership. The Association continues in the tradition of European early childhood thought, sustaining the legacy of Pestalozzi, Owen, Froebel, Montessori, Steiner, Vygotsky, Piaget, Malaguzzi and other pioneers, whilst looking forward to encourage the exploration of new methodologies, concepts and applications. EECERA’s Annual Conference is the largest early childhood research conference in Europe, providing an exceptional forum and network for scholars, policy makers, researchers and practitioners. EECERA also encourages and supports cross-national collaborations and themed publications through its Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The Journal of the Association (EECERJ) is the only European early childhood journal cited in the prestigious Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). The SSCI identifies scholarship from across 50 disciplines, including ‘education’. Only the world’s leading social sciences journals are selected for inclusion in the Index. Through its annual Conference, its Journal and its SIGs, and the many activities of its community of members, EECERA is a leading international contributor to the development of research, policy and practice in the field of early childhood. The principle aims of EECERA are to: provide a relevant and rigorous academic forum in Europe for the promotion, development and dissemination of high quality multidisciplinary research into early childhood education; facilitate collaboration and cooperation between European researchers in this field and the wider early childhood community across the world; encourage the clear articulation and communication of the links between research, practice and policy; offer interaction, development, and support to those interested in early childhood education; raise the visibility and status of European research on early childhood education throughout the world. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) is the largest public university in Greece. It comprises a total of 42 Schools. More than 81.500 undergraduate and postgraduate students study at the Aristotle University supported by over 2000 staff. AUTH is currently running more than 20 European-funded research projects (e.g. Horizon, Erasmus+ KA2, KA3,) related to higher education, adult education, the usage of MOOCs, e-learning, virtual learning environments and distant training. The School of Early Childhood Education has a total number of 2300 students, who receive both theoretical education as well as teacher training based in kindergartens. The mission of this School is to meet the national, cultural and developmental needs of the early childhood education. Specifically, the Department focuses on producing and disseminating knowledge in the pedagogical sciences related to early childhood, identifying, researching and studying educational issues, providing pedagogical training for those wishing to teach in early childhood education and providing pre-service training and staff development courses for school personnel. The main research interests are principles of learning and teaching for preschool aged children, effective learning environment, evaluation and assessment in early childhood education, quality in education, quantitative and qualitative methods in early childhood settings, teaching methodology, vocational training of early childhood educators, educational policy, evaluation of school achievement, promotion of creativity and higher order thinking, process-oriented instruction. Additionally, the School aims to: develop early education quality standards in relation to all aspects of early childhood education; co-ordinate and enhance early education provision, including parental involvement; undertake research and development through which best practice in curriculum, teaching methodology and parent involvement may be implemented and evaluated. 2 Diazoma Conferences and Events is a Greek General Tourism Agency, based in Heraklion on Crete Island, operating all over the country, specialised in organising conferences, congresses and meetings. The owner and director, Maria Leventi is an experienced event organiser that has helped deliver many national and international conferences, meetings and other events since 1995, and has assisted with the organisation of EECERA 2014 in Crete. Maria and her team of volunteers will be assisting you with your queries throughout the conference. Centre for Research in Early Childhood, more commonly referred to as CREC, is the home of CREC in Birmingham (Charitable Trust) and Amber Publications & Training Ltd (APT). Established by Professor Chris Pascal and Professor Tony Bertram, CREC has been working to improve early years provision for over 25 years. Located in Birmingham, United Kingdom, CREC specialises in early childhood research which has relevant and meaningful outcomes for practice and policy. Some of its research is transformed into training and development programmes designed for the specific needs of the early years sector. CREC also offers postgraduate research degrees and has a strong reputation for undertaking reviews, reports, evaluations and consultancy work with many UK local authorities, NGOs and countries. Examples include the British Council, QDCA, OECD, Portugal, Qatar, South Australia, Birmingham and Gloucestershire. CREC also runs British Early Childhood Education Research Association (BECERA) Conference and has been EECERA strategic partner supporting the delivery of the annual conference since 2009. The 29th EECERA Conference has been organised by Centre for Research in Early Childhood, in conjunction with Diazoma Conferences and Events. It is hosted by the Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 3 CONTENTS WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR 5 THEME AND STRANDS 6 EECERA SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 7 OUR SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS 8 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 9 KEYNOTE ADDRESSES 13 TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE & WORK OF PROF CHRISTOS FRANGOS 14 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) MEETINGS 15 ABOUT SIGs 17 GENERAL INFORMATION 23 PROGRAMME OVERVIEW 27 SYMPOSIUM SET A 41 SYMPOSIUM SET B 49 SYMPOSIUM SET C 57 SYMPOSIUM SET D 65 SYMPOSIUM SET E 73 SYMPOSIUM SET F 81 SYMPOSIUM SET G 89 POSTER SYMPOSIUM SET I 97 POSTER SYMPOSIUM SET II 102 “PED”AGOGICAL TALKS 107 MAP OF THE CAMPUS 109 4 WELCOME FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIR Dear Colleagues and Friends, On behalf of the Department of Early Childhood Education of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, I am delighted to welcome you all to the 29th EECERA Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece. We would like to thank the European Early Childhood Research Association and its Board of Trustees for giving us the opportunity to host the 29th EECERA conference and bring together the international early childhood community in the city of Thessaloniki. It is a great honour for us to host academics and practitioners from all over the world and it gives us great joy to welcome colleagues not only from Europe, but from Asia, Australia, Africa, North and South America. In choosing the theme “Early Years: Making it Count” we are reflecting a challenge for all nations and all colleagues to acknowledge the importance of the early years and to address the issue of measurement and accountability of high quality ECEC. With this theme, we want to place in the epicenter of our attention ‘What counts’ and ‘Who is making it count and why?’ We also want to encourage early years researchers to raise the profile and visibility of early childhood studies and to make it count in the corridors of power. In the next days we invite each and every one of the delegates to actively participate and put your hearts and minds to work towards making this conference fruitful and memorable. In addition, this year’s conference in Thessaloniki is an opportunity for us and for the EECERA community to honour the memory of professor Christos Frangos, one of the founding members of EECERA with significant contribution in the first years of EECERA’S life. The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, your host at EECERA 2019, is the largest university in Greece. It comprises 7 Faculties organized into 33 schools and has more than 72,000 undergraduate and 8.000 postgraduate students. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has constantly been a landmark of progress, knowledge, democracy and innovation in Greece and in Southern Europe. The city of Thessaloniki, with its more than 2300 years of consecutive history, and its numerous monuments, cultural assets and touristic attractions is looking forward to welcoming the EECERA delegates from all over the world and to provide entertainment and relaxation. In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to the Dean of the Faculty of Education for the warm reception and for placing at our disposal the whole building and all the available resources of the Faculty. I would also like to address my thanks to Maria Leventi and to Maggie and Sean, the fantastic staff of CREC who were always happy to share advice and guide our way. Finally, I want to thank the Scientific Committee for their commitment and their professionalism. On behalf of the 29th Annual EECERA Scientific and Organising Committee, I sincerely hope you have a wonderful and productive conference.