The CIES 2022 theme Illuminating the Power of Idea/lism arises from the intersection of two immutable realities of our time and the impact both are having on the field of comparative and international education. The first is our global experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. The second is the rise of nativism and fundamentalism representing both ideological rigidity and political divisiveness. The CIES 2022 theme seeks to find ways to address these challenges by bringing forward new ideas with a sense of idealism in the work we do as educationists.
VVOB contributes in various ways:
- 2 panel sessions: on scaling education innovations; and on playful pedagogies and learning through play. Find more information below.
- 3 paper sessions:
- Identity, Ethnicity, and Education in Post-Conflict Societies (21 April, 3-4:30 pm CDT / 10-11:30 pm CET) with Arizona State University, University of Massachusetts Boston, Columbia University Teachers College and Marit Blaak and Maud Seghers for VVOB
- Multisectoral support for early childhood development (22 April, 9:30-11 am CDT / 4:30-6 pm CET) with ChildFund, New York University, University of Pennsylvania and Sofie Cabus for VVOB
- Improving on Educational Methods, Practices and the Teaching Profession (22 April, 11:15-12:45 pm CDT / 6:15 to 7:45 pm CET) with George Mason University, Queen's University, Concordia University (St. Paul), Indiana University, UC Louvain and Aura Liliana Lopez, Maud Seghers and Sofie Cabus for VVOB
Panel session: Tools for Playful Pedagogy: Formative Tools for Improving Teacher Practice in Learning through Play
- 18 April, 7:45-9 am CDT (2:45-4 pm CET)
- with VVOB, Penn State University, University of Toronto, University of Notre Dame; chaired by Ciara Laverty, the LEGO Foundation
Zosh and colleagues (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015; Zosh et al., 2017, 2018) have argued that the science of learning literature has coalesced around five characteristics that lead to learning, regardless of context:
- joyful
- actively engaging
- iterative
- meaningful
- socially interactive
While there may be variations on this framework in different geographies and contexts, there is a growing consensus on the central place that play occupies in child development and learning.
The LEGO Foundation has supported numerous efforts around the globe, seeking to create stimulating, playful learning environments for children from birth througout their primary schooling years. This panel brings together evidence from several such efforts, focused particularly on giving educators practical, hands-on tools to help them improve their practices of learning through play, and create stimulating learning experiences in their childcare settings and classrooms.
Joke Van Belle and Benedict Mwango Chipalabwe from VVOB's Zambia office will discuss the quality of learning through play and the impact on child outcomes under the consideration of two observation tools on emergent literacy development in Zambia.
Panel session: 1, 2, 3 freeze! How we are learning and adapting ECE projects in East Africa before increasing scale
- 19 April, 9:30-11 am CDT (4:30-6 pm CET)
- with VVOB, Plan International Denmark and VSO; chaired by Aaron Lee Morris, the LEGO Foundation
VVOB, Plan International Denmark and VSO are developing interventions to improve quality and sustained learning through play (LtP) in center-based learning environments through capacity development and engagement of system actors and stakeholders. The organisations use the path-to-scale, developed by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), as an iterative and phased approach for fast learning and adaptation from the early stages of the project while increasing scale. The session will describe how the organisations have played with this non-traditional way of implementation and M&E to tailor not only our interventions but also build out robust points for evidence-building and research. Learnings and plans for research will be shared. This framework can provide guidance for planning and learning along with the project, highlighting opportunities for more targeted research on what works and why in pre-primary education.
Joke Van Belle and Marone John Zulu of VVOB's Zambia office will discuss the Education Scalability Checklist and identified key areas for improved scalability of education initiatives, as well as recommendations from VVOB’s IT’S PLAY programme.
