On 29-31 May 2019, the VIII International Conference “Early Childhood Care and Education” (ECCE 2019) took place at MGIMO University in Moscow. One of the largest international conferences devoted to pedagogics and psychology of childhood, content and organization of preschool education was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, Russian Academy of Education, Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, World Bank, Russian Psychological Society and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
The aim of the Conference consisted in forming profound research and practice communities, discussing breach issues of preschool education in the Russian Federation and worldwide, sharing experience and ideas, establishing and strengthening cooperation.
The Conference brought together 750 representatives from 38 countries and 62 constituent entities of the Russian Federation: child psychology investigators, practicing teachers, education management authorities.
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), being an intellectual partner of ECCE 2019, participated actively in the Conference.
Natalia Amelina, Chief of Unit of Teacher Professional Development and Networking at UNESCO IITE, chaired the UNESCO round table on Sustainable Development as a Humanitarian Issue and the Subject of Early Childhood Education.
Renowned scholars and practitioners, preeminent representatives of international non-profit organizations and community leaders from Russia, Armenia, India, Portugal and Nigeria took part in the Conference with a view to share academic and work experience, resolve methodological issues and set new trends for education.
Among the major problems of preschool education, the speakers emphasized excessive workload for nursery teachers (overshooting optimal number of children per teacher), shortage of places in kindergartens and low parent involvement in preschool education. The Conference contributors acknowledged the issue of skills availability as specific not only for primary education in Russia, but for the entire global community.
Within the event, Natalia Amelina, additionally, moderated a panel discussion on ICT in Preschool Education. The section meeting substantially involved Russian and foreign leading independent experts in the content of education and its psychological and pedagogical aspects, who presented advantageous models of using ICT and digital technologies towards improving the quality of primary education and ensuring its further sustainable development.
This year, the International Conference ECCE 2019 was confined to the 70th anniversary of the International Children’s Day and the Childhood Decade in Russia.