Together from kindergarten: exploring quality to inform inclusion in early childhood settings in Bulgaria

Abstract

The Bulgarian Government has made a commitment to inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality ECEC settings are more inclusive and responsive to children's individual learning needs. In partnership with UNICEF, the Ministry for Education established a pilot project, ‘Together from Kindergarten’, to enhance quality and support early childhood settings in creating and maintaining quality conditions that support all children's right to access and participate in ECEC. As part of this project, the ECERS-3 was used as a broad measure to explore quality across 40 kindergarten settings. Evidence suggests that despite the positive attitudes of ECEC teachers towards inclusion, the quality of the kindergartens was low, with particular challenges concerning teacher–child interactions and individualised learning supports. The study offers important insights into how ECEC settings in Bulgaria can enhance quality to develop conditions that support children with SEND to participate in mainstream ECEC provision.