Early Childhood Education with Disadvantaged Children: Actions for Success

Abstract

Early childhood education has become central to achieve the objectives planned for Europe in 2020. Pre-primary education is considered to be a crucial factor to break the closed circle of intergenerational transmission of poverty and, to this respect, the investment with highest returns. In this chapter we present the concept of successful educational action (SEA) and its particular application to the case of early childhood education and care in diverse European countries and among vulnerable populations. Drawing from studies funded under the Framework Programme for Research of the European Commission, we analyze some of the SEAs such as dialogic literary gatherings, interactive groups, or family education. These SEAs have provided evidence of being effective on improving outcomes in cognitive, social, and emotional development of children; in this chapter we will focus on children from ethnic minorities and immigrant background and how SEAs in ECEC contribute to prevent their future disadvantage.