Abstract:

Within the European Lifelong Learning Project PRECIOUS (www.precious.at) a Master curriculum towards the training of professionals in Early Childhood was developed. Precious is based on increased empirical data, that a) ECI requires an academic professional training and b) that specific professional training are correlated with better effects. This 2-year training (120 ECTS) within the 1st year deepens the scientific aspect of ECI (Scientific Research in ECI: 15 ECTS; Recognition and Detection: 10 ECTS; Working together with Families: 10 ECTS; Working in Teams: 10 ETCS; Individual Intervention: 10 ECTS, Personal Competences: 5 ECTS). Within the 2nd year 3 possible "specialised strands" are available, focusing on various needs of professionals: Specialisation A: "Management, Research and Quality Control in ECI" (60 ECTS, Specialisation B: "Resilient Families" focusing on the needs of socially disadvantaged families, and Specialisation C: "Inclusive support" focusing on specific syndromes (autism, complex learning difficulties, low birth weight babies). The Master Courses will be implemented in Germany (Gera, Nordhausen, Hamburg) and - in the future - will enable international European courses, supported by specifically developed e-learning-tools and online-resources.

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