Multicultural ePortfolio in pre-primary schools

"Our partnership consists of four educational centers (kindergartens). In our project we will focus on creating multicultural ePortfolios for groups of children in the pre-primary education institutions: Kohtla-Järve lasteaed Tuhkatriinu (Estonia), Şehit Yurdakul Alcan Ortaokulu (Turkey), Kindergarten ""Zornica"" (Bulgaria), Istituto Comprensivo Regnant Incise (Italy). The main idea of this project is connected with our wish to help children in learning about other cultures, meeting people representing different nationalities, reflecting and memorising their learning experience. There is an ambition to develop multicultural education from the pre-primary level, so that there will not be a gap between kindergarten and further education at schools.The international teachers' team will exchange good practices and develop multicultural ePortfolios for groups of children, so that their intercultural learning would be visualised and it would be possible to enrich and develop it in the future. The project meets the following priorities of Erasmus+ programme: open and innovative practices in a digital era, promoting the acquisition of skills and competences and strengthening the profile(s) of the teaching profession. The project objectives are:1. to engage at least 40 pre-school employees from 4 countries ( teachers, teaching assistants, administration, specialists) in the project work and international activities2. to develop variants of ePortfolios in collaboration of teachers from 4 partner countries3. to produce at least 2 group digital portfolios per country (8 in total) created by children from 4 to 7 years old (with the help of their teacher )4. to support children (at least 80 during the project) in developing their understanding of their own and other culturesThe project will also contribute to:1. broadening children’s horizons, trying to develop manners and new behavioral rules in a sense of tolerance2. teaching ethics and appropriate usage of digital environment especially for teachers including parts, that in particular will be adopted for children aged 4-7 (working with a computer, timeframe for using computers and the Internet, publicity and privacy, security)3. promoting the idea of creating a multicultural ePortfolio as a tool for teachers to other pre-primary schoolsThe project will have long-term impact on the teachers participating the project, children, their parents, institutions and stakeholder, who would like to use our ePortfolios in their work in future.The teachers during the learning weeks will study the main topics related to the project (intercultural competence, multiculturalism, digital tools, creation of ePortfolios) and they also will work with children and communicate with their parents (workshops, intercultural days, masterclasses). Families' participation could broaden the impact of the project on children wider and also influence the local communities more.What is considered to the children, they will be involved in local activities (masterclasses, cooking, handcraft, performances), in testing ePortfolios. They will have a possibility to meet foreign guests. Children, who participated in the project are pilot groups from 4 to 7 years old. During the partnership we will arrange 4 short-term staff training events to conduct the project and achieve project's results. Special trainings and seminars during the project could help teachers to use new educational strategies and skills in further work (for example: usage of eTwinning). The main project goal is to reach an improved intercultural competence and greater understanding of social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity of teachers (participants). Consequently, teachers could raise in pupils ""an ability to see oneself and familiar situations and events from the perspectives of cultural ‘others’ "" (Multicultural Societies, Pluricultural People and the Project of Intercultural Education (Language Policy Division, 2009). With the help of the project we could reach multiperspectivity in education in the beginning of the pre-primary level and lead its tendency further to a higher one.All things considered, four kindergartens will receive a valuable experience of participation in a strategic partnership and our project could create one more step towards a better life and education in a modern multicultural world."