Experimentation, research and innovative perspectives for a contemporary approach to the well-being and care of 0-6 year olds

Abstract

The services for infants 0-6 years in Italy are receiving many legislative interventions that aim at a perspective of unitary care and education, for greater accessibility to services and to make the passage of the child's growth, continuous and not segmented (Bondioli et al., 2017). Some childcare services have promoted experiments with 0-6-year-olds and this action research project aims to monitor the significance of these experiences in terms of educational quality. The methodological approach chosen is qualitative, reflective and narrative to encourage the participation and involvement of educators, teachers, parents, pedagogical coordinators and managers. In order to respond to the research objectives, ad hoc tools and focus group meetings were administered to all the participants of the experimental programs. The results show the presence of strong motivation for the 0-6 “culture”, with single continuous experimentation projects and autonomous sections. Furthermore, there is constant work on the quality elements of planning, of the participation of families, of the figure of the pedagogical coordinator and of relationships, especially regarding interactions among children. From this point of view, the monitored experiment can only develop and be strengthened, starting from an already solid base.