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r aziskovanje v vzgoji in izobr aževanju: digitalizacija vzgoje in izobr aževanja ...
Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2019). We stress this because of the impact
of different systems both on children and on educators themselves. In sepa-
rate systems, children have to transition from one setting to another, main-
ly receive only care in the early years, with educational goals only involved
in the latter years (a division of responsible authority), often have less qual-
ified educators when entering ECEEC, who also do not have educational
guidelines for this phase. The presence of an inadequately skilled workforce
can lead to discrepancies in the quality of early learning experiences. Fur-
thermore, since ASD can be diagnosed with accuracy before the age of two,
it is important to investigate how educators (especially in the early phase)
are trained to deal with it.
Although the core staff in selected countries require different initial
training (see specifics in Table 6), the curricula for pre-primary teacher
training programs are quite similar. There are however differences in how
they approach the topic of Special and inclusive education (the number of
subjects, how the subjects are classified, and the option of elective courses).
The overarching themes covered in the subjects are Special Education and
Pedagogy, Differentiation and Inclusive Education, Disabilities and Devel-
opmental Disorders, and Intercultural Education. In educational settings,
children with ASD are usually addressed under the wider concept of spe-
cial needs, which is also the case in our study. As reported by the Euro-
pean Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat (2014) the initial education
in most European countries incorporates specific training to equip ECEC
staff to work with children with additional needs, which is also true in our
case. Furthermore, they claim the necessity of this specific training seems
to be more prevalent for staff working with older children, which is not the
case in our study, with all core staff participating in at least one course on
the topic during their studies. Yet, despite all initial programmes address-
ing special and inclusive education, none of the selected countries explicit-
ly mention ASD in their initial education for core staff curricula.
A comparison of the main characteristics of the CPD (see Table 7)
shows that some countries have national requirements both for the pro-
fession and for the initial professional preparation. In contrast, others have
formal competence requirements for professional preparation, but not for
the profession. In Cyprus, Slovenia, and partially in Italy (3-6 system), CPD
is a mandatory requirement, while in Sweden, although not formally re-
quired (as is the case for the initial qualifications), it is often expected as
part of professional duties. In Spain, CPD is not compulsory, but neces-
126
Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2019). We stress this because of the impact
of different systems both on children and on educators themselves. In sepa-
rate systems, children have to transition from one setting to another, main-
ly receive only care in the early years, with educational goals only involved
in the latter years (a division of responsible authority), often have less qual-
ified educators when entering ECEEC, who also do not have educational
guidelines for this phase. The presence of an inadequately skilled workforce
can lead to discrepancies in the quality of early learning experiences. Fur-
thermore, since ASD can be diagnosed with accuracy before the age of two,
it is important to investigate how educators (especially in the early phase)
are trained to deal with it.
Although the core staff in selected countries require different initial
training (see specifics in Table 6), the curricula for pre-primary teacher
training programs are quite similar. There are however differences in how
they approach the topic of Special and inclusive education (the number of
subjects, how the subjects are classified, and the option of elective courses).
The overarching themes covered in the subjects are Special Education and
Pedagogy, Differentiation and Inclusive Education, Disabilities and Devel-
opmental Disorders, and Intercultural Education. In educational settings,
children with ASD are usually addressed under the wider concept of spe-
cial needs, which is also the case in our study. As reported by the Euro-
pean Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat (2014) the initial education
in most European countries incorporates specific training to equip ECEC
staff to work with children with additional needs, which is also true in our
case. Furthermore, they claim the necessity of this specific training seems
to be more prevalent for staff working with older children, which is not the
case in our study, with all core staff participating in at least one course on
the topic during their studies. Yet, despite all initial programmes address-
ing special and inclusive education, none of the selected countries explicit-
ly mention ASD in their initial education for core staff curricula.
A comparison of the main characteristics of the CPD (see Table 7)
shows that some countries have national requirements both for the pro-
fession and for the initial professional preparation. In contrast, others have
formal competence requirements for professional preparation, but not for
the profession. In Cyprus, Slovenia, and partially in Italy (3-6 system), CPD
is a mandatory requirement, while in Sweden, although not formally re-
quired (as is the case for the initial qualifications), it is often expected as
part of professional duties. In Spain, CPD is not compulsory, but neces-
126
