Between the 7th and 9th of March, the ISOTIS team met in the Utrecht University.

In the first day, the team discussed the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) proposed in the scope of the project. The team focused on how to develop its content in order to support multilingualism, enhance parent-school partnerships and promote inclusiveness in the classroom, taking into account its future use by parents, children and education professionals. In the next months, steps will be taken towards developing a user-centered platform.

In the same day, ISOTIS research Cecília Aguiar (ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa) led a meeting on the case studies of promising inclusive curricula and educational practices. The goal is to collect knowledge on key ingredients of effective approaches aiming to reduce educational inequalities through curriculum design and implementation, classroom practices, and/or school social climate, both in early childhood education and primary school. These case-studies will be conducted in England, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Italy. The studies will involve interviews with key staff and parents, and will capture children's perspectives, as well as analyses of documentation and published data, whenever available. During the meeting in Utrecht, the team discussed the interview guidelines and case study timeline.

On March 8, the team addressed the progress of the large structured interview study with parents who have a Turkish, Moroccan, Romani or lower-SES native background, and a 3-6 or 9-12-year-old child. We are asking parents about issues related to bringing up their children – their experiences with educational systems and support services, their hopes and wishes for their children, their resources and support needs. At this moment, the team has conducted almost 2000 interviews across Europe! During the meeting, the researchers shared challenges and good practices in each of the countries regarding the interviews, and gathered valuable input on the possible diversification of strategies to recruit families for the study.

The team will also conduct a smaller number of in-depth interviews with parents who participated in the large structured interview study, aiming to collect additional information on the experiences related to children’s education and upbringing. The first pilot interviews were already conducted, and the participating parents were very enthusiastic and happy to share their story! On March 9, the team analysed some of the information collected and exchanged some tips to further improve the interview procedures. The team-members were inspired by the richness of the data, and are excited about the new insights they will gain through these studies.