STEP BY STEP

Step by Step is a program that promotes modern learning and appropriate approaches to early childhood development. The program aims to provide opportunities for professional development for educators and teachers, to provide easier access to new classroom work methods and in collaboration with families and with the community, in order to provide new information on early childhood education and to enable them to exchange experiences with their colleagues both at home and abroad. In this program, children benefit from the new affirmative approach in the classroom, they are active, enjoy freedom of expression, and their interests and desires are fully respected. The program was developed in 1994 by Georgetown University in Washington DC with funding from the Open Society Institute. Today, it operates in 30 countries and is coordinated by the International Step-by-Step Association (ISSA), based in the Netherlands. KEC is copyrighted by ISSA for the delivery of the program and distribution of materials in Kosovo. The program has nine different variations. The program is offered to teachers working with children aged 0-3 in the form of two modules – basic training and advanced training. Each module includes 24-40 hours of contact and classroom monitoring, and the same applies to teachers working with children aged 3-6 as well as for teachers of the first grades. This program has only one module that provides 40 contact hours for second-grade teachers. Monitoring is an integral part of the Program and presents a necessary requirement for teacher certification based on the program’s standards. Training provides:

• Teacher training
• Monitoring and support in the classroom
• Networking teachers
• Development of training materials

The main results: “Step by Step” has so far trained more than 2,500 educators of preschool institutions, elementary school teachers, principals, lecturers in these institutions, university professors, students, etc. Most preschool institutions are already involved in the network of institutions that fully implement the Step by Step methodology. Funding for the allocation of training was raised from various sources, including the Ministry of Education, municipalities, OSI, development partners and own revenues.