Undergraduate nursery and primary education network
The 'Kleine Kinderen Grote Kansen' network unites all 13 educational bachelor programmes in nursery and primary education in Flanders around one objective: offering more educational opportunities to children and thus helping to break through child and opportunity poverty. This network is coordinated by Arteveldehogeschool and supported by the King Baudouin Foundation and the Flemish government.
Greater social equality
Our mission? To work together to achieve social equity for all pupils in preschool and primary education. We strengthen (future) teachers, support workers, pedagogical supervisors and teacher trainers in dealing with:
- diversity;
- child poverty;
- powerful language learning environments;
- language and thought development.
We work with the previously developed concept (see image below) which includes quality interaction and warm relationships.
Pathway 2022-2023: raising teachers' language awareness
The current pathway (2022-2023) builds on previous pathways that have been running since 2016 and aims mainly to strengthen the language awareness of primary school and teacher education teachers in various domains. These include:
- language promotion and information literacy;
- dealing positively with diversity in the classroom;
- developing a feel for warm teacher-child interactions that contribute to strong language acquisition.
Own subproject for each teacher training programme
We do this in a variety of ways, always using an evidence-informed approach. More specifically, each teacher education programme has its own locally embedded subproject in which teacher educators work together with primary schools from their placement network on powerful language learning environments and warm teacher-child relationships. Within their own teacher education programmes, too, intensive work is being done to strengthen the curriculum and the professionalisation of teacher educators around this.
Learning networks
Together towards greater social equality. Every teacher is a language-aware teacher!
In addition, learning networks are organised that outline a content framework and focus on workshops, inspiration sessions and good practices. Insights, tools, materials and examples are shared with the wider education field through social media, the website greatchances.be and the magazine Klasse.
- Objectives: sustain, anchor, broaden, deepen
- Approach: education professionals learn from and with each other aimed at positively dealing with diversity, disadvantage and inequality, with a specific focus on language stimulation and warm teacher-child interactions
Schedule
- Thursday, 23 June 2022: Learning network I: (Read aloud): Are you reading?
- Wednesday 5 October 2022: Learning network II: Language stimulation and language policy
- Tuesday 29 November 2022: Learning network III: Information literacy
- Wednesday 1 March 2023: Learning network IV: Multilingualism
- Final event Thursday 11 May 2023: Learning network V: Together towards more social equality, every teacher is a language-aware teacher
- Tuesday, December 12, 2023: Study Day KKGK - Morning: Results and recommendations from the external evaluation of KKGK; Afternoon: Powerful language education
Partners
Daily management
All teacher training courses Bachelor of Primary and Pre-primary Education
Educational guidance services and education centres
External organisations
Give little children great opportunities
'Little Children, Big Opportunities' supports you to deal with child and opportunity poverty.
Our website and social media reach out and offer inspiration for this. Because levers can move big things with a small force.
Research realisations and publications
Report
Teacher Karima works on rich language in her classroom. She invests in warm relationships with students, offering them great educational opportunities.
Report
Teacher Femke creates a powerful language learning environment in a diverse classroom.
Report
The reportage series 'Teacher Jelke's class' covers warm relationships, quality interaction, executive functions and parental participation.
EHBO-Note
First Aid for Great Educational Opportunities. Flanders-wide deployment of future preschool and primary teachers to support primary schools in corona times.
Podcast
Carolien Frijns talks more about effective reading teaching and what we can learn from disappointing test results.
Blog
A house of leaves. A powerful language learning environment in summer (and beyond) - Carolien Frijns.
Blog
We are going to slime land: Performing meaningful language tasks in the outdoors - Carolien Frijns.
Blog
'Little chickens in the classroom?' Betting on strong relationships between school and non-native parents - Carolien Frijns.
Section in Basis
Chicken or egg? Towards strong language teaching in primary schools - Carolien Frijns.
Plenary discussion
Who is afraid of eating in bed? Multilingualism and education in Belgium. Plenary talk for Enspired, VVOB.
Meet the team
Work with us?
Request customised research
We are happy to help you formulate your research question and approach.
