The Evangelical Integrative Day-Care Centre in Goch has been involved in the ‘Netzwerk Kinder forschen! Kreis Kleve’ for more than 15 years. It has been part of the initiative in the Kleve district since its inception and is therefore the first day-care centre in the district to have achieved its seventh consecutive certification. The certification is once again valid for two years. The nursery began very early on to ensure that educational content from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) or ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) forms an integral part of the children’s everyday lives. To this end, the nursery staff take part in relevant professional development courses.
At the certificate presentation, Barbara Maué, network coordinator at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, warmly congratulated the nursery on its pioneering role: “The centre’s commitment is exemplary. When the network was launched, it was one of the first in the district of Kleve to immediately set out on a journey of exploration and STEM discovery. And it has remained committed ever since, providing further training for the team and continually putting new ideas into practice. I am delighted about this. Congratulations on 15 years of discovery and research inspired by children’s questions!”
The focus of the certification process is on continuous discovery and research with the children, guided by their everyday questions. Key factors here are the nursery’s operating conditions, partnerships with extracurricular learning venues, and the participatory approach to selecting topics for exploration and conducting the research itself. “Maintaining this continuity in discovery and exploration with such a large team of eight groups across two sites is only possible if absolutely everyone gets on board! That’s a truly great achievement,” said nursery manager Esther Müller. Parents are also involved – thanks to shoeboxes containing materials to take home, which allow them to work on small research tasks with their children at home. To mark the occasion, activity stations were set up at the nursery as part of the “MINTmachTage”, a nationwide initiative by the “Stiftung Kinder forschen” foundation to promote high-quality early STEM education.
Background information
The nationwide initiative “Stiftung Kinder forschen – STEM Education for Sustainable Development” aims to bring nature, physics, chemistry, maths and technology to life for children in nurseries and primary schools. In doing so, it contributes to holistic early childhood development. The initiative is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It draws on children’s interest in and enthusiasm for everyday phenomena. Through dedicated learning facilitators, it aims to encourage children to develop a constructive, inquisitive mindset.
As part of its knowledge transfer strategy, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has been a member of the regional network since 2010. Within the framework of the educational initiative, it offers a diverse range of STEM and ESD training courses, certifications and projects for the holistic education of all children in the district of Kleve. In this way, it helps to ensure a new generation of STEM talent. As coordinator, Barbara Maué organises activities within the network, advises nurseries and primary schools on integrating research, and collaborates with partners from the fields of education, society and business. Primary schools and nurseries that also wish to place greater emphasis on discovery and research are warmly invited to attend the training courses offered by the ‘Netzwerk Kinder forschen’ network.
Contact
Barbara Maué, Coordinator of the ‘Children’s Research Network! Kleve District’, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
Email: barbara.maue@hochschule-rhein-waal.de
