Prof. Joost de Laat visited Sofia at the invitation of the Trust for Social Achievement in order to attend the Early Childhood Development: Science and Practice conference organized by New Bulgarian University and UNICEF (September 13 – 14, NBU, Sofia).
Prof. Joost de Laat is a professor in Economics at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. He is a leading researcher who has been corroborating with the TSA under the Springboard for School Readiness initiative since 2014. Prof. de Laat will share his experience and the main results from and conclusions of the Springboard for School Readiness Project which was implemented in Bulgaria with the support of TSA and the financial aid of the America For Bulgaria Foundation. It aimed at establishing the most cost-efficient way for more children form the vulnerable communities to attend child day-care centres.
This is a particularly important issue since day-care attendance affects children’s future school achievements and development and their readiness to attend school and do well in class.
Within the framework of the conference Prof. de Laat participated in a thematic session co-organised by the TSA and aimed at highlighting the formulation of early childhood policies in Bulgaria and the challenges this process faces.
The purpose of the conference was to contribute to the better understanding and implementation of scientifically proven early childhood development practices, both among professionals and parents, teachers and other stakeholders, as well as to provide scientists, clinical professionals, NGOs and public policies with the chance to coalesce around that initiative. The leading topics were research works and scientifically proven practices of prevention and intervention in early childhood, development screening and assessment in the age between 0 to 3 years, the role of parents in the development of children, therapeutic approach and inclusive education, public policies on early childhood development.