On April 30, the DECEP Project hosted an online training session focused on the vital topic of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and its integration into Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs.

The training was led by two distinguished experts:

• Simona Kontrimiene, Associate Professor at Vilnius University and DECEP Project Coordinator (Vilnius side)
• Sergejus Neifachas, Expert in Early Childhood Education and Director of GABIJELE Kindergarten

The session combined theoretical foundations with practical insights, highlighting how SEL can transform learning environments and support the holistic development of young learners. It emphasized the importance of embedding emotional and social competencies into ECE curricula to foster inclusive, resilient, and supportive educational systems.

This project is co-funded by the European Union.

The training materials are available to project participants and other interested parties (see link).

On April 29, Ana Golubeva, our partner from the University of Tartu (Narva College), delivered an engaging online training session as part of the DECEP Project.

The training focused on “Principles of Language Teaching in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Settings”, highlighting practices from both Estonian and American contexts.

Participants explored key topics, including:

• Policies on early years language teaching
• Types of early years language teaching programmes
• Emphasizing the target language in all activities
• The role of comprehensible input
• The importance of scaffolded output and understanding stages of second language acquisition (SLA)

The session also featured collaborative group work, fostering discussions and reflections on effective strategies for second language learning in early childhood settings.