Enhancing early learning Educational innovations in early literacy teaching and learning emphasising children from marginalised groups have established a shared knowledge base in the EU to enhance the quality of primary education. Climate Change and Environment © PhotoDisc One of the main goals of the thematic network was to establish an EU shared knowledge base on educational innovations in the area of early literacy teaching and learning. Additionally the network wished to expand the role of teachers, researchers and administrators in this field. Ultimately they sought to enhance the quality of education, particularly for children in marginalised groups. As a result of the activities involved in the project, the network produced some important findings. The participants were children ranging in age of up to four years. Remarkably, even children at this age, including marginalised children, are interested in written language and have the potential to develop their ideas about language. With regard to reading, the reader has certain expectations about the text while simultaneously recognising letter shapes and words, making it a multi-level, interactive process. As such, for children to effectively comprehend the text, they need to master several tasks at once. Furthermore the learning process is an individual one, yet also one that is aided by collaborative activity with peers. These findings hold true for data that spans two decades and several countries. Despite these numerous similarities, there are also differences in relation to context such as what is emphasised and when children are introduced to the written word. For example in the UK, where children receive formal schooling at an early age, the emphasis is on mastering the code. Yet it is clear that learning to read involves much more. In Italy, on the other hand, where the spelling system is less complex and the age in which children start school is later, the construction of texts is emphasised instead. The network resulted in a series of observational and interpretive reports from four separate projects in four Member States. Furthermore, video material on the projects and publications on the issues that have arisen from the thematic network were produced. This may very well result in improved teaching and learning in early literacy, including marginalised students in the future.
