Siska van Daele

Karel de Grote-Hogeschool · Department of Social Work

This article aims (a) to explore the operationalisation and definition of lexical L2 proficiency and related constructs with a view to identifying a set of measures that can adequately capture the dynamics of lexical L2 proficiency development over time, and (b) to shed more light on the development of lexical proficiency in French Foreign Language...

This study investigates the commonly-held belief in the SLA community that second language acquisition is somehow influenced by the learner’s personality. It builds on previous research on the relation between one personality variable, extraversion, and second language acquisition but is innovative in three ways. First, it examines L2 learners’ spe...

The INDY game builds on the work of De Graef, De Jaegher & Tondeur (2012) and draws from integration studies (Doyen et al, 2002), organizational psychology (de Caluwé & Vermaak, 2006) and educational theory (Kolb et al, 1974). The game intends to raise awareness about intercultural diversity in early childhood settings and can be considered a playf...

Report about an experiential research project with refugee children living in reception centres. The study investigated how refugee children aged 6- 12 experience their school and leisure time.

With four scientifically supported argument groups pro nature experience, this report advocates on the importance and urgency of nature experiences for all children in out-of school care. The report is written for policy makers and out-of-school practices.

This systematic review demonstrates the arguments for the importance and urgency of children’s nature experience in out-of-school care and activities (BOA). In 2019, the Flemish government launched a new decree which aims for an integrated provision of out-of-school care and activities (BOA) for all children and families. Nature experience is not m...

The MUST-a-Lab project proposed a systemic and long-term involvement of migrants and asylum seekers in 6 European municipalities through installing Policy Labs, a specific form of participative and deliberative democracy. MUST-a-Lab focused on existing local integration strategies that were discussed and improved by a joint effort of all relevant s...

Background aims Deliberative democracy aims to involve a plurality of citizens and stakeholders in political decisions. However, children and young people are traditionally not invited to take part in multistakeholder policy debates (Martin, 2028). Must-a-Lab, a European project in which Policy Labs (PL) are deployed in six cities, bridges that gap...

This systematic review argues for the importance and urgency of children’s nature experience in out-of-school care and activities (BOA) in Flanders, Belgium. Out-of-school care in Flanders is facing a major reform with a new decree that aims to create an integrated offer for all children under the direction of local governmental bodies. However, na...

Although education for sustainable development increasingly receives attention in ECEC, the definition and interpretation of sustainability varies greatly. Research suggests that ECEC professionals credit ESD for the development of critical thinking and should therefore have access to a range of continuous professional development opportunities and...

This paper are recommendations from OMEP Belgium for politicians about ECEC in the three communities of Belgium. These recommendations were represented on a high level meeting organised by the King Baudouin Foundation for politicians on the 18th of October 2023.

Een opvangcentrum voor asielzoekers is een tijdelijke woonomgeving waar verschillende mensen verblijven, ook kinderen op de vlucht. Vanuit een opvangcentrum ontdekken de kinderen een nieuwe wereld en zoeken ze hun weg in de gastsamenleving. In het praktijkgerichte onderzoek ‘Onderweg’ dat van 2019 tot 2022 liep aan het onderzoekscentrum Pedagogie i...

DE WERELD ONDERZOEKEN MET KINDEREN OP DE VLUCHT: EEN PLEIDOOI VOOR EEN FLEXIBELE PARTICIPATIEPRAKTIJK IN OPVANGCENTRA EN OP SCHOOL

Kinderen op de vlucht moeten zich na hun aankomst in België oriënteren op de gastsamenleving. In het praktijkgerichte onderzoek ‘Onderweg’ onderzochten we hoe ze hun schooltijd en hun vrije tijd beleven en hoe we daar in de praktijk op in kunnen spelen. ‘Onderweg’ liep in twee opvangcentra voor asielzoekers en vier basisscholen. Dit artikel zoomt i...

One of the main goals of participatory research is to find ways to enable listening, give voice, appreciate multiple perspectives, appreciate silence, even. In short, participatory research has to enable participants to be approached as experts of their own experience (Gilligan & Eddy, 2017). Methodological challenges rise time and again. When the...

In the French, Flemish and German-speaking communities of Belgium, where the provision of services in ECEC is divided, holistic childcare is a real challenge. It requires going beyond institutional constraints and building bridges between the worlds and actors of early childhood, out-of-school care and nursery school. Together they aim at a more in...

When refugee children arrive in collective reception centres, they have a long road behind them and carry stories and memories with them. Their childhood is different from other childhoods (Baraldi, C., & Rabello de Castro, L. 2020). Leisure time (Art. 31 UNCRC) is important for creating a sense of belonging and can be beneficial for their health a...

Leisure and school environments contribute greatly to refugee children’s sense of agency and to their wellbeing. The workshop consists of two parts. Firstly, we will present the main findings of the experiential research project ‘On the Road’ and elaborate on the ways we engaged with refugee children that live in two collective reception centres in...

Kinderen op de vlucht zijn kinderen als andere kinderen, maar ze leven in bijzondere omstandigheden. In Vlaanderen is één op drie bewoners in de asielopvang jonger dan achttien jaar. Deze kinderen verlangen naar rust en routine, maar willen ook onbezonnen kunnen genieten van vrije tijd. Hoe beleven kinderen op de vlucht die vrije tijd in en buiten...

Een collectief opvangcentrum voor asielzoekers is een bijzondere omgeving waar veel mensen samenleven. In Vlaanderen is één op de drie bewoners er jonger dan achttien jaar. Kinderen op de vlucht hebben vaak al duizenden kilometers achter de rug voor ze in een opvangcentrum aankomen. Ze verlangen naar rust en routine, maar ook naar onbezonnen kind k...

From the moment they are born, children make contact with the world around them. Using their eyes and hands, their body and their voice, they react to impressions and give messages. How do you understand their signals and how can you respond to their initiatives? These interavtive posters are part of a method to observe, document and inspire the de...

De websites consists of refugee children's narratives and a library of good practices and information for professionals working with refugee children.

Most accompanied and unaccompanied refugee children that seek asylum in Belgium, temporarily live in reception centres and all have access to school. Governmental policies and practices in both of these environments, however, seem to prioritise cultural and linguistic immersion and essentialist interpretations of ‘sense of belonging’ dynamics, whil...

Reading between the lines: What do refugee children tell us about their wellbeing? When dealing with migration flows, governments around the globe seem to prioritize cultural and linguistic immersion programmes and pay little attention to the agency of refugee children arriving in the host communities. The research project On the Road aims to bri...

Van 2019 tot 2021 liep in het expertisecentrum Pedagogische Ondersteuning in Kinderopvang en School het onderzoek ‘Onderweg, met belevingsonderzoek werken aan het welbevinden van kinderen op de vlucht.’ Vertrekkende van twee opvangcentra van het Rode Kruis in de provincie Antwerpen probeerden de onderzoekers in een eerste fase te weten te kom...

The Centre of Expertise in Pedagogical Support is currently conducting an experiential, participatory study involving 34 refugee children (aged 6 to 12) that live in two reception centres in the province of Antwerp in Belgium. While cursory analysis of the data confirms acculturation tendencies and the fact that the concepts education and leisure t...

In deze brochure vind je informatie over het verandertraject van kinderdagverblijven in het vergroenen van hun buitenruimte. Aan de hand van concrete situaties worden de coachingsmethodes geïllustreerd, bruikbaar voor al wie met zijn team natuurlijk en avontuurlijk buitenspel wil aanbieden voor baby’s en peuters. We beantwoorden vragen als: Hoe zor...

Until governments adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, very few innovate practices explicitly involved refugee children (Solomon & Sheldon, 2019) and their well-being during school and leisure time. The available studies suggest that refugee children go through a process of acculturation and face challenges when negotiating their se...

Het actie onderzoek Groene voetjes in de kinderopvang liep van 2017 tot 2020 in de voorschoolse kinderopvang in Antwerpen. Het had als doel buitenruimtes samen met teams te vergroenen en meer speelkansen te verkennen.

Until recently, very few innovate practices targeting education for sustainable development involved the youngest children in Early Childhood Education and Care, namely the babies and toddlers that are enrolled in daycare centers and are under the age of three (EPSD, 2010). Education for a sustainable society should, however, pay attention to this...

Indyspel is een spel om interculturele dynamieken bespreekbaar te maken in teams in kinderdagverblijven, buitenschoolse opvang en basisscholen. We testen het spel uit bij verschillende teams op verschillende plaatsen. In dit project willen we in teams uit kinderopvang en school het bewustzijn over interculturele dynamieken bespreekbaar maken met b...

Indyspel is een spel om interculturele dynamieken bespreekbaar te maken in teams in kinderdagverblijven, buitenschoolse opvang en basisscholen. We testen het spel uit bij verschillende teams op verschillende plaatsen. Diversiteit en interculturaliteit staan in onze samenleving hoog op de agenda. In Antwerpen heeft 72% van de kinderen tussen 0 en 9...

From the moment they are born, children make contact with the world around them. Using their eyes and hands, their body and their voice, they react to impressions and give messages. How do you understand their signals and how can you respond to their initiatives?This brochure describes a method to observe, document and inspire the developmont of so...

In this interactive workshop, we will acquaint participants with the INDY game, a pedagogical board game devised to elicit team reflection about INtercultural DYnamics in childhood services and schools. During the session, participants in the workshop will be invited to play an abbreviated version of the INDY game. They will tackle some quiz questi...

This paper investigates what recent research tells us about babies’ interactions with their environment. The study builds on the findings of Van Elk and Hunnius (Van Elk & Hunnius, 2010). The theoretical framework draws from attachment theory, social-constructive theory, developmental psychology, and psycholinguistics. We performed a literature...

Education for a sustainable society increasingly receives attention, both in ECEC settings (Gothenberg recommendations, 2009) and in family life. The Centre of Expertise for Pedagogical Support in Daycare and School is conducting two research studies that aim to raise awareness about sustainability in the early years: ‘Childcare 2030’ and ‘Green Fe...

Het praktijkgerichte onderzoeksproject ‘Spreekkansen in de gezinsopvang’ wil kinderbegeleiders in de gezinsopvang ondersteunen in de communicatie met ouders. Omdat kinderopvang een belangrijke sociale functie heeft, is er een voorrangsregeling uitgewerkt voor kwetsbare gezinnen. Daardoor komen kinderbegeleiders in de gezinsopvang vaak in contact me...

This paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing study about communication between family daycare workers and parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal of this substudy is to analyse how family daycare workers perceive their relationship with these parents and what they actually say when referring to their experiences. The ongoing...

What do family daycare workers say about their experiences with parents from disadvantaged backgrounds? How do these family daycare workers describe their experiences? This posters presents a discourse analysis of 10 in depth interviews.

This paper investigates how reciprocal, respectful communication can contribute to a trusting relationship between early childhood practioners and parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The study builds on the findings of previous studies dealing with the social function of early childhood education (Lesemann, 2002) and adheres to the DECET princ...

Reflection tool and dvd

Defining language awareness is challenging, since it can refer to a wide variety of practices and involves many research areas such as language teaching, language use and intercultural communication (Svalberg, 2007). For the purpose of this paper we adopt a broad perspective and follow Alim and Alim who state that language awareness is "a prerequis...

Deze uitgave is het product van een samenwerking tussen twee hogescholen: De Arteveldehogeschool Gent en de Karel de Grote Hogeschool Antwerpen. Het boek is het resultaat van projectmatig wetenschappelijk onderzoek. De inhoud richt zich tot begeleiders van kinderen van één tot vierenhalf jaar en tot al wie deze mensen coacht. Het bevat achtergrondi...

Dit project ontwikkelt op basis van kwalitatief onderzoek naar de communicatie met ouders uit kansengroepen in de voorschoolse kinderopvang een doeboek waarmee pedagogisch coaches kinderbegeleiders kunnen ondersteunen. Het vertrekpunt is de sociale functie van voorschoolse kinderopvang. Voor vele ouders en kinderen kan goede kinderopvang een belang...

Various studies have investigated the relation between personality variables and second language acquisition (e.g. Moody, 1988; MacIntyre & Charos, 1996; Dewaele & Furnham, 1999) but the study of personality traits and especially the effect of extraversion on L2 speech production remains somewhat underexplored. This study builds on previous researc...