CRITERIA FOR GOOD CONTENT
- Blog posts are newsworthy for a European audience with a good background in ECEC (a.o. specialized teachers, teacher educators, researchers with an applied interest)
- Our imaginary reader is a teacher educator. Hence, we do not address professionals directly. Practical tips are still worth mentioning, as they help teacher educators to coach professionals.
- Blog posts concern the topic of diversity and social inclusion in European ECEC, or discuss high quality ECEC.
- Blogposts fit into the categories: ‘research’, ‘inspiring example’, or ‘reflection’.
- Research: references to scientific sources added, bridge to practice necessary
- Inspiring example: innovation not widely spread during last 5-10 years, if possible, link with research
- Reflection: blogger’s reflective attitude, still with a clear empirical orientation
- Enough nuance: the message should not be too prescriptive, and lead to deeper reflection (in team)
- The content may not go against firm scientific base. No educational myths. No controversial info unless underpinned very well.
- We don’t want to become an opinionative blog. So there may be no more than one reflective post a month. Reflections must focus on preschool education, not on education in general.
- No blog posts with commercial goals only. Our rule is now that a blog post may be promotional if it still contains a valuable insight. We do not leave readers unsatisfied by posing an interesting question that is not answered in the blog itself (but during the promoted workshop or in the promoted book). The reference to the workshop/the book may not contain one fourth of the message: a title, a location, a date or a publisher, with a weblink. No concrete workshop program, no table of contents.
- Endorsements are possible, but should be made carefully. We don’t want to endorse expensive products and methods. We prefer free sources if available.
European focus: we advance new European innovation and visions if possible. But the contents are not limited to European resources.
CRITERIA FOR ACCESSIBLE CONTENT
- Pictures or movies are added where possible and relevant
- The quality of the language is high enough to ensure good communication without the need to be flawless!
- Enough information is provided to understand the core contents of the blog message from the perspective of another country
- The message is written in an attractive way:
- The first sentences should already reveal the topic of your blog post, and the news value. Do not dwell too far from the main topic, and first provide the information that the reader wants to read most.
- Use a structured text with subtitles that summarize the content really well. Use lists and bullets.
- Keep a (fictitious) teacher educator or trainer in your mind. Avoid unnecessary jargon. Mark what is new, and provide background knowledge.
- Nuancing is very important! Distinguish the evidence base from your personal view. Mention important limitations of scientific studies.
- Choose one angle, i.e. a central question that you want to discuss. If you have various angles in mind, treat them in several blog messages.
- Make yourself visible as a person. State your opinion. Make room for emotions and humor. Write in the I-form (1st person singular).
- Tell a story. Start with a (fictituous) anecdote that is recognizable, but at the same time reveals the promise of something new.
- Readers’ inquisitive attitude is stimulated by one or more of the following:
- Incentive to reflect
- Reading tips (web links to accessible, readable info)
- Practice tip
- Investigation tip
- Question to react
- Questions to guide further discussion in the team
FORMAL REQUIREMENTS
- Correct categories assigned
- Extra tags
- Central image (with reference to source of image)
- Scientific references below, distinction between scientific references and readable tip
- Each blog messages starts with an author attribution. There is a link to a short C.V. or a web page of the author.