In the EKCO-project, after school program staff, together with researchers, will examine how after school offerings in five countries currently operate, with the aim of developing new and improved practices in the field.
Extended Education Facilitating Key Competences through Cooperative Learning (EKCO) is an international research project involving researchers and after school program staff in five countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. The project runs from 2023 to 2026 and is funded with 4 million Norwegian kroner through research grants from Erasmus+.
The work is led by Gunn Helen Ofstad, Associate Professor at The Norwegian Reading Centre.
Developing quality in after school program offerings.
EKCO aims to be a development project with the purpose of mapping current activities in after school programs (SFO) and enhancing their quality.
- After school programs, as an institution and field of study, vary greatly from country to country and have different levels of status. As a field of study, it is fragmented, and there is a need for research in this area as the offerings have become such an important part of children's development. Currently, there is little research, both nationally and internationally, in this field, despite it being a significant aspect of children's daily lives for several years," says project leader Gunn Helen Ofstad, Associate Professor at The Norwegian Reading Centre.
Mapping of similarities and differences
In the research project, a total of five countries will participate: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland. The activities between these five countries currently vary. In the first and ongoing phase of the project, researchers are examining the framework surrounding the activities and mapping out similarities and differences. Several of the countries have national regulatory documents associated with the offerings, but there is significant variation in what the after school program offerings aim to achieve for the children who use them.
Develop and make "best practices" available
Best practices will be developed both locally and nationally, and participants will then test out the best practices defined by other countries. Additionally, a selection of core activities and themes related to sustainability will be chosen. These activities will be developed collaboratively by the research communities and after school program staff before being tested by the latter.
Following this, these activities will be made accessible to everyone. Literature from the five countries will also be translated into English to provide more people with access to literature and working methods.
The project runs from 2023 to 2026 and is supported by Erasmus+ with 4 million kroner.
Researchers and staff in the project
National Centre for Reading Education and Research
Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioral Research in Education
Avdeling Porsgrunn
Department of Early Childhood Education
Faculty Administration UH
Administration SLF
Faculty Administration UH
Administration SLF
Faculty Administration UH
Administration SLF
Faculty Administration UH
Administration SLF
National Centre for Reading Education and Research
Department of Education and Sports Science
