Our hosts
The 34th EECERA Annual Conference is hosted by the University of Madeira and the Portuguese Association of Early Childhood Professionals (APEI). It is organised by APEI in conjunction with Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC).
The conference is co-chaired by Prof Júlia Oliveira Formosinho and Dr Ana Maria França Freitas Kot Kotecki from the University of Madeira.
Conference Venues
The 34th EECERA Annual Conference will be hosted across two venues, the University of Madeira and Tecnopolo, Madeira’s International Congress and Exhibition Centre. The two buildings are conveniently located next to each other and in close proximity to the centre of Funchal.
Conference Organising Committee
The Association of Early Childhood Professionals (APEI) is a Portuguese private non-profit association with the status of public utility, created in 1981. It is an association that aims to promote the professional development of early childhood educators and other professionals, through a set of actions developed throughout the national territory, of discussion of pedagogy and pedagogical practices of quality in early childhood education, currently with about 5,000 members.
The APEI has partnerships with research centers and higher education institutions (universities and polytechnics) and with the Ministry of Education, giving advice on educational policy and in the production of scientific and pedagogical documents to support the operationalization of the curriculum guidelines in early childhood education.
Since 1987 it publishes the only printed journal on early childhood education in Portugal (Cadernos de Educação de Infância), it publishes the international printed journal Children in Europe Today, which involves ten EU countries and it also publishes RELAdEI – Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Infantil, an indexed scientific journal. It has an editorial line that publishes the most recent books edited worldwide, both of pedagogy in childhood and support to the educational practices of professionals.
Each year, APEI promotes a wide range of training actions and seminars, most of them accredited by the Scientific-Pedagogic Council for Continuous Training, involving national and international trainers/speakers. Since 2016 it has held more than a thousand initiatives, involving around 23,000 professionals.
Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) is a values led organisation, dedicated to improving outcomes for all young children, particularly those facing disadvantages.
Recognised internationally as a leader in early childhood education, CREC is delivering a wide range of research projects, professional development courses, consultancy, conferences, networking links and publication opportunities for the early childhood sector.
CREC is committed to a social justice agenda of promoting inclusive, democratic and professionally led early childhood education. We firmly believe this enables all children, and those who educate them, to flourish and realise their unique capacities. Wherever possible we work in partnership, be that with nurseries, councils, national agencies, government bodies, universities or other like minded organisations, to develop learning communities of evidence-based practice; in this way, not only can we deliver better outcomes for children, but we can build sustainable, ethical systems in the process.
CREC runs the annual British Early Childhood Education Research Association (BECERA) Conference and has been EECERA’s strategic partner supporting the delivery of the annual conference since 2010.
Conference Scientific Committee
Information to follow.