OEES: The Oslo Early Education Study. A Collaborative and Knowledge-building Project

The Oslo Early Education Study (OEES) was initiated as a researcher-sector partnership-project to develop, implement, and assess the effects of an intervention aimed at preparing multi-ethnic preschools to utilize their potential to support children's language learning. Project partners are the Department of education and the Center for science education at the University of Oslo, and the preschool leadership in five city districts and the pedagogical-psychological counseling service in Oslo municipality. OEES is financed by the Research Council of Norway (throughout 2026) and the Program for childhood and education, Oslo municipality (Områdesatsingen i Oslo). Professor Veslemøy Rydland and Associate Professor Ratib Lekhal are the principal investigators. In the project, we have developed, implemented and assessed the effects of the OEES intervention in multiethnic preschools. The intervention includes three components: (1) practice-based professional development; (2) pedagogical content to further enhance preschool practitioners' capacity to support child participation in shared reading, peer play and natural science exploration; and (3) collaboration between teachers and parents to further create continuity in children's language learning experiences (including use of mother tongues). During the spring and autumn of 2021, we recruited approx. 60 preschools and an average of 3-4 classrooms/groups per preschool. In addition, we recruited approx. 900 children aged 1 to 4 years old. The participating preschools were randomly assigned into one of two groups: An intervention group and a business-as-usual comparison group. The intervention group gradually implemented the components of the intervention over a period of two years. The preschool teachers were offered regular mentoring through the pedagogical-psychological counseling services and the Center for science education. In addition, the principal investigators and the mentors had regular follow-up meetings. Through close collaboration with the participating city districts and the pedagogical-psychological counseling service in Oslo municipality, we have focused on strengthening the conditions that are important for continuing this model in the city districts over time. When evaluating the intervention, we focus on three main areas: 1. The quality of adult-child interactions in the classrooms. 2. Children's language development. 3. Preschool teachers' perspectives and professional development. The first data collection (T1) was conducted in autumn 2021, before the randomization into two groups. Subsequent data collections were carried out in spring 2022 (T2) and spring 2023 (T3). A smaller data collection was conducted in spring 2024 (T4) to examine if the preschools maintained their work with the model. In the autumn of 2021, the data collection has been carried out by the pedagogical-psychological counselors, preschool professionals in the city-districts, and research assistants who are students at the Department of Education, UiO. To ensure effective and secure recruitment, communication, and information gathering from participants (parents and preschool teachers), we developed, in collaboration with EngageLab at the Department of Education, a database/app for data management. The OEES app has been used throughout the project period. The project researchers and sector partners have had regular meetings in addition to smaller collaborative meetings throughout the project period. The principal investigators have also regularly reported to a board established under the Program for childhood and education, Oslo municipality. Two reference groups were established to assist in the design and implementation of the intervention: a preschool reference group consisting of representatives from the city districts and another group that represents parental perspectives. We have also established one national and one international expert group. The national expert group consists of researchers and professionals from the preschool teacher education and different support services for children and families. The international expert group comprises researchers from Harvard and the University of California. During the project period, preschool professionals have received training to become mentors in their own city-districts. In collaboration with the pedagogical-psychological counseling service, these mentors are now actively supporting implementation of the OEES model in new preschools. After the trial phase, the model was adjusted based on the feedback from the preschools. Responsibility for the OEES intervention model has now been transferred to the pedagogical-psychological counseling service in Oslo municipality. Four of the districts have applied for funding (through Rekomp and Sparebankstiftelsen) to continue the work with the model in cooperation with the pedagogical-psychological counseling service and the partners at UiO.

Universally accessible Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is high on the international agenda. The Barcelona Objectives states that by 2020, 90% of children from age three should attend ECEC. Children in Norway have had the right to ECEC from year one. As a result, ECEC centers serve a more diverse population. It is increasingly acknowledged that children's language learning trajectories can only significantly be altered using a broad approach, one that targets children from an early age and can be sustained over time. Recent intervention approaches to support practitioners and parents in multiethnic ECEC centers through collaboration with relevant community services have yielded important insights about the feasibility of such efforts. Still, we need to know much more about what such system-level developments should look like, also within the Norwegian context. The OEES study contributes to this need by developing, implementing, and evaluating the effects of an intervention that encompasses ECEC professional development and collaboration with parents in multiethnic city districts, supported by the Pedagogical-Psychological counseling service and conducted within a researcher–sector collaboration. Such a study requires user involvement in all phases of the project, information about user perspectives and conditions for high-quality implementation. The OEES intervention has three components that will be implemented successively over two years: 1) a practice-based professional development model that incorporates cycles of modeling, observation, feedback, and reflection with peers and mentors; 2) pedagogical content to enhance ECEC caretakers’ capacity to support child exploration and participation in extended dialogues during shared reading, natural science activities, and peer play; and 3) an ECEC–home component to augment the collaboration between teachers and parents in a way that creates continuity in and enrich children’s language learning experiences.