Institut für den Situationsansatz (ISTA), Berlin, Germany

The International Academy for Innovative Education, Psychology and Economy (INA gGmbH) is an NGO linked to the Free University of Berlin. The Institut für den Situationsansatz (ISTA) is one of seventeen institutes of the International Academy. ISTA - the partner within the DECET network - is an institute for teaching, research and development. The main activity areas of ISTA are

• providing in-service training courses for early childhood educators and trainers - with a focus on respect for diversity education and quality in early childhood education;
• further developing the Situationsansatz (a contextual and developmental approach in early childhood education) in theory and practice;
• developing and implementing internal and external evaluation tools and processes for early childhood provisions;
• implementing action research projects in the fields of quality in early education, respect for diversity education and democracy education;
• conducting practice-based research focusing on respect for diversity education involving practitioners, parents and children;
• drafting statutory early childhood curricula;
• advice and consultation for policy makers;
• networking on local, national and international levels with practitioners, policy makers and researchers; and
• publication of results of projects, research and evaluations.

Target groups:

• practitioners working with children from birth to age 12
• practitioners working with parents
• trainers and practitioners working in in-service training
• staff working in Youth Administration
• policy makers

Ethos and vision of the organisation: The concept of the Situationsansatz aims to help children find life in self-determination, in solidarity with others and in the full use of their potential. Children are regarded as actors of their own development. Children’s interest and commitment are considered to be a precondition for sustained learning successes which should be enhanced by means of longer term educational projects offered by early childhood centres. Centres are understood as places providing spaces to develop and offering an exemplary learning environment in which principles of participation by children and the attenuation of disadvantages are followed. The Situationsansatz ultimately pursues the principle of joint learning of adult and child in sustained shared thinking, the principle of learning from one another and the principle of life-long learning.
The pedagogical goals of the Situationsansatz - autonomy, respect, competence - are based on basic democratic values. They include four important competencies: ego competencies, social competencies, knowledge competencies as well as learning method competencies. This requires understanding children and their developmental needs in the context of their concrete life situation and supporting children's abilities to get to know their abilities and capacities, to interact with others and to handle tasks put to them. In respecting the different experiences the children bring with them, the practitioners encourage the children to participate in shaping the social process. Uniqueness and respect belong together. The Situationsansatz within municipal child-care centres considers the raising, education and caring of children to be a social task. The principles of the Situationsansatz are based on the German KJHG (Kinder- und Jugendhilfe Gesetz - Child and Youth Assistance Law) Declaration. Within this framework municipal child-care centres provide an option for children and families in accordance with their needs for education and care. They need to take into consideration the diversity of family cultures and create specific and suitable environments. Raising, educating and caring for children are part of the same process.