Working with multilingual children and families in early childhood education and care (ECEC) : guidelines for continuous professional development of ECEC professionals : executive summary.
Date: 2023-06-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: child care, continuing vocational training, early childhood, multilingualism, professional qualifications, teacher

Working with multilingual children and 
families in early childhood education 
and care (ECEC): guidelines for 
continuous professional development 
of ECEC professionals 

Executive summary 

 
 
 
 
Please cite this publication as:  

Bergeron-Morin,  L.,  Peleman,  B.,  Hulpia,  H.  (2023).  ‘Working  with  multilingual  children  and  families  in  early 
childhood education and care (ECEC): guidelines for continuous professional development of ECEC professionals’. 
NESET report, Executive Summary. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi: 10.2766/031134 

ABOUT NESET  
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the social dimension of education and training. The 
for 
European  Commission’s  Directorate-General 
Education and Culture initiated the establishment of 
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We  would  like  to  express  our  gratitude 
for  the  various  input  we  received  from 
many experts in the field. Their insights, 
feedback  and  reflections  enriched  and 
guided the writing process of this report. 

Korina 

Rania  ABDELLATIF,  Gabrijela  ALEKSIĆ, 
Isabelle  BARTH,  Corina  BORRI-ANADON, 
Ufemia  CAMAITOGA,  Graziela  DEKEYSER, 
Bessie  DENDRINOS,  Ilse  DERLUYN,  Katarina 
EREKY-STEVENS,  Vittoria  GALLINA,  Estibaliz 
GARCIA  RECIO,  Anastasia  GKAINTARTZI, 
Frederike 
Catherine  GOSSELIN-LAVOIE, 
GROOTHOFF, 
HATZINIKOLAOU, 
Christine  HÉLOT,  Suzanne  HOPF,  Mihaela 
IONESCU,  Karlijn  JACOBS,  Claudine  KIRSCH, 
Joanne  LEHRER,  Drorit 
Mary  LATISHA, 
LENGYEL,  Ute  LIMACHER-RIEBOLD,  Leni 
LINTHOUT,  Rui  NEVES,  Maki  PARK,  Bodine 
ROMIJN,  Pauline  SLOT,  Anna  STAVANATO, 
Lavinia  TIKO,  Sharon  UNSWORTH,  Kaat  VAN 
ACKER,  Piet  VAN  AVERMAET,  Siska  VAN 
DAELE,  Pauline  VAN  DER  STRATEN,  Victoria 
VAN  OSS,  Wendelien  VAN  TIEGHEM,  ,  Michel 
VANDENBROECK,  Olga  WYSŁOWSKA,  Sarah 
VERDON, Floor VERHAEGHE, Andrea YOUNG. 

AUTHORS: 
Lisandra BERGERON-MORIN, Ghent 
University, VBJK (Center for Innovation in 
the Early Years, Ghent, Belgium) 
Brecht PELEMAN, Ghent University, VBJK 
(Center for Innovation in the Early Years, 
Ghent, Belgium) 
Hester HULPIA, VBJK (Center for 
Innovation in the Early Years, Ghent, 
Belgium) 

CONTRIBUTORS: 
Claudia SEELE, RAA Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern (Section 3.1) 
Anne LAMBRECHTS, Elmer (Section 3.2) 
Duha CEYLAN, VUB, Belgium (Chapter 5) 
Aimee KELLEY, Ghent University 
(reviews) 

PEER REVIEWER: 
Jan PEETERS, independent ECEC expert 
Dragana AVRAMOV, NESET Scientific 
Coordinator 

LANGUAGE EDITOR: 
James NIXON, freelance editor 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 
Directorate A – Policy Strategy and Evaluation 
Unit A.4 – Evidence-Based Policy and Evaluation  

E-mail:  eac-unite-a4@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 
AND CARE (ECEC): GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF 
ECEC PROFESSIONALS 

Executive summary 

An increasing number of children are growing up in environments in which more than one 
language is spoken. For many of these children, early childhood education and care (ECEC) 
is  often  their  first  contact  with  the  majority  language  of  the  country  in  which  they  are 
growing up. This situation adds to the crucial role that ECEC professionals play in children’s 
education.  

Children from multilingual families bring an added richness to the ECEC centre. Their full 
language  repertoire  is  both  a  resource  for  the  child’s  own  holistic  development,  and 
enriches  the  learning  experiences  of  the  other  children.  Policy  recommendations  at 
European level, as well as the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child 
advocate for language learning from a young age and promotion of multilingual education 
in ECEC.  

However, multilingualism presents specific challenges for ECEC professionals. To support 
multilingual children and families, ECEC staff must possess complex knowledge, skills and 
competences,  as  well  as  an  understanding  of  child  development  and  early  childhood 
pedagogy. Many ECEC professionals feel an insecurity or lack of experience about working 
with multilingual children and families. In addition, educational practices are often geared 
toward monolingualism, and approach diversity and multilingualism as a problem instead 
of a resource. Multilingual parents (or non-native speakers of the institutional language) 
may  also  be  uncertain  when  faced  with  making  choices  for  their  child,  and  often  face 
barriers to engaging in reciprocal relationships with ECEC professionals.  

Some of these challenges may be overcome through the participation of ECEC professionals 
in continuous professional development (CPD), which can positively impact the quality of 
pedagogical practices towards children and parents. However, CPD must be of high quality 
and must meet specific criteria – which, as evidenced by the findings of recent research, 
is not always guaranteed. CPD in relation to multilingualism in the ECEC context is often 
not attuned to the complex realities of multilingual families and may not always incorporate 
up-to-date  scientific  insights.  To  overcome  this,  CPD  requires  ongoing  review  and 
development. With this in mind, the purpose of this report is to formulate research- 
and practice-based policy recommendations for high-quality CPD to support ECEC 
professionals working with multilingual children and families.  

This  report  is  built  upon  two  sources  of  secondary  data:  1)  a  literature  review  on 
multilingualism,  CPD,  ECEC  and  diversity,  which  draws  on  scientific  research  articles, 
international reviews and reports of relevant European projects (presented in Chapter 2); 
and  2)  two  case  studies:  one  on  Griffbereit  and  Rucksack  KiTa  in  Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern,  Germany,  and  another  on  Elmer  Childcare  services  in  Brussels,  Belgium 
(presented in Chapter 3). Chapter 4 of the report provides general recommendations, while 
Chapter  5  explores  how  the  report’s  key  findings  and  recommendations  apply  to  CPD 
relating to working with multilingual children and families with a refugee background. 

Key findings and recommendations 

We  present  five  recommendations  for  CPD  on  multilingualism  in  ECEC.  These 
recommendations are based on key findings about multilingualism in early childhood, 
and the necessary conditions for effective CPD. The recommendations offer concrete 
avenues for consideration by policymakers, centre leaders and ECEC professionals.  

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 
AND CARE (ECEC): GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF 
ECEC PROFESSIONALS 

Recommendation 1 

The  development  and  implementation  of  CPD  on  multilingualism  in  ECEC 
should  follow  a  step-wise  design,  in  which  the  desired  outcomes  for 
multilingual  children  and  families  are  defined  in  advance  of  selecting  the 
targeted practices and CPD delivery modes. 

To  address  the  complexity  of  multilingualism  and  CPD  in  ECEC,  a  multifaceted 
approach  is  required.  The  step-wise  pathway  proposed  in  this  report  provides  a 
framework that can be used by policymakers, ECEC leaders and trainers to successfully 
implement CPD on multilingualism in ECEC. It comprises the following steps: 

1.  Why?  –  Reflecting  on  the  desired  outcomes  for  multilingual  children  and 

families. 

2.  What?  –  Targeting  specific  practices  to  support  multilingual  children  and 

families in ECEC.  

3.  Who? – Analysing  the  baseline  situation  and needs  of  the  ECEC  professionals 

involved.  

4.  How? – Selecting specific CPD delivery modes. 

5.  Where?  –  Adjusting  the  CPD  to  macro-context  conditions  for  sustainable 

implementation. 

Recommendation 2 

The development and implementation of CPD on multilingualism in ECEC should 
emerge from a positive vision of multilingualism and through collaboration with 
parents. The development of CPD should draw on scientific knowledge, and also 
work well with existing policies. 

Language policy is shaped by the social, economic and cultural landscape and history of a 
country  or  region.  Any  disconnect  between  multilingualism  policies  and  scientific 
knowledge  is  a  barrier  to  the  implementation  of  practices  for  multilingual  children  and 
parents, as well as to the development of CPD on multilingualism.  The existence of such 
disconnects calls for a rethinking of linguistic and cultural diversity at policy level, and  a 
shifting of perceptions about multilingualism, from being regarded as a problem to being 
a resource. 

Such a shift should be based on the following principles: 

•  CPD should start from a holistic strengths-based and rights-based vision for child 
development. Multilingual children should be seen as competent and resourceful. 

•  Desired outcomes for children’s language development in ECEC should be directed 
towards both the institutional language and the home language(s). There is growing 
evidence that creating opportunities to integrate children’s home language(s) into 
ECEC  can  foster  general  institutional  language  development  and  multilingual 
development. 

•  From  a  social  justice  perspective,  the  inclusion  and  participation  of  multilingual 
parents in the ECEC centre, as well as in the wider community, should be promoted. 
CPD  should  help  ECEC  professionals  to  develop  reciprocal  relationships  with 
multilingual parents, which enhance parents’ confidence and agency. 

•  Opportunities  for  dialogue  about  multilingualism  should  be  created  at  various 
policy-making  levels  (e.g.  by  organizing  joint  conferences  for  stakeholders  and 
practitioners, or through innovative European projects involving ECEC centres and 

5 

 
 
WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 
AND CARE (ECEC): GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF 
ECEC PROFESSIONALS 

decision-makers),  in  order  to  achieve  a  shared  vision  and  to  align  with  existing 
scientific knowledge. 

•  ECEC curricula should be reviewed, revised and/or adapted to ensure they provide 
space  and  legitimacy  for  ECEC  professionals  to  explore  and  implement  practices 
supportive of multilingual children and families. 

Recommendation 3 

The development and implementation of CPD on multilingualism in ECEC should 
be tailored to the needs and capabilities of professionals. CPD should be adapted 
to specific contexts, and a range of practices and delivery modes should be put 
forward. 

There is no clear, single answer to any of the complex questions inherent in pedagogical 
work with multilingual children and their families. Families, communities and professionals 
must take account of this complexity by interpreting and ‘customizing’ their practices. CPD 
trajectories  should  be  adapted  to  the  specific  contexts  and  needs  of  the  professionals 
concerned, meaning  that  both ECEC  practices  and  CPD  must  be  able to  respond  to the 
diversity of paths towards multilingualism, the diversity of contexts, and diversity in the 
needs and capabilities of ECEC staff. 

This should be based on the following principles: 

•  Experimentation by ECEC professionals with different possibilities to integrate home 
language(s) within meaningful, high-quality interactions, taking advantage of the 
language repertoires of staff, parents and children. 

•  Systematic  mapping  and  use  of  existing  (multilingual)  resources  within  a  team, 
where possible pairing multilingual staff with multilingual children and families. 

•  Sustaining  constant  reflection  and  experimentation  by  ECEC  professionals  to 

support and fine-tune the choices made between different practices. 

•  Defining  parallel  professional  outcomes  with  ECEC  professionals  in  order  to 
consolidate  individual  and  team-based  reflective  skills,  as  well  as  fostering  their 
engagement in defining centre-based language policies. 

•  Favouring a menu-based approach to CPD (i.e. proposing various delivery modes 
that embody the criteria for effective CPD, which can be combined together to adapt 
CPD to different contexts and the needs of different professionals). 

Recommendation 4 

The development and implementation of CPD on multilingualism in ECEC should 
be  embedded  within  a  sustainable,  system-based  policy  on  staff 
professionalisation. 

Because multilingualism is complex and multi-faceted, it is necessary to consider all criteria 
for effective CPD that can promote high-quality ECEC practices: 

•  CPD should be a long-term, sustainable trajectory. 

•  CPD  should  be  planned  at  a  system  level,  and  require  collaboration  at  different 

levels. 

•  CPD should provide different types of knowledge (i.e. theoretical knowledge as well 

as practical knowledge linked to the day-to-day practice). 

6 

 
 
 
 
WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 
AND CARE (ECEC): GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF 
ECEC PROFESSIONALS 

•  CPD  should  address  ECEC  professionals’  beliefs  and  should  align  with  scientific 

knowledge.  

•  CPD  should  include  components  of  reflection  and  enactment  by  creating  the 
conditions  and space  for ECEC  professionals  to  experiment  with new  multilingual 
practices. 

•  CPD  should  include  provisions  for  individualised  feedback  facilitated  by  a 

pedagogical coach or tutor. 

•  CPD should support the involvement and agency of ECEC professionals. 

•  CPD should be supported by strong leadership at national or regional level to ensure 

the necessary preconditions for sustainable implementation. 

Recommendation 5 

The development and implementation of CPD on multilingualism in ECEC should 
be integrated into an ongoing focus on quality within ECEC. 

The 2019 Council Recommendation on High Quality ECEC Systems formalises the position 
of European Union (EU) Member States with regard to the importance of quality ECEC. This 
comprehensive  framework  provides  a  unifying  foundation  to  support  the  important  role 
played by ECEC services in promoting social inclusion. Multilingualism is a reality, as well 
as a right, during a child’s early years. For this reason, quality ECEC cannot be achieved 
without  the  integration  of  multilingualism  into  all  five  domains  of  the  European  Quality 
Framework  on  ECEC:  access;  workforce;  curriculum;  monitoring  and  evaluation;  and 
governance and funding. In this sense, multilingualism should be considered a transversal 
topic, rather than a separate one. Furthermore, an explicit focus on multilingualism in CPD 
might  offer  a  refreshing  angle  from  which  to  reinforce  commitment  to  quality  ECEC. 
Designing  and  implementing  CPD  for  multilingual  children  can,  in  turn,  strengthen  and 
transform ECEC practices for all children.  

This should be based on the following principles: 

•  ECEC practices presented in CPD should centre around creating opportunities  for 
meaningful, high-quality interactions with multilingual children throughout daily life 
in ECEC. 

•  Practices  to  increase  collaboration  with  multilingual  parents  can  be supported  by 
creating  a  welcoming  environment,  engaging  in  constant  dialogue,  and  seeking 
opportunities  to  collaborate,  such  that  parents’  competences  and  expertise  are 
valorised. 

•  Exploration of multilingual activities in CPD should not overshadow the importance 

of child-centred interactions during such activities.  

•  Broader  reflection  on  the  accessibility  of  ECEC  services  to  multilingual  families 
should be incorporated within the CPD trajectory, in alignment with ECEC practices 
that support collaboration with multilingual parents. 

Furthermore,  specific  recommendations  on  CPD,  and  on  working  with  refugee 
children  and  families  in  ECEC,  highlight  the  need  to  consider  the  particular  legal 
situations of these families, as well as the extra stressors that influence their experiences, 
emotions  and  sense  of  belonging.  Also  important  is  the  conceptualisation  of  language 
development within a holistic vision for child development, ensuring that development of 
the home language is maintained in parallel with that of the institutional language.

7 

 
 
 
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