Conference Agenda

Inclusive early childhood learning environments increasingly serve young children ( 1 . 5 – 4 years) with diverse developmental profiles, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays . In early intervention practice, standardized developmental assessments are widely used to identify priorities and monitor progress, yet a persistent “assessment - to - instruction gap ” remains: results are often translated into isolated target instruction (skills taught one-by-one in narrow response formats). Although such approaches can produce task mastery, they frequently yield fragmented learning , prompt dependency , and limited generalization across activities , partners , and settings, so assessment gains may not translate into functional competence in natural environments ( Stokes & Baer , 1977 ) . Recent syntheses of early autism intervention research likewise highlight that effects are often strongest on proximal, context-bound outcomes, underscoring the need for instructional designs that deliberately engineer generalization and everyday use (Sandbank et al., 2020; Crank et al., 2021; Sandbank et al., 2023). This paper reports a practice-based instructional methodology developed at the International Child Development Center. ( ICDC , Armenia ) that reorganizes assessment-informed planning from isolated targets toward clusters of functionally related targets taught across response forms and routines. Research question: How can assessment - informed instruction be reorganized to support functional , multi - domain learning and early independence in inclusive early childhood environments? Sub-questions: ( 1 ) What within - child learning trajectories ( acquisition → integration → generalization ) are observed when targets are taught as clustered repertoires rather than isolated skills ? ( 2 ) Which instructional features ( multi - context teaching , response variability , and family partnership ) appear most associated with generalized , independent responding? Conceptual / theoretical framework, integrates applied behavior analysis ( Baer et al . , 1968 ; Cooper et al . , 2020 ) , the technology of generalization ( Stokes & Baer , 1977 ) , and naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention principles emphasizing shared control and teaching in natural contexts ( Schreibman et al . , 2015 ) , within inclusive early childhood commitments to access , participation , and supports in everyday routines ( DEC / NAEYC , 2009 ; Ainscow , 2020 ) . The VB-MAPP (Sundberg, 2008) was used as a criterion-referenced developmental map; given ongoing discussion about the evidence supporting some assessment tools, interpretations were triangulated with direct instructional data and functional observations (Padilla & Akers, 2021). Instead of strict one - target sequencing, assessment priorities informed the construction of target clusters ( e . g . , concept + communicative function + play routine ) , taught concurrently through receptive discrimination , labeling , matching - to - sample , imitation , and play - based interaction across structured sessions and daily routines to strengthen stimulus control , promote response flexibility , reduce prompt dependency , and support independence .

This study examines how children’s agency and participation are enacted within multimodal and place-conscious early childhood learning environments that integrate environmental education, dialogic pedagogy and digital technologies. The analysis draws on empirical material generated within the international EACH project (Erasmus+ Project EACH – Early Childhood and Sustainable Citizenship Routes in the Digital Era, 2023-1-PT01-KA220-SCH-000156194), which implemented shared pedagogical scenarios in early childhood education institutions in Poland, Italy and Portugal. These scenarios were designed to foster collaborative knowledge-building, environmental awareness related to climate change and critical engagement with digital technologies through learner-centred and participatory approaches enacted across diverse spatial configurations, including indoor and outdoor environments.

The primary objective of the study is to explore how innovative methodologies are enacted in relation to the spatial, material and digital affordances of early childhood learning environments. Specifically, the study aims to examine how children’s agency emerges through dialogic and collaborative activities, and how different learning environments (indoor/outdoor; digital/analogue) shape participation and interaction. The study is guided by the following research questions:

- How do participatory and collaborative learning processes unfold in practice among young children across different learning environments (indoor/outdoor; digital/analogue)?

- How is children’s agency enacted through participation in early childhood education activities integrating environmental education, digital technologies and dialogic pedagogy?

The theoretical framework is grounded in place-conscious perspectives, which emphasise that learning is situated, relational and embedded in specific spatial, material and socio-environmental contexts. From this standpoint, educational environments are understood not as neutral backdrops but as active pedagogical elements that shape participation, interaction and meaning-making through learners’ embodied engagement with place (Aasen, Grindheim, & Waters, 2009; Gruenewald, 2003).

Such understandings resonate with educational approaches that explicitly foreground the pedagogical role of the environment. Montessori pedagogy and forest-based early childhood education conceptualise learning spaces as intentionally prepared environments in which materiality, spatial organisation and bodily activity support children’s autonomy, engagement and sense-making (Bennetts & Bone, 2019; Sella et al., 2023). These approaches highlight how carefully designed indoor and outdoor environments can invite participation and sustain children’s involvement across diverse activities.

Building on these perspectives, the framework adopts a relational understanding of children’s agency, in which agency is enacted through participation in social practices rather than treated as an individual attribute. From this view, agency emerges in interaction, dialogue and shared activity, directing attention to the everyday pedagogical practices through which children’s participation and contribution become observable within educational settings (Ainscow, 2020).

The internationalisation of education has become pervasive with neoliberalism transforming national educational systems globally. Countries within Southeast and East Asian contexts pursue curriculum development addressing globalisation through various international curricula. The International Baccalaureate's influence continues growing, particularly within East and Southeast Asia, where its links to global capital and educational internationality expand significantly. The programme's remarkable expansion reflects this broader neoliberal transformation: as of 2025, the IB serves 1.95 million students through over 8,700 programmes across 6,000 schools in 160 countries worldwide. The Asia-Pacific region hosts 1,973 IB World programmes, accounting for 27% of global offerings (International Baccalaureate Organisation, 2025).This study presents comparative analysis of IB practices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan—contexts inadequately explored—examining the interplay between global and national forces shaping curricula and school practices.

This expansion within neoliberal frameworks generates complex tensions that remain inadequately understood, particularly in politically sensitive contexts. The central research question asks: How do IB schools navigate competing pressures of cosmopolitan educational ideals and nationalist political sensitivities? This inquiry becomes particularly urgent when examining Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan—three societies presenting distinct yet interconnected challenges for international education implementation.

Singapore represents "controlled internationalisation," balancing global competitiveness with national identity preservation through strict regulatory oversight. Hong Kong's landscape has been fundamentally altered by post-1997 political transitions and recent national security legislation, creating parameters where schools navigate complex political sensitivities while maintaining international credentials. Taiwan presents a unique case where international education serves dual functions: enhancing global competitiveness while supporting diplomatic recognition and democratic values amid cross-strait political complexities, creating specific challenges around geopolitical sensitivities and educational resource dependencies distinguishing it from Singapore and Hong Kong.

Within the European context, mass migration has created parallel challenges in catering to diversified populations while fostering harmonious coexistence and common identity. International schools have adopted internationally minded curricula like the IB to address diverse student bodies, yet simultaneously face tensions between cosmopolitan educational ideals and nationalist sensitivities (Hayden & Thompson, 2016). The IB's reputation for "elite academically challenging" standards positions it competitively against local and Cambridge examination systems (Doherty, 2009). This study's findings in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan directly parallel European experiences: schools in both contexts are constituted through irreconcilable tensions between global credentials and national imperatives, market-driven credential economies and pedagogical commitments, and cosmopolitan rhetoric masking reproduction of hierarchies. The structural ambivalence observed across East Asian contexts resonates with European international schools navigating similar contradictions between internationalist missions and increasingly assertive nationalist policies.

This study integrates Lingard's (2010) "imbrication" with Bhabha's (1994) hybridisation theory to examine IB schools in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. While both frameworks reject global-local dichotomies, they operate at different analytical levels. Lingard's imbrication maps macro-structural entanglements—how global educational frameworks interweave with local policy through curriculum implementation, market competition, and regulatory governance. However, this study foregrounds Bhabha's hybridisation to reframe IB schools not as strategic actors navigating these forces, but as institutional subjects constituted through discursive encounters that generate structural ambivalence—the impossibility of simultaneously satisfying cosmopolitan and nationalist demands. This synthesis positions IB schools as "third spaces" where neither global nor local categories remain stable, producing formations that exceed institutional control.

Rather than dismissing the "progressive Western" versus "conservative local" binary as reductive, our analysis reveals this reductionism as integral to the colonial gaze embedded in educational markets. Parents and stakeholders enforce these essentialist tropes through purchasing power, compelling schools to perform Western-ness as a quality proxy. The binary thus constitutes a structural constraint imposed by neoliberal marketplaces that commodify race and nationality.

The internationalisation of higher education has significantly reshaped university learning environments. Increasing student mobility has brought more linguistically, culturally, and academically diverse first‑year cohorts with differing expectations and adaptation pathways. Research shows that first‑year students’ initial assumptions—about teaching, assessment, lecturer support, and the academic community—strongly influence their early motivation, engagement, and sense of belonging (Vromans et al., 2023).

Studies indicate that international students often face additional challenges that local students do not encounter, which can negatively affect their learning sustainability and create a mismatch between anticipated and actual experiences (Yassin et al., 2020; Oduwaye et al., 2023). This situation prompts higher education institutions to provide more structured support mechanisms. Qualitative research also shows that general satisfaction indicators frequently fail to capture the depth of international students’ experiences; although many report overall satisfaction in surveys, in‑depth interviews reveal difficulties related to social integration, belonging, and communication with local peers (Arkoudis et al., 2019). These unresolved issues may reinforce unrealistic expectations about lecturer accessibility or the organisation of the study process.

Studies indicate that clear course explanations, structured reflection, and intentionally designed intercultural interactions help reduce unfounded fears and moderate unrealistic expectations among first‑year students (Vromans et al., 2023). Such practices clarify what is expected and support students’ transition into culturally diverse learning environments. Other studies in intercultural education show that expectation‑experience mismatches often arise from culturally different interpretations of lecturer authority, feedback practices, and assessment standards. Culturally responsive strategies—such as explicit criteria, transparent instructions, and reflection‑based learning—are recommended to reduce early‑semester anxiety and support smoother adaptation (Vromans et al., 2023; Jaiswal et al., 2024).

A gap between expectations and reality may lead to reduced engagement, increased anxiety, or a weakened sense of belonging. This issue is especially relevant in multicultural university environments, where local and international students bring highly diverse educational backgrounds and perceptions of academic norms. It is therefore essential not only to understand what expectations students bring with them but also to examine how these expectations change during the semester and what factors drive this change.

Our previous qualitative research (2023–2025) examined first‑year international students’ understanding of the concept of “teacher professionalism,” identified key expectation categories to develop teacher guidelines, and compared local and international students’ expectations regarding the university learning environment and teaching staff. (Eidimtas, Brunevičiūtė, 2024; Eidimtas, Brunevičiūtė, Gudaitytė, 2025). Based on the results of these analyses and the identified expectation ‑ and need ‑ based clusters, the key areas of student experience requiring targeted instructional support and clearer study structures were theoretically distinguished. Therefore, guided by the developed model, small‑scale pedagogical interventions were proposed to strengthen aspects of structure, clear communication, psychological safety, and student engagement within the learning process.

Our further research is aiming to analize practiclly how students’ expectations change during the first semester in a multicultural higher education environment using Action Research design. Action Research is particularly well suited to this purpose, as it allows the researcher to observe student adaptation in real time, respond to emerging challenges, and test small-scale interventions that help rebalance the expectations-experience relationship.

Research Aim:

To explore the initial expectations of local and international first-year students and examine how these expectations change during the first semester in a multicultural higher education environment.

Research Objectives:

• To analyse the initial expectations of first-year local and international students regarding studies, lecturers, and the university environment.
• To evaluate how these expectations change during the first semester and identify emerging goals, needs, and challenges.
• To determine the cultural, academic, and psychological factors influencing these changes and identify potential interventions to support early student adaptation.