Interpersonal encounters and a close integration of theory and practice are the highest priorities at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences. That is why the bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education features small learning groups and a concentrated atmosphere, training around 45 men and women each year to become experts for the youngest members of our society. The focus of the degree program is the individual child and his or her holistic development.

Withdrawal, isolation and, in many places, also loneliness: the past 18 months have been overshadowed by the opposite of togetherness and participation due to the coronavirus pandemic. In this context, the initiative of Darmstadt’s cultural and event scene to draw attention to the topic of inclusion with a digital festival programme in May 2021 was all the more important.

As part of the “ForBild” project at the Dörthe Krause Institute in Herdecke, the training supervision assists prospective carers. They learn, in theory and practice, to assess various health issue scenarios occurring in the daily care routine, and to examine them individually – important skills in order to be able to confidently exercise this challenging profession.

Just in time for the start of the school year in mid-September, the new outdoor school in Ladenburg (Rhein-Neckar district in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany) welcomed its first pupils. The independently funded all-day primary school focuses on diversified learning in and with nature.