BackgroundEarly Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) teachers at urban preschools are potential key figures to promote healthy behaviours in disadvantaged young children and to engage parents in lifestyle-related topics. An ECEC teacher-parent partnership regarding healthy behaviours may support parents and stimulate their children’s development. However, it is not an easy task to establish such a collaboration and ECEC teachers need tools to communicate with parents about lifestyle-related topics. This paper describes the study protocol of a preschool-based intervention (CO-HEALTHY) to promote an ECEC teacher-parent partnership regarding healthy eating, physical (in)activity and sleeping behaviours in young children.MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial will be performed at preschools in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Preschools will be randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. The intervention consists of a toolkit with 10 parent-child activities and associated training for ECEC teachers. The activities were composed using the Intervention Mapping protocol. At intervention preschools, ECEC teachers will carry out the activities during standard contact moments. Parents will receive associated intervention materials and will be encouraged to perform similar parent-child activities at home. At control preschools, the toolkit and training will not be implemented. The primary outcome will be the teacher- and parent-reported partnership regarding healthy eating, physical (in)activity and sleeping behaviours in young children. The perceived partnership will be assessed by a questionnaire at baseline and at 6 months. In addition, short interviews with ECEC teachers will be held. Secondary outcomes include the knowledge, attitude, food- and activity-related practices of ECEC teachers and parents. Furthermore, children’s eating, physical (in)activity and sleeping behaviours, and weight development will be assessed. A process evaluation of the intervention will be made.DiscussionThe intervention aims to provide a practical tool for ECEC teachers at urban preschools to promote an ECEC teacher-parent partnership regarding a healthy lifestyle in young children.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register (NTR): NL8883. Date registered: September 8, 2020.
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The Centre of Research in Knowledge Organisations and Knowledge Management of Zuyd University has developed a knowledge management scan. The scan initiates from two models. The first model is based on the Value Based Knowledge Management approach (Tissen, Andriessen & Lekanne Deprez, 1998) and includes 6 basic abilities of a knowledge-intensive organisation that will enable the organisation to operate successfully in a knowledge based economy (.The second model, developed by Wierdsma and Swieringa (2002), categorises organisations according to their level of learning that is to say, how it develops a specific learning ability. Both models are briefly reviewed within this paper. This knowledge management scan is a tool that enables an organisation to assess the development of its six basic abilities. Once the organisation has a clear insight into its own abilities, it will be able to strengthen its overall learning ability and improve the organisations’ competitive position. Additionally we take a close look at our research approach for developing and implementing the knowledge management scan. The scan encompasses 15 statements per ability (90 statements in total). The complete scan will be assessed on a five-point scale by a representative group of selected employees and managers of an organization, supervised by a researcher/consultant. During the analysis of the results and the presentation of recommendations, specific attention is paid to those statements that achieve high and low scores respectively (invitation to implement improvement actions) and statements that have a relatively high spread across a broad range (differences of opinion or the statement is open to different interpretations). In particular we have examined how the knowledge management scan was put into practice in one of the departments of Zuyd University. After a short summary of the organisation's initial situation, we discuss subsequent steps taken during the assessment, analysis and the advisory process. This paragraph is followed by a concise summary of the results generated by the scan. Finally we offer the recommendations and subsequent steps to be taken to implement these advices in the near future.
This project builds upon a collaboration which has been established since 15 years in the field of social work between teachers and lecturers of Zuyd University, HU University and Elte University. Another network joining this project was CARe Europe, an NGO aimed at improving community care throughout Europe. Before the start of the project already HU University, Tallinn Mental Health Centre and Kwintes were participating in this network. In the course of several international meetings (e.g. CARe Europe conference in Prague in 2005, ENSACT conferences in Dubrovnik in 2009, and Brussels in April 2011, ESN conference in Brussels in March 2011), and many local meetings, it became clear that professionals in the social sector have difficulties to change current practices. There is a great need to develop new methods, which professionals can use to create community care.
