Assessment tools – for child development and pedagogical practices – were at the center of the discussion during the Fourth National Conference “Early Childhood Development: Science and Practice,” organized by the Cognitive Science Research Center at NBU in partnership with the Bulgarian Psychological Association on September 26, 2025.
We are proud to share that members of the international REYN network were invited to participate in the conference, as well as the team of Trust for Social Achievement (TSA), which actively contributed to several panels. TSA organized and moderated the panel “Assessment of Educational Practices and Approaches,” which presented four different internationally recognized tools for assessing process quality in the classroom.
Snezhana Radeva, UNICEF, presented the experience from piloting the ECERS-3 tool. Bart Declercq, Catholic University of Leuven, shared data from the application of the CLASS tool and other local tools in the Flanders region, Belgium. Ciro Avitabile, World Bank, and Vanya Georgieva, Ministry of Education and Science, shared the results of the training of evaluators and the pilot measurement with the TEACH ECE tool. Evgenia Volen, TSA, moderator of the panel, emphasized how systematic measurement can serve as a prerequisite for improving practices in kindergartens, as well as the role of professional development of teachers as a key driver for improving the quality of education. She presented the principles of quality in pedagogical practices of the International Association “Step by Step” and the tools for professional development and assessment that SBA has developed and which are applied in many European countries.
Within Panel 1, “Assessment of Early Childhood Health,” Kamelia Tseneva from TSA presented a study focused on supporting vulnerable young mothers with their first pregnancy and their children. Her report emphasized the importance of early care and targeted services, which can have a decisive impact on the development of the youngest children from the first months of their lives.
TSA’s participation in the conference highlighted the importance of evidence-based practices for early childhood development and enriched the dialogue between researchers, practitioners, and institutions.
Search for MASS publications on the quality of teaching practices at the following links:
Child-centered kindergartens: Democratic values in action
