Romy Schönfeld, M.A.

After completing my Master's degree in Political Science and Romance Studies in Jena and Rome, my professional career took me to the Deutsche Bank Group (communication, process and quality management). This was followed by a Master's degree in Early Childhood Studies in Potsdam, during which I worked as a student assistant at the Early Childhood Studies research group in a research project on children's interactions, development and learning. I then worked at a primary school and most recently as a programme manager in the federal programme "Sprachkitas" of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs. The dissertation on the topic of "Interaction Competences of Professionals in Early Childhood Education Institutions" is being carried out in cooperation with the University of Potsdam at the Chair for Empirical Childhood Research under Prof. Dr. Jan Lonnemann.

Research project in DocDual on the topic "Establishment of consultation kitas with a focus on: cognitively stimulating interaction in the district of Oder-Spree" with the dissertation project on the topic "Interaction competences of professionals in institutions of early education".

In a research and practice development project carried out in cooperation with the district of Oder-Spree in the state of Brandenburg, two consultation Kitas are being established with the thematic focus on "Cognitively Stimulating Interaction". Consultation Kitas in the state of Brandenburg act as institutions at the learning site practice and carry out exchange and networking work between practice actors on a collegial level. The project is being carried out by IFFE e.V. under the direction of Prof. Dr. Frauke Hildebrandt and by me as coordinator. The project includes an accompanying scientific research. The results of the project will provide a decisive empirical data basis for the design of interactions in institutionalised care settings, especially with regard to cognitively stimulating interactions. The resulting questions are used for the publication-based dissertation. The core of the study is a pre-post follow-up design with a control group, in which the interaction competences of pedagogical professionals are examined longitudinally and the effect of interventions as well as their sustainability are investigated. Proven practice support systems in the form of consultation kitas will be further developed and consolidated on a solid empirical basis. Overall, relevant professional competences of early childhood educators will be identified and an important contribution to the further development of quality in the field of child day care will be made and implications for further research generated. The child day care facilities in the district and beyond benefit directly from the establishment of the consultation kitas. Finally, the project will generate experience in the establishment of bidirectional transfer formats and establish long-term transdisciplinary cooperation with practice partners.

My supervisor at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam is: Prof. Dr. Frauke Hildebrandt
My practice partner: Institute for Further Education Research & Development e.V. (IFFE e.V.)