Bulgaria

The SEEPRO-3 study presented here is the fourth in a series of research projects based at the State Institute of Early Childhood Research and Media Literacy (IFP) in Munich and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend). The new SEEPRO-3 study¹ focuses on the 27 member states of the European Union and six non-EU countries - a total of 33 countries. Reports on the early childhood workforce and the early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems in Norway, Switzerland and Serbia are presented for the first time in this context.

Learn more about the history of the SEEPRO project.

Throughout Europe, early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems are continuously evolving through expansion and consolidation, with reforms and innovations shaping many countries. ECEC staff are essential for quality interactions, stimulating environments, and supporting children's wellbeing and learning. However, nearly all countries report staff shortages, highlighting the need to update data on the qualifications and competencies of early childhood leaders, pedagogues, and assistants.

This homepage presents results from the fourth SEEPRO-3 project, with documents for 33 countries. Each country's profile includes:

1. ECEC Workforce Profile (Country Report): Details on qualification requirements, workforce composition, professional education systems, reform initiatives, research projects, and working conditions. These reports, provided by long-term partners, were compiled based on a research specification and reflect extensive collaboration.
2. Key Contextual Data Synopsis (Country-Specific Background Information): Overview of the ECEC system and demographic data, compiled by the project team and reviewed with supplementary data from partners.

Documents are available in English and German, serving a wide audience including educators, government officials, employers, researchers, early years staff, and other stakeholders across Europe and beyond.

Access the country profiles here.

SEEPRO-3

2024

The goal of the research ‘Bulgaria grows with its children: Building professional competences for early childhood development’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘research on the early years workforce’ and ‘the research’) is to outline the main directions for improvement of the professionalization of the early years workforce on the basis of data – quantitative and qualitative – as well as to formulate recommendations for policy development in this area.

This summary shares the main results and recommendations derived from this research.

Dr. Natalia Mihaylova and included Dr. Ivanka Shalapatova, Elitsa Gerginova, Savelina Roussinova, and Dimitar Ivanchev

2021

This regional (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania and Serbia) overview aims to sketch the social service workforce—with a focus on those engaged in the child protection system—in southeast Europe. Specific research areas include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Perceptions and understandings of social service work
2. Who does what and where
3. Policy and regulatory frameworks
4. Organization and funding of child protection systems
5. Competencies and standards for the social service workforce
6. Professional development opportunities
7. Motivation and support
8. Working conditions for the workforce
The finding of the study can be used for improving the child protection system and the lives of children, families and communities by multiple stakeholders which among other include: national governments, professional social service worker associations, NGOs and civil society agencies that rely on the social service workforce to provide child protection services, and educational institutions who train social service workers.
This report represents part of a global research movement to map the social service workforce in diverse regions, which aims at highlighting promising approaches and unique elements to certain countries whereas at the same time identifies common challenges and trends across regions.

Child Protection Hub

2016

Below you may download one of the 30 Workforce Profiles (country reports) on the current status quo regarding the qualification requirements for early childhood education and care professionals (pedagogues, teachers, educators), the composition of the workforce, the systems of initial professional education and continuing professional development, current reform initiatives and research projects and selected aspects of the working conditions of staff in each of the 30 participating countries.The initial Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe were provided by mostly long-standing cooperation partners according to a research specification which they received for comment before compilation of the data. The final versions are based on a long period of close collaboration between the editors and the authors. The reports vary in length between approximately 25 pages and 80 pages.SEEPRO-R takes a look at many of the new fundamental reforms including, qualification and competence requirements for early childhood workforce and the structures of professional studies and continuing education. More on the SEEPRO-R project here.

SOS Children’s Villages has been working to embed children’s rights within care settings for many years. Our approach has been multifaceted, embracing structures and institutions, care professionals and young people themselves. One gap identified in the course of this work has been the absence of effective training programmes for care professionals which have children’s rights at the core. This manual has been produced to fill that gap. The two-day course outlined in these pages is designed to familiarise groups of care professionals with the international standards and principles surrounding children’s rights – and above all, to relate this to the daily experience and challenges arising in the field of alternative care. The course is intended to provide participants with the information, motivation and strategies that they can use to carry children’s rights into their daily work. The aim is to contribute to higher quality care and a culture of respect for children’s rights.