Teaching School Readiness Through an ABA-based Preschool Programme

The primary goal was to increase the quality of special and inclusive preschool programs for children with ASD and facilitate successful transition from preschool to primary education to: 1. Devel...

The primary goal was to increase the quality of special and inclusive preschool programs for children with ASD and facilitate successful transition from preschool to primary education to: 1. Develop innovative tools: Create a comprehensive, evidence-based educational kit grounded in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles, yet adapted for easy implementation by educators without formal ABA training. This includes: developmental assessment with school readiness checkpoints, lesson plans with supporting materials, data sheets for monitoring and evaluating progress, mobile application for digital assessment, digital library of reproducible materials. 2. Build educator capacity: Train 3 trainers per partner country through pilot-testing, who would then train a minimum of 5 teachers in their countries, creating a multiplier effect and ensuring sustainable implementation. 3. Improve teacher competencies: Address the identified gap in preschool teacher training by equipping educators with practical skills in autism intervention, assessment techniques, and evidence-based teaching strategies. 4. Promote inclusion: Foster inclusive early childhood education systems by providing teachers with accessible tools for diverse learners.

WP1 - Project Management: Conducted transnational partner meetings (Croatia 2024, Greece 2025), established committees, and maintained regular online coordination meetings among the six partner organizations. WP2 - Educational Kit Development: Conducted needs assessment across all partner countries, developed the School Readiness Teaching Curriculum with detailed lesson plans, created the Goal Bank and Task Analysis, and produced progress monitoring data sheets. WP3 - Assessment Tool Development: Created the School Readiness Assessment Tool with developmental checkpoints, developed the Ready4School mobile application for digital assessment, and built a digital library of reproducible materials. WP4 - Training Activities: Implemented pilot-testing training in Skopje (April 2025) with 22 participants from all partner countries, and conducted local teacher training activities in all partner countries (June-August 2025). WP5 - Dissemination: Created project website (ready4school.eu), established social media presence, developed promotional materials, organized multiplier events in each partner country, and prepared newsletters and press releases to share project results with stakeholders.

The primary deliverable was the innovative School Readiness Educational Kit, based on ABA principles and adapted for educators without formal ABA training. This kit included the School Readiness Assessment Tool (booklet format) with developmental checkpoints measuring critical school readiness skills across foundational skills, social interaction, and self-regulation domains. The project developed a complete preschool teacher-training curriculum that linked to detailed lesson plans featuring task analyses, teaching strategies, and reproducible worksheets. A significant technological achievement was the Ready4School mobile application, freely available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, which digitizes the assessment process, tracks student progress through color-coded graphs, and provides personalized recommendations. The project also created comprehensive progress monitoring data sheets, a goal bank with task analyses, and a digital library of materials. Beyond tangible outputs, the project trained 18+ trainers across partner countries during the pilot-testing event, who subsequently trained 90+ local teachers, resulting in improved teacher competencies and increased awareness of evidence-based practices.