Drawing upon slow scholarship and autobiographical methods, this paper presents four vignettes constructed from virtual meetings across the span of several months. Although we had originally intended to write a more formal paper about the ways in which the reconceptualist movement connects to our own scholarship, the writing process became less…

This article aims to problematize knowledge production as merely an academic researcher endeavour by investigating how research can invite preschool-aged children to activate knowledge "in situ." Informed by Isabelle Stengers' theoretical framework, we developed the research methodology of Research prACTivisms through three propositions:…

As a patriarchal and neoliberal construct, professionalism actively contorts the embodied care work of this femme profession into a predetermined frame, fragmenting, constricting, and harming educators' identities. In this paper, we briefly outline the ongoing project of professionalism both in the ECEC sector broadly and in the unique context of…

This article explores advocacy practices that support teachers' integration of play and playful learning in their classrooms. Activism is a well-documented transformative aspect of the teaching profession (e.g.), which is recently experiencing heightened political pressures. At the same time, COVID-19 exacerbated existing inequities in early…

The 2018 anti-Trump protest in London is dominated by an effigy, in the form of a balloon, that morphs President Donald Trump and childhood. Whilst this can be interpreted as a humorous act to ridicule Trump, a critical reading of the scene through a postmodern lens suggests that the image is an appropriation and manipulation of childhood. Trump…

This paper is a collective attempt to respond creatively to a research project we were part of entitled Sketching Narratives of Movement: Towards Comprehensive and Competent Early Childhood Educational Systems Across Canada. We share our slow process of thinking, collaborating, wondering, and pausing along with the figure of the snail as we…

Research in early childhood and elementary social studies education has illuminated how teachers can use children's literature to explore issues of injustice, elevate hidden histories, and affirm students' identities. Integrating children's literature into social studies instruction not only supports literacy education aims but also promotes…

Israel's early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy for ages 0-3 has evolved significantly, with the Ministry of Education now overseeing it. However, the policy still emphasizes settings over comprehensive child development, excluding centers with fewer than seven children, and many still need to be registered. This study examines Israel's…

Hong Kong experienced a period of significant social unrest, marked by protests, from June 2019 to February 2020. Media coverage was pervasive. In July 2020, children aged from 5 to 6 years attending kindergartens in areas both directly and less directly impacted by the protests were asked to draw and talk about what had taken place during the…

This article honours Amy Levai, nee O'Donoghue (1930-2013) who was a member of the Stolen Generations and South Australia's first Aboriginal woman to qualify as an infant teacher. Beginning with Amy's childhood at Colebrook Home and schooling, the article highlights her agency and resilience in countering racism to qualify and teach in the South…

Over the course of 18 months, I found myself on a journey that began with two research questions based on my wonderings and observations about the lives of the women I witnessed engaging with young Black children in ways that the academic literature had not expounded upon. In this article, I use poetic inquiry to elucidate the liberatory practices…

In this article, the epistemology and pedagogy of an Afro-Brazilian woman named Diva are discussed as a culturally sustaining praxis in the context of the transnational and feminist #BlackLivesMatter movement. Diva works to dismantle white supremacy in her roles as a preschool teacher, doll maker, children's book author, and mother. Findings come…

Guided by the ecological model of civic development, this study examined the extent to which the growth in children's self-control during middle childhood predicted their civic engagement at age 26 directly and indirectly via their prosociality at age 15. We used data from 1,042 children (50% female, 77% White) in the NICHD Study of Early Child…

NCSS's framework for social studies education, "The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards," is centered on the concept of inquiry. As social studies teachers have worked to incorporate historical inquiry, many have understandably emphasized the teaching of historical thinking and democratic…

Research has shown that classroom instruction can be precarious when addressing potentially 'controversial' issues. Yet, students can benefit from examining the narratives of those who have questioned the merits of United States democratic citizenship. By employing critical childhood studies and windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors as…