The earth is drowning in plastic waste. Yet, as the plastic waste crisis grows exponentially, responses to excess waste remain stuck around containment and management processes. These approaches fail to notice that plastics know no boundaries. We now encounter plastic rocks, plastic water, plastic bodies, plastic worlds spilling into oceans and…

Connecting literacy to social issues such as gender stereotypes supports reading and writing achievement while also allowing students to think critically and in justice-focused ways. Such practices allow students to critique gender stereotypes in texts while also examining and even challenging their own implicit perceptions of gender. However,…

Offering insights from a research-practice partnership, we examine how five pre-K-6 teachers discussed using LGBTQ+-inclusive children's literature as backup to counter curricular censorship and community pushback.

This research aims to increase the cultural sensitivity of preschool children and their teachers living in different regions of Türkiye through education in respect to differences. It employed an experimental design with pre-test post-test control group including 26 teachers along with 261 children aged 48-72 months. The study was conducted in…

The aim of this study is to address the importance of implementing discussions about Black Lives Matter in early childhood education and care. The article starts with presenting the background of the study, describing how talking about race and whiteness may perceive difficult to address for both preschool teachers as well as early childhood…

The paper intends to discuss India's humane cultural traditions and its animal protection laws, justify the current need for humane education in Indian schools and preschools, offer examples of humane education curriculum ideas, and highlight the work of animal welfare organizations in India. Since ancient times, reverence and compassion for…

Might interacting with relatively wild forms of nature help move our world away from its largely domination-oriented and destructive sensibilities? Toward broaching this question, this study used an Interaction Pattern Approach to model child-nature interaction in a Hong Kong nature program. Observational video data were collected of 54 children…

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of sustainable environmental activities aimed at preschool children on raising environmental awareness. The research was conducted at Baglarbasi Kindergarten in the Haliliye district of Sanliurfa Province, Turkey. A total of 101 children aged 4-5 years participated in the study. Sustainable…

Ethical care in early childhood education [ECE] involves practices and principles that guide educators in nurturing young children with respect, empathy, and moral responsibility. As a dynamic field, learning how to care for young children using context-specific approaches in real-life situations can be challenging for pre-service early childhood…

21st century early years practitioners are expected to become agents of change by challenging societal inequalities and embracing anti-oppressive approaches. Yet, research suggests that many practitioners hold negative attitudes about children and families who are ethnically, culturally, linguistically and economically different from those in the…

Teachers are uniquely positioned to mitigate ableism and address disability in the classroom; however, many hesitate to do so. This silence perpetuates bias and may teach children that difference is negative. Situated within the field of Disability Studies in Education, this investigation of PK-12 teachers (n = 256) aims to broadly characterise…

The current makeup of the PK-12 educational workforce is largely White persons. However, the demographic makeup of the student body is soon to be a majority of students of color. This is problematic due to the disproportionate statistics of students of color being suspended at higher rates than White students, the "achievement gap"…

Background: The prevalence of bullying in South African schools is alarming, and it affects everyone, including children in early childhood development. Teachers have a critical role in raising awareness about bullying to minimise its effects. This implies that student teachers need to be prepared to raise awareness about bullying. Aim: This study…

Children in a grade two/three classroom co-designed photographs of each other's important family objects to develop critical empathy and better understand their peers' home cultures. They engaged in visual critical literacy practices. The paper provides a narrative of what happened and a framework for creative collaborative pedagogy.

Designed for three age groups, Ko Nipa Africa! -- Teach about Africa! awareness-raising and sensitization education program is aimed at developing social competencies, especially empathy, social sensitivity, and tolerance in childhood. In addition, its main task is to transform the misconceptions and prejudices about Africa present in Hungary with…