Research on inclusion in early childhood educational (ECE) settings points to the need for a deeper understanding of professionals' perceptions of the dilemmas and challenges situated in the varying contexts of these settings. Viewing inclusion as a complex phenomenon, this study uses the Deweyan theory of democracy as a lived experience to…

The authors begin this article with an account of the crises in education in the US today. Curriculum theory is applied to the ideas in the 4th edition of NAEYC's 'developmentally appropriate practices,' and the relationship between the ideas in this edition to current issues is discussed. The authors also present a brief description of democratic…

The Australian Early Years' Learning Framework aspires to put democratic participation at the centre of policy and practice by positioning children and families as able, and children as contributing citizens from birth. Examination of current pedagogical efforts to achieve this aspiration are needed to expand knowledge of the supports and…

This study focuses on the early years program at International School Hong Kong (ISHK), a school with an explicit mission towards global mindedness. The program aims to move beyond narrow conceptions of us/them, north/south, and east/west binaries. Instead, ISHK urges children to view the world holistically through a range of perspectives. Within…

This study aims to investigate the effects of early childhood Children's Rights and Democracy Education on children's democratic behaviors. The study group consisted of a total of 53 children (28 experimental, 25 control) aged between 60-72 months, who were attending two kindergartens affiliated with the Directorate of National Education in…

Early purposes of education in the United States concentrated on preparing young citizens to understand democratic principles in order to participate in their democratic communities. Today elementary instruction has contracted in response to years of high stakes accountability measures. Social studies has not been a focus of federal accountability…

Democratic society, which is developing in the Republic of Croatia, has aspired for a flexible and developmental curriculum oriented towards the individualization of the educational process, cooperation of all participants and positive communication. Such curriculum is enhanced by pedagogical documentation of the educational process, constructive…

This study aims to develop an instrument that measures democratic attitudes levels in primary school students in third and fourth grades. This study involved 591 students (302 for exploratory factor analysis, 289 for confirmatory factor analysis) enrolled in the 3rd and 4th grades. A literature review was conducted to prepare the scale items, and…

"Reconstructing Democratic Education" was an international conference held virtually on June 22, 2024. This article uses the words of the speakers and the participants to present some of the stories and reflections that stimulated us that day. Speakers touched on a wide variety of challenges that democracy in general and schools in…

As a philosophical basis of education, 'love' is crucial to early childhood education. For this reason, early childhood education should cultivate young children's loving attitudes. Hence, by analysing related work, this paper explored how love-based relationships may be developed between preschool teachers and young children in early childhood…

In societies where authoritarian and populist perspectives are on the rise, a focus on the concept of democracy within education can provide a meaningful space to reflect critically on, and disrupt, the status quo. In post-dictatorship Portugal, democracy has become a central symbolic concept within education policy and, in particular, Early…

This article presents the results of a research on transformation processes for creating more democratic and inclusive schools. Through a multiple case study of four Spanish schools, the authors analyse how the actors involved in participatory action research processes mobilise knowledge on inclusive education. The authors explore the strategies…

Using participatory observations accompanied by video and audio recordings, this article investigates how negotiations about play scripts evolve during play in two Waldorf kindergartens. In particular, this study aims to examine how child-initiated play can contribute to the development of basic democratic skills in early childhood. The concept of…

This article is based on a 2-year TLRI-funded research project that examined how three early childhood centres explored the ways in which walking, reading, and storying the land with teachers, community members, iwi, and whanau enabled children to experience and learn about their local area, its stories, geology, biodiversity, and cultural…

European quality framework for early childhood education and care calls for creating environments that support all children's sense of belonging. This study aims to advance empirical knowledge on educators' interpretations of children's belonging in early education settings. The study is part of a project conducted in five European countries --…