The profession of early childhood education is often dismissed as unimportant or unworthy of respect. Preschool teachers' occupational stigma consciousness has been shown to be associated with lower work engagement, but the mechanism of this association is unclear. Most research has focused on individual or organizational factors, with little…

This exploratory cross-sectional study aimed to identify whether specific sociodemographic and attitudinal characteristics could predict educators' comfort working with sexuality minority people and willingness to take action in their own school or classrooms to help children and sexuality and gender minority parents feel accepted and welcome. The…

Play is a highly valued pedagogy in early learning settings around the world. Supporters of play have emphasised the benefits of this approach in promoting children's development and learning and their alleged freedom to choose, explore, and follow their interests. Feminist research, however, has shown that play contexts can be key sites that…

The stigma surrounding men's sexuality in Early Childhood Education (ECE) is complex and part of a sexuality hierarchy within which homophobic, emasculating and disparaging undertones are often used to label male teachers in ECE as gay. In this paper the authors demonstrate the complex and gendered ways in which this stigma unfolds in a South…

This paper seeks to outline a comprehensive understanding of the inclusion of non-traditional families in early childhood settings, while addressing the question of how early childhood education programs can create a more inclusive environment for young children that come from LGBT families. This review brings together prior research on the…

This article reports on a narrative inquiry (NI) of two Norwegian polyamorous families regarding their encounters with their children's kindergartens. NI as a theory and method is employed, along with discourse theory, to understand the experiences of these polyfamilies in Norway. Norway has declared its institutions to be discrimination-free but…

Previous studies have paid considerable attention to the impact on a child's primary education of attending pre-primary school. Researchers have asserted that early educational intervention can compensate for the effects of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. This study analyzes the relationship…

The problem addressed in this study was that there was the likelihood of a mismatch between preprimary teachers' racial, ethnic, and cultural make-up and the children and families they educate and care for in the preprimary classroom from birth to 5 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine early childhood education (ECE)…

In this study we critically investigated English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in the Chivi district (Zimbabwe) and the implications of its use as the LoLT for social justice education. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus-group interviews, observation and document analysis. The results show that social…

By its very nature, the field of early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ ECSE) "should" be grounded in social justice, with an ongoing commitment to the pursuit of equity for young children with disabilities and their families. However, it must be reckoned with that this field is steeped in a deficit model of…

In this article, the author forwards the importance of mad autobiographical poetic writing to challenge and disrupt epistemic injustice within pre-service early childhood education and care. They explore their own mad autobiographical poetic writing as a queer, non-binary, mad early childhood educator and pre-service early childhood education and…

Background: South African narratives of and by early childhood development (ECD) practitioners often focus on policies, practices and perspectives in research. While these are important for the development of the field, the voices of ECD practitioners, in this marginalised space, are silent. Aim: This article aims to understand: Who are the ECD…

This paper employs critical discourse analysis to examine the conceptualisation of disability within Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and to investigate how DAP addresses the role of early childhood educators working with children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The research questions guiding this study are: 1) How is…

In justice movements, solidarity means showing up for the humanity of others. This paper explores DisCrit mothering as a form of solidarity with children and families dehumanized by ableism and racism. As three motherscholars, who occupy varying spaces of privilege/marginalization in the academy, we reflect on our attempts to support our…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is one of the most highly sex-segregated sectors globally. Adopting frame analysis and drawing on 96 semi-structured interviews, this study asks how female educators, who are numerically dominant, discursively construct men's reluctance to seek roles in ECEC and/or sustain participation in the sector.…