This article critically analyses the dynamic role of the Preschool Teachers' Union in Iceland, tracing its strategic moves within the educational and political spheres from inception to the present. The union's formative years were marked by a fight to become a fully fledged union and active participation in foundational negotiations that…

Early childhood development (ECD), from birth to 6, occupies an ambivalent space within a system ranging from birth to 9. Professional Early Childhood Development Associations and Unions (ECDAUs) are important structures to elevate early learning issues in the context of building quality ECD systems. This article explores issues that ECDAUs…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) leaders are required to have training and experience, given the diversity of responsibilities they have to meet. This paper explores the participation of ECEC leaders in grassroot associations and teachers' unions. Following a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 ECEC…

In 2019, the English government embarked upon revision to the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) document and to associated non-statutory guidance. At the time, concerns were raised that early childhood experts were insufficiently involved in drafting the document. Consequently, an Early Years Coalition of early childhood organisations…

The Highlander Nursery School, run by the Highlander Folk School from 1938 to 1953, provided no-cost early care and learning to the white working-class children of Summerfield, Tennessee. While Highlander is best known as a democratic education and movement-building hub that builds adults' capacity to shape labor and racial justice in their…

This article explains how early childhood education (ECE) teachers in Chile participate in ECE teachers' Professional Associations and Unions (ECEPAUs), building professionalism amid a constraining context composed of an entirely feminized workforce, and educational policies influenced by neoliberalism. Following the Constructivist-Grounded Theory…

Early childhood (EC) educator qualifications shape the quality of education/care provided to children. Although past research demonstrates that EC educator qualifications are lower than recommended by research, little is known about how qualification attainment differs at the state level where policy change primarily occurs. Using…

These are the results of the 16th annual "Education Next" survey, conducted in May 2022 with a nationally representative sample of 1,784 American adults. While last year's survey revealed sharp changes in support for a variety of education reforms (EJ1348128), public opinion on most issues has since rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.…

This is the executive summary for the full report, "Centering Quality, Centering Equity: Lessons Learned in Increasing Early Childhood Educator Credentials." Thriving communities depend on a strong early childhood education (ECE) system--one where both young children and members of the workforce are served and supported. In recent years,…

"Advice from the Principal's Desk: 5 Pillars of School Leadership" is a fresh, new take on school leadership from award-winning former school administrator and professor of education Dr. David Franklin. In the book, you'll find the tools and strategies that veteran school administrators need to succeed in their roles. You'll learn how to…

This article unpacks ECE professional associations and unions (ECEPAUs) pathways of resistance to a 'Universal Nursery Policy Project' (UNPP) and how ECEPAUs have reconceptualized the professionalism of the nursery within the Chilean neoliberal agenda. Drawing on a post-qualitative methodology, with three datasets of participant observations,…

Through their response to the pandemic, teachers unions overplayed their hand and exposed inherent failures of the one-size-fits-all government school system. Families are now thankfully figuring out that there isn't any good reason to fund institutions when they can fund students directly instead. Support for school choice is through the roof,…

In spring 2020, nearly every U.S. public school closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing evidence suggests that local political partisanship and teachers' union strength were better predictors of fall 2020 school re-opening status than COVID case and death rates. We replicate and extend these analyses using data collected over the…

In this brief, we set out to understand how unionization may or may not shape practices central to charter schools' ability to serve students. The study, an exploratory one, includes 29 interviews across eight schools that unionized four to six years ago. Our results point to areas of concern, optimism, and future research. We found: (1)…

Because charter school principals are granted more autonomy and discretion than principals of traditional public schools, it is imperative to search for the attributes of principals that may improve charter school performance. This study examines the relationship between principals' collective bargaining and charter school effectiveness. Using…