The early childhood education (ECE) sector in Australia is marked by a habitus where "professionalism" is confined to objective, technical practices. The authors suggest that this is a diminished view of professionalism, and one that compromises high-quality ECE. This article is concerned with how teacher professionalism can be re-imagined and practised within an ECE setting in ways that uphold children's rights and interests and emancipate early childhood teachers from technical, deprofessionalising constraints. Through a case study of professionalism in a reputable high-quality long-day-care centre in Sydney, Australia, the article extends thinking about teacher activism and promotes resistance-based professionalism as one way of producing an alternative habitus about quality ECE and the integral role early childhood teachers play in such provision.