Drives to increase the number of early childhood education and care places in England have relied on a mixed economy of providers. Yet this is not a free market as policy makers have sought to create a discursive truth of an entrepreneurial provider in order to secure their initial pump priming investment. However, there remain sustainability…

This article provides information about children's creativity in the People's Republic of China. More specifically, it introduces the Chinese cultural and social background along with the school and family environments as they relate to young children's creativity. The article also provides some suggestions for schools and families…

While Jonathan Silin's ideas have challenged early childhood educators to think seriously about the relationship between developmentalism and revisioning early education, they have done much more than this. They also challenge us to know who we are and how our identities might be enacted in our teacher-selves, whether in the classroom with young…

As a teacher, the author is always seeking the meaning behind her educational practice with children, colleagues, and the institution in which she works on a daily basis. Dr. Jonathon Silin's thinking around loss, collective memory and social amnesia resonate strongly with her (Silin, 2011). In this article, the possibilities of intentionally…

In this essay I respond to Cristyn Davies and Kerry Robinson's research on queer families by remarking on the distance GLBTQI people have travelled in the last half century. I raise critical questions about the potential gains and possible losses that may result from bringing heretofore subjugated knowledges into the school curriculum. Drawing on…

This article offers a consideration of the ways that the politics of normative childhoods are shaped by discourses of happiness predicated on heteronormativity. Responding to the work of Cristyn Davies and Kerry Robinson (2013, this issue), the authors argue that non-normative families and in particular, non-normative parenting, are obliged to…

Whilst sex education in Australia has moved beyond a focus solely on abstinence, it is still in many instances shaped by what Silin refers to as the "silences" that accompany topics considered unspeakable to young people. The present article focuses specifically on one such silence, namely the representation of non-heterosexual sexualities and…

In this response to Damien Riggs' analysis of sex education websites, the author draws on Foucault's understanding of knowledge, power and governmentality to understand how some forms of knowledge about sex and sexuality become normalised "official knowledge" that frame institutional policies and practices and shape everyday discourses. Foucault…

This article is written in response to the work of Damien Riggs, providing a critical reading of his analysis of the inherent homophobia and gender normativity present in a selection of sexuality education websites targeted at children. Taking up the productive possibilities of both silences and narrative disruptions, the author examines a moment…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a complex field comprised of practitioners who possess disparate qualifications and understandings. While this diversity provides richness in terms of practice possibilities, it can also be challenging in terms of the divisions produced by different disciplinary and philosophical approaches. This is…

In early years research, policy and education, a democratic perspective that positions children as participants and citizens is increasingly emphasised. These ideas take seriously listening to children's opinions and respecting children's influence over their everyday affairs. While much political and social investment has been made in the…

This article shares children's drawings and writings reflecting immigration border-crossing experiences in south Texas, USA. The authors present the children's drawings as well as their narratives, relying on the work of Robert Coles and the authors' own intuitive Latina/Xicana lenses. The authors' intent is to pursue the possibility of future…

Social media sites, such as message boards and blogs, provide innovative data sources for researchers as these sites feature people sharing advice and discussing issues in a public arena. Research has found the online context can encourage people to reveal more information than do such traditional methods as interviews or focus groups. However,…

This article suggests placemaking as a framework to more deeply understand how teaching and learning can take into account young children's cultural histories. Placemaking, a form of analysis commonly found in land development literature, critically interprets the relationship between power, politics and the production of place. In this article,…

In an era of normative standardised literacy curriculum continuing to make space for culturally responsive literacy pedagogy is on ongoing challenge for early childhood educators. Collaborative participatory research and ethnographic studies of teachers who accomplish innovative and inclusive early childhood education in culturally diverse high…