Social inclusion discourses have been powerful in informing early childhood policy contexts, both internationally and in Australia (the context of the current study) for the past decade or so. But little research has examined the productive aspects of social inclusion discourses particularly within early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy…

Profiling human beings occurs daily throughout our society, typically grounded in inaccuracies, misperceptions, and biases related to race, faith, sexual orientation, language, family structure, and other factors. This article appropriates discriminatory profiling in conjunction with conceptualization of diversity as a verb to vividly convey the…

This article explores the way in which Professor Celia Genishi structured her expansive scholarship on her fundamental commitment to social justice. Written from the perspective of the author's long collegial relationship and deep regard for the creative dynamics of Genishi's research and writing, the article is based on an interview…

The concept of early childhood education and care (ECEC) as "social justice" is contested and complex. In this article, the author calls on a historical perspective to critically reflect on social justice in ECEC. The author does this by exploring the early history of free kindergartens in Sydney, Australia. The author demonstrates,…

This article examines some of the contemporary policies and practices in Australian early years education to provide an insight into why social justice is such a critical element in preparing Australia's Indigenous children to engage in learning experiences in ways that will enable them to establish sound foundations for their future learning…

As an ideology, the concept of social justice has long been a worthy, if slightly volatile, companion of early childhood theorists and researchers. Whilst the majority of the literature has valorised social justice, discontented questions regarding "what" the construct entails and "how" it might be tamed to work still remain.…

This article examines how creativity and the arts can assist teachers who teach from a social justice perspective, and how knowledge built through meaningful experiences of difference can make a difference. Just as imagining is central to visual arts practice, so too is the capacity to imagine a necessity for social justice. The authors ask what…

Early childhood education has long been connected with objectives related to social justice. Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) has its roots in philanthropic and educational reform movements prevalent at the turn of the twentieth century. More recently, with the introduction of the National Early Childhood Reform Agenda, early…

This article addresses the cultural significance of the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) and discusses changes that the discourse of this instrument makes to the way in which the child is conceptualised. It analyses the technological function of the AEDI to examine how it makes the child a universal resource for human capital. The article…

This article shares a story about an "activist" early childhood teacher encountering the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Specifically, it focuses on the overarching concepts of "belonging" and "becoming" through the EYLF's call for early childhood educators to engage with theory in their everyday practice. In order to do this, the author…

This article articulates the appeal of different conceptualisations of community to the curriculum writers of Belonging, Being and Becoming: the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and to the Council of Australian Governments that commissioned the Framework, and the tensions within and between those respective conceptualisations. It then…

In this article, some of the discourses concerning "gender-sensitive pedagogy" that circulate in Swedish preschools are discussed. Two guideline documents that circulate in gender- and equity-sensitive projects in preschool are investigated, and the question is asked: What gender-related messages can possibly reach preschools from the guidelines?…

In the New Zealand education system, as in other countries, legislation and early childhood policy has been developed to support equity, social justice and democratic participation for children with disabilities and their families. However, despite this non-discriminatory and inclusive policy and legislative environment, some children with…

For governments around the world, conceptualizing early childhood education and care as a site for an early start on educational, social, and economic investments has become a dominant trend of educational planning. Educational policies, both locally and globally, reflect the effects of a neoliberal political economic reasoning system. Voucher…

This article discusses the degree to which early childhood practitioners in the United States attend to cultural differences and social injustice in their pedagogy, with a particular reference to indigenous peoples. The article has three major sections. The first describes an indigenous perspective regarding "improvement" and "quality" with…