Young children learn about safety from a variety of sources, including formal lessons and informal activities provided through early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. For many ECEC centres in Australia, scheduled visits from police and fire departments are a highlight of safety education activities. Such visits offer children the…

"New capitalism" has been characterized as an economic period in which insecurity, flux, and uncertainty exist in the workplace. Capitalism attempts to tame that uncertainty through risk taking. Taking risks has become what one must do with risk. Economic discourses of embracing risk--thoroughly grounded in the ideologies of neoliberalism--are…

The purpose of this study was to stimulate action to address and identify maternal, child and community needs towards the improvement in health of pregnant women, children and communities. Four null hypotheses were generated from the research questions while multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data. The study found that household…

What assumptions about children and childhood are held by government officials and organisation representatives who are influential in policy formation in early childhood education (ECE) in New Zealand? How are assumptions manifested in policy? This article draws on a study carried out from 2001 to 2003, a time of radical ECE policy change in New…

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and…

This study sought to assess provision of pre-primary education in Tanzania as a basic right through analyses of relevant policy documents. Documents which were published over the past decade were considered, including educational policies, action plans, national papers, the "Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania" documents, strategy documents,…

This research focused on the observation of infants between the ages of 2 and 18 months with regard to their aesthetic preferences for a variety of visual stimuli. These stimuli included: a black-and-white schematic drawing of a baby, a popular cartoon image, a colorful abstract painting of a baby, and a photographic image of a baby's face. Prior…

This research examines the emotional themes and discourse of emotion of early childhood educators using a post-structuralist theoretical framework of emotion. The data selected and analyzed is taken from 4 two-hour discussion groups that were conducted over an eight-week period with four female early childhood educators. The emotional themes and…

Animal- and bird-becoming is an aspect of play as metamorphosis connected to spirituality in early childhood settings. The reconceptualisation of play presented here is supported by research that explored the spiritual experiences of young children in different early childhood contexts. Qualitative case study research carried out in Aotearoa New…

This article presents some theoretical-methodological reflections on the current state of the art of research on information and communication technology (ICT) in early childhood education. The implementation of ICT in preschool has triggered considerable research activity on the educational potential of digital technologies. Numerous projects and…

At a time when English has emerged as the dominant language of academic communication, there is a disturbing silence about the risks and problems attendant on this development and a failure to ask critical questions about its consequences. Who gains and who loses? What is lost in translation? What are the consequences of one way linguistic…

This article examines the implications of recent and proposed changes to the college-based training of practitioners in early childhood education (ECE). These changes will change the length of courses by shortening them and, therefore, the depth of teaching that students will experience on a college-based course. The links between level of…

Quality preschool education enhances the social, cognitive and language development of children. Children in an enriched environment are more likely to be emotionally secure, self-confident and proficient in language use. Preschool settings where staff have higher qualifications demonstrate higher-quality education and provide children with better…

The article takes a broad view, locating discussion about the early years educator in a wider debate about the future of the educator at a time of great crisis, when even the future of our species is in question. The state we are in calls for fundamental review of the purposes and concept of education and, therefore, the values, qualities and…

This article explores critical issues linked to early child development (ECD) professionalism in African childhood contexts in the light of rights-based consideration. Against the backdrop of acculturation being a reality in Africa, it accepts professionalism as a "good thing" for ECD programmes in Africa. The article sketches a portrait of…