The global rise of a neoliberal "new politics of parenting" discursively constructs parents in poverty as the reason for, and remedy to, child poverty. This allows for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) to become a key policy lever by using human technologies to intervene in and regulate the lives of parents and children in…

This paper examines early childhood education (ECE) by applying and developing relational-spatial perspectives on everyday life in educational institutions for young children. The aim is to investigate the dynamic process of construction of space and to illustrate with selected empirical episodes how this process occurs in ECE. Drawing on authors…

Unlike the transitions children make between settings, those they undertake between age groups within early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings are seldom studied. Accordingly, this exploratory study followed seven preschool children (three boys and four girls) as they moved to new rooms in five ECCE settings. Structured observations of…

For the past 10 years, there has been ongoing research at the University of Ghent on professionalism in childcare (the 0-3 age group) in the Flemish Community of Belgium. This research has been inspired by the "Contesting Early Childhood" movement, which is based on the premise that pedagogic research can lead to social change. The first…

Do early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals make good advocates? Canadian advocates have fought for better child care policies since the mid-1940s. What has happened to this advocacy with the recent increased professionalization of the ECEC sector? How does increased professionalization limit, innovate or expand advocacy strategies?…

This article reports on the findings from a small-scale study of early childhood educators' perceptions of their roles, responsibilities and ideas related to professionalism. Twenty-five early childhood educators from Canada (Ontario), Nigeria and South Africa participated in qualitative interviews to address the following questions: (1) In what…

This article explores the views of professionals from the Centre for Assistance and Support to Initiatives, Organisations, and Professionals in Early Childhood (CASIOPE) and its member organizations on how reflective practice in early childhood professional learning is understood, put into practice, and evaluated. Findings from this case study…

Although frameworks now exist for quality provision for under-threes, discourses underpinning policy remain conflicted. The split between care and education is still firmly entrenched in provision and a gap remains between rhetoric and practice. This paper explores how Early Years Professional Status, which requires practitioners to engage…

This paper focuses on one aspect of continuity--the caregiver-child relationship--within a larger global study of continuity in child care based at a university-affiliated child care center. Case studies are presented of two toddler boys, followed as they transitioned from their infant classroom to the preschool classroom at the age of…

This article addresses various educational cultures observed today in a variety of training and professional development contexts in the field of early childhood education. The paper also analyses methods of developing and implementing training or professional "accompaniment". This notion of "accompaniment" has been developed in the context of…

The Developing Families Project-South Africa (DFP-SA) is a community-based model of education and training for the care, support and education of vulnerable children birth-to-three and their caregivers, guardians and families in rural and peri-urban townships. The approach fosters interactive learning among community members about early care and…

The importance of attention to children's emotions has been emphasised widely in early care and education research and policy. Enabling such attention has been seen as achieved primarily through attachment interactions with nursery staff. However, there is increasing awareness that facilitating such interactions in a way that is optimal for…

This qualitative case study approaches early childhood education and care practices from a socio-spatial point of view. One Finnish daycare group for one- to three-year-olds participated in the study. The ethnographic observations from the practices are analyzed together with the ECE practitioners' audio-recorded team meetings and video-elicited…

This article explores the practice narratives of a group of 25 caregivers who work with babies in daycare settings in England and seeks to illustrate awareness of, resistance to and compliance with powerful discourses. It is argued that multiple voices exert an influence over baby room practice, disempowering the caregivers and reducing their…

Using stories from two employees in the UK Sure Start initiative, this paper offers insight into the complexity of developing a professional identity within a newly established, nebulous role of "outreach worker". Such a role is highly diverse in terms of its duties and the people with whom it engages. As such, it poses challenges for individuals…