Jean Piaget, whose work continues to be very influential in early childhood education, associated young children's animism with their 'primitive thought' claiming children remain animists until they reach a more advanced and rational stage of development. This article proposes a rethinking of the Piagetian view of animism, suggesting instead that…

Discover the transformative power of early conversations on racial equity and cultural awareness with "Little Learners, Big Hearts." This heartwarming teacher's guide fosters empathy and equity in young minds. Grounded in heart centered learning, it seamlessly weaves principles of hope, self-education, acknowledgment, resolution, and…

"Schooling for Refugee Children" is a collaboration between five authors who explore their interactions with refugee children displaced from Syria to the Lebanese borders and London. Through a programme of carefully tailored research activities, they analyse the children's representations of their personal journeys and current…

This paper explores haptic, affective, sensory and relational interconnections between a child (Erik) and objects, materials and a researcher-practitioner (Christina) at a nursery school in Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, it draws upon a Post-humanist theoretical framework. Observational material was collected over the period of a…

The article addresses children's perspectives of belonging in early childhood education settings in five European countries. Children's belonging is understood to be dynamic processes that are formed through multiple relations. Twenty children aged 4-8 with diverse backgrounds participated in the study: two boys and two girls from each country.…

From a child-centered perspective, this article explores the practices of children's self-organized play-communities in institutional everyday life in Danish early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, based on a phenomenological non-participant-observational study with a duration of 16 months involving two kindergartens (Bernstorff,…

After claiming asylum, refugee children work to re-build their worlds across three dimensions: safety, belonging, and success. This article examines the pedagogical practices that support this work arguing that a key, but under-examined practice draws on what we have termed pedagogical love. Building on a qualitative Finnish-Australian study, we…

The current study explores Taiwanese preschool children's understanding of the value of caring in school. This study offers researchers and practitioners opportunities to study children's perspectives in a particular cultural setting and discuss the connectedness of culture and children's views on caring. Participatory research and qualitative…

In March 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic caused schools to close for an extended period, disrupting learning for about 55 million students (Center for Effective School Practices, 2022). Upon their return to school, educators committed to accelerating student learning to make up for missed learning. However, to support students' academic…