Background: This study explores the experiences of early childhood education (ECE) leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, drawing insights from case studies in Finland and South Africa. Theoretical frameworks of contextual and pedagogical leadership inform the understanding of ECE leadership. Aim: The aim is to analyse…

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) has gained recognition as an important means of promoting the holistic development of the inseparable social, emotional, cognitive and physical facets of education in the early childhood years. Since early childhood development poses challenges to many young children, the prolonged mandatory closure of…

Grade 1 learners in South Africa are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Early Childhood Education forms the basis of all education; however, numerous challenges in the South African education system impede the teaching and learning of young children. In this article we investigate Grade 1 teachers' responsibilities in the class and…

Discourses and relations of child/adult and early education are super-permeated with ideas and practices of authority and boundary-making. In early years' practices, deeply important beliefs and assumptions about who or what has authority and who or what should create the boundaries of everyday activity often go unquestioned. This produces…

Concerns have been expressed about the quality of teaching and learning in Grade R (reception) classrooms in South Africa. In mathematics, learning outcomes are said to be particularly limited, especially in poorer provinces of the country (Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation [DPME] 2012). The study reported in this article…

The study explores the role of play in Grade R classrooms in the Cape Peninsula. The focus is on perceptions of teachers from differing backgrounds regarding how play is supported and utilised in the classroom. Theories of childhood play as propounded by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky provide the theoretical background to our understanding of child…

Speech-language therapists (SLTs) in South Africa are increasingly considering alternative models of service delivery to children at risk for language and literacy development delays. A transprofessional model of collaboration allows SLTs and teachers to share responsibility for primary prevention of literacy difficulties. Previous research has…

This paper reports on a case study of male foundation phase pre-service students who were among the first cohort to specialise in the foundation phase since the inception of the programme at one South African university. The students reported on their experiences of teaching in a female-dominated field and their views about their preparedness to…

This paper proposes a form of Grade R pedagogy in South African schools that addresses both the diverse realities of South Africa's children and the principles underpinning a participatory democracy. The community of enquiry pedagogy we propose is based on a socio-cultural historical theoretical perspective and focuses on the nurturing of a…

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 volume contains selected papers submitted to the 17th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES) held in June 2019 in Pomorie, Bulgaria. The 17th BCES Conference theme is "Glocal Education in Practice: Teaching, Researching, and Citizenship." Some selected papers submitted to the…