The problem addressed in this study was that there was the likelihood of a mismatch between preprimary teachers' racial, ethnic, and cultural make-up and the children and families they educate and care for in the preprimary classroom from birth to 5 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine early childhood education (ECE)…

In this study we critically investigated English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in the Chivi district (Zimbabwe) and the implications of its use as the LoLT for social justice education. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus-group interviews, observation and document analysis. The results show that social…

By its very nature, the field of early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ ECSE) "should" be grounded in social justice, with an ongoing commitment to the pursuit of equity for young children with disabilities and their families. However, it must be reckoned with that this field is steeped in a deficit model of…

In this article, the author forwards the importance of mad autobiographical poetic writing to challenge and disrupt epistemic injustice within pre-service early childhood education and care. They explore their own mad autobiographical poetic writing as a queer, non-binary, mad early childhood educator and pre-service early childhood education and…

In justice movements, solidarity means showing up for the humanity of others. This paper explores DisCrit mothering as a form of solidarity with children and families dehumanized by ableism and racism. As three motherscholars, who occupy varying spaces of privilege/marginalization in the academy, we reflect on our attempts to support our…

The scholarly conversation on preparing teachers to organize safer, more humanizing learning environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth generally does not intersect with conversations unfolding in the broader teacher education literature, specifically around what "practice" means in…

Children begin forming ideas about race and difference at a very young age. In their review of field literature, Gaias et al. (2021) shared that "children's racial prejudice and awareness of racial categories has been found to emerge around age 3" (p. 273). ECE is an important time to address topics of difference and bias with young…

Young learners often are enchanted with the world, fascinated by the ordinary, and absorbed in the present moment. We explore interconnected ideas about how young children's natural proclivity toward being curious and noticing differences among people should be harnessed toward socially just ends. We consider ways in which joyfulness in learning…

Background/purpose: In the literature, favoritism is often discussed as a form of corruption and an unethical practice. Studies related to favoritism in educational organizations have found that favoritism negatively impacts educational institutions. This study aims to investigate how teachers defined and perceived favoritism at school as well as…

Professional literature in human development, social foundations, and academic subject area courses function as a major but understudied tool of teacher preparation programs. Through the overlapping lenses of sociocultural and critical theories of child development, this study employs descriptive content analysis to investigate the potential of…

Within educational systems across the nation, traditionally marginalized and "multiply marginalized and underrepresented (MMU)" groups, composed of students of color, students with dis/abilities, students living in poverty and/or emergent bilinguals, continue to be excluded and segregated, perpetuating discriminatory practices both…

The field of special education is recognized for conducting research designed to improve the quality of life for the children and families we serve. However, our field has been criticized for empirical approaches that are inconsistent with the values and beliefs we articulate as central to our scientific practice. As such, a shift in our research…

Every child has the right to express their authentic self and to have those expressions validated by the adults responsible for their care. However, young transgender and gender-expansive children's attempts to communicate about their genders are too often dismissed and discredited. In this conceptual paper, the authors draw on the concept of…

The implicit and explicit messages early childhood practitioners send about disability have important consequences for young children's developing identities and sense of belonging. The authors discuss how practitioners can cultivate early learning communities in which the identities of all young children, with and without disabilities, are…

Join the authors of this book in starting a movement of hope and possibility for an antiracist child care and early childhood education system. This volume disrupts mental models regarding where the work of early care and education began--with enslaved African women--and how the stigma of that beginning relegates present-day child care workers to…