Abstract
This issue is characteristic of the diversity and broad range of topics and interests that reflect our community of scholars. They include research on the parenting of Chinese immigrant families, play, the role of vitalism theory, critical radical literacy, mathematics education, and becoming in the context of being an early childhood educator.
In the first article, Angel Chan presents her study of the transnational parenting practices of Chinese immigrant families in New Zealand. Chan advocates for fluid pedagogies to align with these transnational parenting practices. Her findings share the perspectives of early childhood education and parenting practices via narratives that incorporate the theoretical constructs of transnationalism. This uncovers the participants’ cultural dilemmas in their parenting, their preparedness to adapt their heritage practices and adopt early childhood education discourses of the host country, and their agency in choosing parenting strategies that they believe best support their children’s learning. Chan’s work highlights the importance of parent–teacher dialogue and curricula with fluid pedagogies that are responsive to heterogeneous parental aspirations.
In ‘The playing-exploring child: Reconceptualizing the relationship between play and learning in early childhood education’, Nilsson, Ferholt and Lecusay problematize the dichotomization of play and learning that often shapes the agenda of early childhood education research and practice. The authors argue for a reconceptualization of early childhood education that regards learning at the intersection of play and exploration. They illustrate their argument with ethnographic material from a qualitative research project implemented in three Swedish preschools that have incorporated the Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. The research contributes to new perspectives on the relationship between play and learning.
In her article, Donna Carlyle explores ‘Re-energising the role of vitalism theory in child development, nature orientation and research’. Her analysis uses Deleuzian techniques and ideas, viewing children socially, culturally and philosophically as ‘vectors of entanglements’. Carlyle provides examples of the application of vitalism across health and education, and in participatory research projects.
The article ‘Critical racial literacy in homes, schools, and communities: Propositions for early childhood contexts’, by Nash, Howard, Miller, Boutte, Johnson and Reid, is grounded in critical and emancipatory theories. It incorporates five critical ethnographies about the lives of children, grandchildren, students and teachers. They discuss three propositions for early childhood contexts apparent in their studies. They extend these and discuss the implications for enacting educational practices that promote critical racial literacy in early childhood education.
Linder and Simpson review early childhood mathematics education by conducting a systematic review of the literature, over a period of 15 years, focusing on practising and prospective teachers.
In the final article, entitled ‘Sticky stories about diffractive moments in classroom education of becoming early childhood teachers’, Rigmor Moxnes and Osgood challenge the prominence of reflexivity as a strategy for early childhood teachers. Their narrative considers reflection and diffraction as entanglements where students, the educator, materiality, space and affects intra-act.
Also in this issue we have a colloquium by Mohammad Afzal Khan about ‘The status of early childhood education in Pakistan: Inside stories’ and a book review by Luke Santamaria of Lorna Arnott’s edited collection, Digital Technologies and Learning in the Early Years.