Paulo Freire in ECE: Towards a critical understanding and alternative narratives

Abstract

This article explores critical understanding and alternative narratives within early childhood education (ECE) by drawing on Paulo Freire's ideas. Building on existing literature on how Freire's work has been interpreted in ECE, we continue the critical discussion on the possibilities and contextualization of Freire's ideas, particularly in the early childhood profession and workforce. We offer a reinterpretation of the pedagogy of hope and its crucial role in supporting a just and sustainable ECE workforce, emphasizing the potential for transformative changes in the field. Through a multi-year, cross-cultural ethnographic study in the US and China, we analyze teachers’ internal voices, counter-narratives, and intersectional dynamics through a Freirean lens, focusing on the well-being of early childhood professionals in culturally diverse communities.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally transformed education systems across the globe, significantly impacting teachers, children, and families (Pokhrel and Chhetri, 2021; Stanistreet et al., 2020; Tadesse and Muluye, 2020; Tarkar, 2020). With the onset of school closures in March 2020 (Donohue and Miller, 2020), educators faced a sudden shift from in-person to remote learning, requiring rapid adaptation to unfamiliar technologies and instructional methods. This transition proved especially challenging for early childhood educators (Atiles et al., 2021; Timmons et al., 2021), who were already contending with a landscape rife with systemic issues, including an overburdened early childhood education (ECE) workforce (Pardo et al., 2024; Smith and Granja, 2021; Whitebook et al., 2018; McLean et al., 2021).

Throughout the pandemic, ECE practitioners were called upon as maternal fixers, tasked with providing crucial care, education, and support in local communities (Swigonski et al., 2021). This often came at the expense of their well-being due to inadequate protections, insufficient support, and poor benefits, all of which were intensified by the precarious working conditions they faced (Eadie et al., 2021; Kim, 2013; Lee and Parolin, 2021; Mitter and Putcha, 2018).

While the pandemic is widely recognized as a global phenomenon with shared pressures, the experiences of early childhood educators in local communities are often overlooked, particularly through critical comparative lenses that reveal nuanced understandings of workforce inequalities. In this increasingly globalized era, children, parents, and practitioners do not constitute homogenous groups; they experience diverse realities shaped by intersecting factors such as class, race, gender, geographical location, and other forms of oppression. However, these complexities are rarely represented in substantive ways in empirical studies on early childhood workforce and profession.

Based on nearly two years of fieldwork, this article offers a cross-cultural examination of the early childhood profession in the US and China. Through rich, detailed accounts focused on four distinct groups of educators, we highlight how national and local contexts shape the definition of professionalism and the specific challenges educators face. To better understand the lived experiences of early childhood teachers and explore long-existing workforce challenges, we revisit Freire's ideas and contextualize his critical pedagogy in the ECE context, examining its relevance to the current state of the early childhood profession and workforce. Drawing on examples from this comparative study of workforce and professionalism, we delve into key aspects of Freirean praxis, including consciousness-raising and space for transformative action within the ECE field. Building on these insights, we propose a reinterpretation of Freire's notion of hope as a strategic framework to advance a more equitable and sustainable ECE workforce, grounded in a humanized mode of early childhood professionalism.

Framing the study

The ECE workforce plays a critical role in shaping the development of young children (Osgood, 2010), yet it faces substantial challenges that differ markedly across national contexts. Interpretating teachers’ experiences, including their pedagogical approaches, requires an understanding of the specific cultural, social, economic, and historical contexts in which they work and live (Tobin et al., 2009; Tobin, 2022). To challenge universal and decontextualized notions of ECE professionalism and teaching practices, we ground our analysis in the lived experiences of early childhood practitioners within their local sociocultural environments.

As ethnographers, we situate our study in the specific contexts of our research. We begin with a comparative literature analysis and then outline our analytical framework, focusing on the interplay of overlapping social, political, and cultural forces shaping the pressures on educators’ professional identities and experiences. By integrating Freirean concepts with Bakhtinian text analysis, we examine the diverse lived experiences of teachers, uncovering patterns of multiplicity—encompassing both marginalization and hope—while identifying potential pathways for workforce change within and across contexts.

Our comparative perspective sheds light on national and local beliefs and practices surrounding teachers’ professionalism, illustrating how these contexts shape teachers’ roles and underscore their agency in daily practices. In our conclusion, we search for possibilities by turning to love and hope as reframed Freirean approaches that acknowledge the complexities of transnational feminist professionalism across diverse settings.

The ECE workforce in the US and China

In the United States, the ECE workforce contends with persistent economic challenges. According to the latest labor report (CSCCE, 2024), ECE workers earn less than 97% of all other occupations, with a median wage of approximately $13 per hour. These low wages are indicative of systemic issues that necessitate reforms to enhance workforce equity and elevate the voices of early childhood educators. The economic strain on educators has been exacerbated by ongoing demands, leading to increased burnout and attrition rates (Eadie et al., 2021; Gomez et al., 2015), particularly affecting marginalized communities (Henward and Qi, 2024). In contrast, China's approach to early childhood education has increasingly emphasized its role in improving children's well-being and enhancing teachers’ qualification and compensation in recent years (Feng, 2017; Qi and Melhuish, 2017). However, educators in China continue to face persistent challenges, including low wages, high turnover, limited training opportunities, and a lack of recognition (Li, Guo and Zhou, 2021; Liu, 2020). While the government has recognized the need for advancements in ECE, significant barriers remain in translating this acknowledgment into substantive reforms that effectively and meaningfully support educators and their professional roles.

The concept of professionalism within ECE varies widely between the US and China, influenced by each country's cultural and political frameworks. In the US, early childhood education is often viewed as a low-status profession, primarily due to its historical association with female teachers, many of whom are women of color ( Mitter and Putcha, 2018; Kim, 2013; Savas, 2010). This perception has led to the stigma of early childhood educators as semi-professionals, reinforced by societal beliefs that position women as “natural” caregivers (Goldstein, 1993; Osgood, 2006; 2010; Wong, 2022). Such stereotypes diminish the perceived value of ECE practitioners, often framing them as “glorified babysitters” who lack specialized knowledge and skills. In China, while the societal value placed on early childhood education is increasing, similar gendered perceptions persist. The challenges faced by female educators in both contexts highlight the deeply entrenched inequalities within the field, where low compensation and high turnover rates remain common.

Despite increased attention to professionalism and workforce development in ECEC, educators continue to encounter significant challenges. The pandemic has intensified these issues, with many educators feeling overwhelmed by the demands of hybrid and online teaching environments (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021; Tarkar, 2020; Stanistreet et al., 2020). The declining retention of qualified teachers is particularly concerning, as these professionals are essential for translating standardized curricula into culturally and linguistically responsive practices (Bakken et al., 2017; Fenech et al., 2022; Thorpe et al., 2024). Moreover, the quality of early childhood education is intrinsically linked to the professionalism of the workforce. Early childhood educators often face unremunerated physical, intellectual, and emotional labor costs, which have become increasingly burdensome amidst the rise of standardized ECE approaches and assessments (Fairchild and Mikuska, 2021; Kwon et al., 2020). Addressing these challenges will require a critical reevaluation of how professionalism is perceived and supported in local contexts.

The ECE workforce in both the United States and China is marked by significant challenges that reflect broader societal inequalities. Understanding the distinct contexts in which these educators operate is crucial for advocating for systemic changes that promote equity and recognition within the field. Future research should further investigate these dynamics, focusing on how cultural, sociopolitical, and economic dynamics shape prevailing perceptions of professionalism and influence the lived experiences of early childhood educators, with implications for policy and practice.

Intersecting oppressions within the ECE workforce

With the increasing neoliberal standardization and accountability measures, concerns have emerged about the commodification of ECE, potentially jeopardizing its status as a public good (Henward and Dong, 2022). The market system falls short in addressing persistent critical social justice issues, such as the gendered and racialized division of ECE labor and achievement gaps across different ethnic backgrounds. This strengthened accreditation scheme has also dehumanized ECE professionals, treating them as passive recipients and eroding their autonomy in the classroom (Choy, 2017; Sachs, 2016; Yang et al., 2022). This erosion is evident in the shift toward external scrutiny (Sachs, 2016), where narrow outcome measures have become the primary indicators of children's learning achievements. Particularly, the dominant discourse on early childhood teaching quality centers around “objective” measurements and assessment tools, such as the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), which focus on teacher–child interactions (McNally and Slutsky, 2020), classroom observations (Karlsen et al., 2024), and child outcomes (Hong et al, 2019).

The oppression of early childhood professionals has also been historically illustrated by the association of women's roles with childrearing and domestic work (Goldstein, 1993; Wong, 2022). The ECE workplace serves as a specific site that reflects the material realities of intersecting oppression related to gender, class, and race, given that women constitute the vast majority of the ECE workforce globally. The undervalued labor within ECE highlights the exploitation of women who continue to bear the brunt of these underpaid caregiving and domestic workers (Kan and He, 2024; Yang, 2017). Among concerns about this dehumanization of the feminized workforce and labor, studies have also demonstrated the disproportionate physical, intellectual, and emotional labor cost of women teachers of color from marginalized communities to combat increased standardization and ensure children's thriving in local communities (Henward and Qi, 2024).

Liberatory and humanizing theoretical perspectives on educators

We frame our analysis of how early childhood educators navigate the multifaceted and competing demands of professionalism through a critical activist stance, drawing on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogical lens (Freire, 1970/2000). This perspective prioritizes the agency and lived experiences of educators who are oppressed within societal power systems, offering a framework to advocate for a humanized model of professionalism in ECE. By centering the pedagogy of critical hope, we aim not only to deepen our understanding of these educators’ lived experiences and situate their navigation of professionalism within broader sociopolitical and cultural contexts but also to offer recommendations for future research and policymaking.

Paulo Freire and ECE

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) is widely regarded as one of the most influential educators of the 20th century. In his seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire provides strategic tools to cultivate critical thinking and human agency (Darder, 2017; Vandenbroeck, 2020). His legacy has had a transformative and transnational impact, shaping global communities and informing diverse contexts of oppression in support of local political and educational goals (Gandolfi, 2023; Tarlau, 2015). Freire's critical approach remains invaluable for uncovering the relationships between knowledge, authority, and power (Darder, 2017) across various educational fields, including ECE.

Freire has inspired ideas and motivations for reconceptualizing early childhood education, positioning his theories as a significant source for shifting perspectives and fostering skepticism about the current status of ECE. ¹ In light of Freire's focus on prioritizing the voices of local educators, ECE scholars have integrated his ideas into their critical analyses across childhood studies (Kohan, 2018), teaching pedagogies (Roberts, 2015; Shih, 2015), curriculum design (Kitano, 2020), and teachers’ professional development (Grieshaber and Hamm, 2020; Nagasawa and Swadener, 2020). These critiques also examine fundamental questions regarding the prevailing narratives influenced by positivism and neoliberalism in diverse sociocultural contexts. For example, Ritchie (2003) and Mitchell (2020) challenge the traditional lecture-based teaching approach in certain regions of New Zealand, advocating for counter-discourses against outcome-based learning to preserve indigenous cultural and linguistic practices in Aotearoa. In addition to promoting inclusive and equitable ECE, emphasis is also placed on uncovering the power structures that perpetuate various inequalities within ECE. For instance, Ndimande and Swadener (2020) utilize Freire's notion of critical dialogue to address long-standing educational inequities and center around reforms aimed at humanizing and liberating children and ECE workers in post-apartheid South Africa.

Freire's work cautions against uncritically accepting “standardized curricula and regulations” often shaped by political decisions. As Mayo explains,

By professional, Freire is not referring to the excesses of the ideology of professionalism … based on the trait model of professionals … that often results in the following arrogant posture: I know what's best for you. Freire is using profession in the sense of people who are competent, both in terms of the subject matter taught and in terms of pedagogical disposition, and who engage in very important work that demands respect and adequate remuneration. (Mayo, 2004: 84, as cited in Freire, 2005)

While policymakers and researchers play a significant role in defining the early childhood professionalism, the prevailing focus of critical pedagogy remains with teachers who interpret standardized curricula and exercise their professional roles within local contexts. It is crucial for researchers to engage with teachers and understand their professionalism in this process, as teachers are the ones responsible for adapting the curriculum and applying culturally and linguistically sustaining practices (Kurian, 2024; Larson et al., 2020) to create meaningful and relevant knowledge and experiences for children in their communities (Henward and Aikau, 2023).

Envisioning the ECE future with critical hope

Without a minimum of hope we cannot so much as start the struggle. But without the struggle, hope as an ontological need, dissipates, loses its bearings, and turns into hopelessness. And hopelessness can become tragic despair. (Freire, 2014: 3)

To critically reflect on and address the long-term challenges in the ECE workforce, we adapt Freire's pedagogy of hope to explore alternative approaches to ECE professionalism. According to Freire (1998a), hope is constructed within social contexts marked by dehumanization and facilitated by human action to transform the world (Hannigan, 2015). Achieving hope involves multifaceted struggles, requiring collective critical reflection on oppressive social conditions and dialogical action to reduce dehumanization (Roberts, 2015). In other words, the nature of hope engages both a critical understanding and analysis of current social conditions, such as the power dynamics leading to educational inequalities, and active participation in dialogical action toward liberation and humanization. The prevailing focus of critical pedagogy in this study remains with teachers who interpret standardized curricula and exercise their professional roles within local contexts.

Urban (2019) argues for recognizing ECE as key to creating a sustainable future, emphasizing humanity and hope as ontological necessities for transformative change. Hannigan (2015) reinterprets Freire's idea of hope through Hegel's notion of sublation and advocates for further critical exploration of sublative hope. Here, “sublative” is understood as the “sublated elements of that which have been negated and yet simultaneously preserved” (p. 367). An example of sublation in Freire's ideas (2005) is evident in his argument that it “is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors” (p. 56). In this context, the possibility of fulfillment always arises from what is not—the incompleteness of being (Bloch et al., 1986; Freire, 1998b). Drawing on Hegel's notion of sublation and dialectics, along with Hannigan's exploration of sublative hope, we present an analysis of the early childhood profession that illustrates how the sublative elements of hope can generate new possibilities for a humanized mode of early childhood professionalism.

In practice, reframing the contradiction between freedom and authority within the ECE teaching profession is crucial. Freedom allows individuals to act and make choices without outside constraint, while authority involves the use of power to impose rules and regulations that maintain specific structures. On one hand, authority may be perceived as limiting individual freedom; however, it can also provide a framework that supports effective teaching and learning, as authority is not entirely exclusive of freedom. In some contexts, it establishes necessary boundaries and prevents uncontrolled situations. In ECE, teachers negotiate between top-down standards and assessments and their understanding of classroom practices through experiential exploration. This process embodies the hope that their critical engagement with alternative pedagogical choices can provide counter-narratives to the dominant discourse surrounding teaching practices. While unjust authority could restrict teachers’ freedom and lead to oppression, hope is manifested through their agency to implement culturally sustainable strategies that rich the educational settings for children and families from diverse backgrounds.

In workforce, the humanized mode of ECE professionalism requires consideration of love practices and management of loving actions to address the unremunerated labor in the field. Freire stresses the importance of avoiding emotional detachment in the teaching profession (Lehrer, 2020). His notion of love as “an act of courage and commitment” (2005) justifies the inclusion of embodied experiences of love in the practice of early childhood professionals. It corresponds with Jónasdóttir and Ferguson's argument (2014) regarding the understanding of human love through material practices that encompass the management of impressions and the appropriate expression of loving actions (Ferguson, 2013). This perspective can be interpreted as a call to incorporate emotions into discussions regarding the alternative forms of early childhood professionalism, which should also be valued and shown in their material conditions.

However, crediting love seems challenging due to the complex nature of understanding and quantifying it in the workplace, especially under the impact of neoliberalism and the prevailing culture of accountability (Lehrer, 2020). Here, addressing Freire's pedagogy of critical hope, we advocate for solidarity and collaborative efforts among policymakers, researchers, administrators, and practitioners to acknowledge the complexities inherent in the ECE profession and to enhance the well-being of educators and the overall workforce. Achieving this goal requires policy initiatives aimed at ensuring fair compensation for teachers whose labor often goes unrewarded, as well as emerging critical research that focuses on the hidden love labor reflected in the lived experiences of early childhood professionals.

Methods

This article draws on data from a multi-year, cross-cultural comparative ethnographic study of the early childhood teachers to explore how Freirean critical pedagogy is illustrated through their lived experiences in local communities. All fieldwork was conducted by Author 1 between 2022 and 2024. The research sites included public early childhood settings in a college town and a semi-rural prairie town with a large Hispanic community in the Northeastern US, as well as a suburban area in Jiangsu Province and a minority banner in northern China. These sites were selected to gain insights into teachers’ lived experiences and counternarratives within the workforce, situated in two sociocultural contexts. Due to time and budget constraints, private early childhood settings were not included in this study, but they may be considered in future research. The fieldwork involved participant observation, along with round of ethnographic interviews with early childhood teachers in both the US and China. Pseudonyms are used for all informants to protect their identities.

To explore teachers’ lived experiences, we conducted deep, engaged fieldwork, individual and group interviews, prioritizing the voices of teachers from diverse cultural contexts. In designing this ethnographic study, we paid particular attention to the experiences of early childhood teachers in marginalized communities, especially those who are often spoken for but rarely heard in discussions of professionalism. To make meaning, we analyzed the field notes, interview and focus-group transcripts, and policy documents considering individual contexts. In ethnography, data analysis is not confined to a discrete phase; rather, it is an ongoing, iterative, and recursive process. Following the production of each transcript and field note, we employed open coding processes for content analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 2017). Memos written by Author 1 contributed to the discussion, coding, and reflection as well. Iteratively moving back and forth between the data and abstract concepts, we clustered the coded data into three categories: critical consciousness, teachers’ agency in practices, and the impacts of contexts.

We shifted from codes to a liberatory praxis, drawing on Bakhtinian and Freirean perspectives. Bakhtinian perspectives join Freirean praxis in our analysis. Bakhtin's work (1981) emphasizes the social, cultural, and political nature of language, conceptualizing it as a heteroglossic tapestry of diverse and often conflicting voices. While these two frameworks are rarely paired, we find complimentary similarities and congruence, as highlighted by Rule (2011), particularly in their shared emphasis on dialogue and the situated sociopolitical nature of language and its users. To ensure trustworthiness, we employed member checking, triangulation, and peer debriefing (Charmaz, 2006), analyzing data both within and across different sites. Bakhtin's (1984) concepts of dialogism, heteroglossia, and contextuality were particularly instrumental, enabling multiple interpretations of the data. By framing our analysis around dialogues and observations, we generated insights that situate the meanings of words within their contexts, engaging with teachers from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.

Co-constructed contexts of research and meaning

A central theme in employing ethnographic methods is the significance of context, particularly the roles of both the listener and the researcher in speech-act analysis. Bakhtin argues that each communicative act uniquely reflects the speaker's context and audience, highlighting the importance of examining these acts within their specific settings. To fully understand spoken language, it is essential to account for both the speaker and the listener, as well as the complexities and influences that shape their interactions (Henward et al., 2021). Both Freirean and Bakhtinian frameworks underscore the recognition of co-construction in any encounter, though they approach it in distinct ways. Consequently, crafting a narrative demands reflection not only on the participants but also on the co-constructed identity of the researcher and the intersubjective dynamics involved (Boveda and Annamma, 2023).

Author 1, a Chinese educator-turned-researcher, has conducted fieldwork in both the US and China. Her diverse teaching experiences in the US rendered familiar cultural elements unfamiliar upon her return to China, deepening her awareness of the contrasts between these educational contexts. Navigating these distinct cultural and educational landscapes, her identity as an “in-betweener” sharpens her sensitivity to nuanced cultural cues and enriches her understanding to contribute to the gendered and cross-cultural aspects of her research. While this “in-betweener” positionality provides valuable insights, it also requires continuous self-reflection to mitigate potential biases.

Following data collection, Author 2—a white US researcher, former early childhood educator, and educational anthropologist specializing in cross-cultural studies of preschools within diverse cultural and linguistic contexts in the US—joined the study. Through individual and collaborative readings, we engaged in the process of meaning-making. During the analysis phase, we verified our interpretations by identifying negative instances and conducting comparisons within and across the four sites.

As we demonstrate below, our Freirean approach challenges the problematic notion of “universal professionalism,” which relies on fixed, standardized performance evaluations and measurable outcomes. Instead, we seek to interpret diverse narratives and uncover their deeper meanings, moving beyond mechanical linguistic analysis to engage with the cultural, social, and political dimensions of texts (Carter and McCarthy, 2004). By critically examining early childhood teachers’ professionalism through dialogue and multiplicity across sociocultural contexts, this framework creates space for reparative practices and new possibilities.

A Freirean analysis in two contexts

Critical consciousness under the impact of neoliberalism

The neoliberal construction of professionalism and the technocratic approach to teaching require educators to adhere to top-down standards, regulations, and assessments. This standardized scheme has been widely utilized to reinforce teachers’ qualities (Goffin and Barnett, 2015; Osgood, 2006). For example, in this study, early childhood teachers from the US and China complained about the various documentation tasks required to prove, demonstrate, and legitimize their professional work. These teachers voiced their concerns about the overwhelming paperwork, expressing their thoughts:

I do know where my kids are at, like their skills, because I sit and interact with them, play with them all day, and watch what they’re doing. But I need to document it. It's such a double-edged sword. I don’t want to spend all my time just on a computer documenting. It takes forever and it's not easy to just sit down and do it quickly in like half an hour. I would rather, you know … (Ms. Hathaway, the US)

We record observations of each child, and we also have a self-developed curriculum learning story to document. Lead teachers have more administrative tasks to document and report. The forms we fill out also have requirements related to health and hygiene, such as temperature checks, disinfection records, and monitoring drinking water and bowel movements. I feel like many of these documentation tasks are unnecessary, but there are regulations, especially in public institutions, that mandate the completion of these tasks. (Wuyun Laoshi, China)

When using standardized assessments to legitimize teachers’ work, it is important not to fall into the pitfall of bureaucratic procedures that have little meaningful connection with the actual experiences and needs of teachers and children. Teachers’ overwhelming documentation work often leads to an increased workload that detracts from the core educational mission and undermines teachers’ autonomy and well-being. It is necessary to develop context-sensitive evaluation systems that reflect teachers’ daily practices and support their professional growth and the needs of the children they serve.

The counternarrative on ECE professional roles is also evident in teachers’ concerns about professional development opportunities that are disconnected from their daily practices and fail to address their actual needs. Yang Laoshi (laoshi is the term that teachers are mostly called in China) critiqued the professional development program, stating, “I personally feel that some professional development lectures are more theoretical, and the content they share is mostly excellent case studies presented by experts. It doesn’t really align well with our needs.” The comment shows that this professional development has been detached from the practical needs of these educators, revealing a disconnect between policy-driven initiatives and the realities of teaching practice.

In addition to professional development, teachers also complained about their unequal working conditions, such as stringent regulations on work hours and underpayment that do not reflect their workload and labor. In the US, the staff shortage in ECE programs has added extra work for current teachers. A Hispanic Head Start teacher, Ms. Lucia, shared that,

Most of the time, it's challenging when we have a child who needs a lot of help. There's often a shortage of staff everywhere, so we have to make do with what we have. Sometimes this can be frustrating because we would love to have more help.

Under the increasing impact of neoliberalism on the teaching profession and children's achievement, the caring aspect of teachers’ professional practices has often been invisible and underrecognized, both within and outside their required working time. As Ms. Camila mentioned,

When you’re exhausted and you don’t have the energy and they [children] are full of energy, it does take a lot out of you. Like, you do have to pump yourself up in the morning: “OK, I can do this, I can do this, we can get through the day.” And they do take a lot from you. (Ms. Camila)

In the US, this is particularly shown in Head Start programs, where teachers primarily work with low-income children. In the interview, Ms. Lucia described children from Head Start as coming from “non-ideal family situations.” This term does not reflect a complaint about the children and families but rather underscores the significant burden these teachers carry with limited support and recognition. Children from low-income families, immigrant backgrounds, and diverse linguistic and cultural contexts require early childhood professionals to invest more professional effort, time, and intellectual and emotional labor into their daily work, many of whom are women-of-color teachers.

The systemic inequalities and material conditions faced by early childhood teachers are common across different settings. Understanding the implications for early childhood teachers and the impact on their daily practice and well-being within the context of their local workplaces is crucial. Through the lens of Freire's pedagogy of hope, these oppressive conditions also create a space for the emergence and development of teachers’ critical action regarding their profession and work environments, as demonstrated in the following section.

Freirean praxis and collective action

Although standardized schemes aim to improve teachers’ qualities, the neoliberal construction of the teaching professionalism may contradict teachers’ beliefs and daily practices in local contexts. It is crucial to explore the extent to which teachers can make professional judgments that sometimes oppose top-down directives to benefit children in their classes. Identifying these “gray areas” or alternative discourses in teachers’ daily practices can help us understand these dynamics and promote a more sustainable and humanized ECE workforce in the future.

To ensure that children from low-income families do not miss out on valuable resources, Ms. Hathaway shared her experience with book distribution in her class. Despite the program's requirement for children to return a signed reading challenge form by parents to receive free books, she noted that many parents did not return the forms. Ms. Hathaway believed it was more critical for children to have access to these free books than to adhere to the rules strictly. Although her actions did not align with program expectations and guidelines, she committed to promoting the children's interests by making her own professional decisions. She elaborated on her actions:

I don’t want any kids to miss out on free books for their home. So I always just say that every kid returned it. It's not what they [the program] want us to do. All they want is for us to turn it in and get the books. But I don’t think that's right. I just want kids to have books in their hands to look at home. Like I said, I had a hard time not getting anything back from parents. I don’t think it's fair for kids to miss out, so that's why I was just saying they all returned it. It's not what they wanna hear about. It's what I do just because I don’t want them to miss anything that can help them. If they blame me, let them blame.

In this case, Freirean praxis is demonstrated in Ms. Hathaway's daily practice that emerged from her critical consciousness of the unequal situations children face.

This Freirean praxis is also evident in teachers’ solidarity-building with colleagues through collective actions to address workforce challenges and achieve shared goals related to children's learning and development in the classroom. Ms. Lucia from the Hispanic community in the northeastern US shared her experiences:

Sometimes you can feel it a little heavier, but I think that's why it's so important to have friends like become a family because sometimes you feel like the heaviness, and maybe you say, “What I’m gonna need helping these or on this, today has been a hard day.” Or sometimes maybe a child is getting really difficult. And you know because you feel so overwhelmed, you look at the other teacher and like, she’ll come out, “Okay, I’ll take care of this.”

Wuyun Laoshi, from a minority banner in northern China, also shared her stories:

When you’re experiencing negative emotions, you can choose to step back. Just communicate with the other teachers in your class: “I might not be in the best emotional state today, so I might choose to focus on caregiving tasks.” For example, during those difficult days of my period when I get really irritable, I’ll ask the other teacher to watch the kids while I go wash the dishes. It's better to step back if you can—it's good for both the children and yourself.

Through the collective voices of early childhood teachers within their local contexts, we consistently found the theme of undermined emotional labor that permeates their daily practices. These challenges reamplify the long-existing oppression faced by early childhood educators in their working conditions. However, the concept of critical hope provides an insightful lens for reinterpreting these experiences, revealing teachers’ resilience through collective efforts amidst dehumanizing conditions. This resilience has been shown in how these teachers support each other under systemic pressures and navigate institutional demands while projecting a professional image to stakeholders.

Contextualizing teaching practices in local communities

Freire (2005) critiques the direct replication of his ideas across different contexts and emphasizes the importance of contextualizing pedagogical practices and innovating upon his theories. Here, we analyze an example from Li Laoshi's teaching practice within the Chinese context and the perspectives of teachers from diverse backgrounds regarding this practice.

A typical day unfolded in Yang Laoshi's classroom. Maomao, a five-year-old boy, frequently conflicts with his peers. During free play, he grabbed a set of crayons from the wall. In an impulsive moment, he moved toward another child, holding the crayons close to his eyes. During group time, Yang Laoshi addressed Maomao's behavior in front of the class, using the opportunity to guide the entire class on appropriate ways of interacting with one another. Yang Laoshi later explained her behavior:

When a child has conflicts with other children, we usually address the issue privately if the child generally doesn’t make mistakes. However, if after a few reminders the child still doesn’t correct their behavior, I need to address it in front of the group, which means giving collective criticism.

In Yang Laoshi's case, despite the general requirements and advocacy for positive discipline in Chinese early childhood classrooms, she believed that such approach is not always effective for all children due to habitual issues. Based on her teaching experiences, even after addressing an issue with a child individually, the child may continue to repeat the same misbehaviors. To more effectively address these issues, she decided to adopt a more direct approach in certain situations, such as with Maomao, to help the child understand the seriousness of the situation and the potential risk it could pose to others, emphasizing the need for correction.

However, early childhood teachers at the US site of this study did not agree with Yang Laoshi's teaching practice. Ms. Liza shared that criticizing a child in front of the whole class is humiliating, as it highlights their actions for everyone to see, and she would never interact with children in that manner. Furthermore, when considering the CLASS tool in US ECE settings, such interactions would likely result in a negative score for teacher–child interactions. Ms. Hathaway also shared her perspectives on addressing children's misbehavior:

I feel like a general discussion about behaviors can happen in front of a group. But if you’re addressing a specific child with a problem, it's better not to do it in front of the whole group. I think it can impact self-esteem depending on the child and the situation if they feel like they’re getting in trouble in front of everyone.

In this context, we examine the multiple perspectives that emerge from one early childhood teaching practice. A comparative analysis of teacher's voices reveals that early childhood approaches to address children's behavior are greatly impacted by broader societal factors. Both Ms. Liza and Ms. Hathaway's narrative and practices are rooted in individualistic values of the US that emphasize personal autonomy, self-esteem, and self-expression, while Yang Laoshi's teaching approach is situated within a more collectivism-oriented Chinese context. In many Chinese schools, collective criticism is intended to foster a sense of responsible and community, encouraging individuals to learn from one another, as it aligns with the Confucian values that prioritize social harmony and collective well-being over individual desires. This example illustrates how broader sociocultural frameworks influence early childhood teaching practices and perspectives, emphasizing the necessity of considering diverse contextual factors when evaluating professionalism.

Through a Freirean analysis of early childhood teaching practices and the divergent voices surrounding them, we aim to highlight the importance of contextualizing teachers’ profession within their localized conditions. Understanding the nuances of the ECE profession, professionalism, and the broader workforce within local contexts, along with analyzing how teachers’ critical consciousness and practices interact with broader societal factors, is critical. We advocate for further research to delve deeper into these dynamics within local communities.

Conclusion

This study expands the ongoing critical discussion on early childhood education by revisiting Freirean critical pedagogy, particularly concerning the early childhood profession and its workforce. Drawing on findings from a cross-cultural ethnographic study of workforce and professionalism in the US and China, we explore the lived experiences and counter-narratives of early childhood teachers in local communities, challenging the universal notion of early childhood professionalism. By examining teachers’ consciousness-raising and transformative actions in their daily practices, we uncover possibilities for advancing the ECE profession, reconceptualizing early childhood professionalism through a humanized approach, and fostering a just and sustainable ECE workforce by reinterpreting Freire's notion of critical hope.

The ongoing discussion surrounding the ECE workforce and profession is not new. However, the adverse consequences of a strained workforce persist, affecting educators, families, and children, especially those in marginalized communities. Revisiting Freire's ideas significantly contributes to the reimagining of the early childhood profession and workforce. Freire illustrates the potential for transformative impact through critical reflection and action, instilling hope that meaningful change is achievable, particularly through the efforts of intellectuals engaged in education. As teacher educators and researchers, we are entrusted with the privilege and responsibility to advocate for equitable opportunities for all children, families, and professionals. Our collective commitment to enhancing the well-being of early childhood practitioners, restoring humanization within the ECE workforce, and expanding the educative potential are crucial. We must perform our roles non-traditionally, with critical pedagogy and a reimagining of ECE and its credentialing systems.