Collective dreaming as conduits to enact just futures in childhood/s education and care

Abstract

We joined this collaborative space as colegas and friends, who come from diverse personal and professional backgrounds and have connected to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in various ways. When we asked ourselves what it means to reconceptualize ECEC, we began with situating this idea within our own childhood, familial, and professional lived experiences, and based on these, how they have inspired us to dream for more just futures, particularly for children who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this collective dreaming piece, we imagine a different reality, transforming how education and society engage with the children in our educational care. Through the act of going back in time, stories are affirmed and validated, knowing we are, and were not, alone when it came to experiencing white supremacy and Anti-Blackness in education. While we cannot do much to change the past, we engage and connect through a sisterhood, and in our commitments to social justice in education, in the present and future.