Guest post by Lesley Wood and Mariëtte Koen Across the globe, early childhood education (ECE) is widely recognised as the foundation for lifelong learning, well-being, and sustainable development. Yet in many resource-scarce contexts, achieving high-quality and sustainable provision remains a pressing challenge. Our upcoming EECERA presentation offers a different perspective that moves beyond deficit views…
Guest post by Debra Williams Traditionally, reflection in Early Childhood Education has been positioned as an individual professional competency or a compliance requirement linked to quality assurance systems. However, this framing is increasingly insufficient in the context of digital documentation platforms and data-driven pedagogical environments. This research explores how reflection is being reshaped by digital…
By Tracy McElheron Maynooth University, Ireland EECERA Narrative – How we grow together I think I need to provide some personal context to really convey the significance of attending EECERA 2025 for me this summer. Without turning this into an online CV, it’s important to state that I have been in practice, working directly…
By Jane Spiteri When we talk about climate anxiety or eco-emotions, we usually picture teenagers marching with placards or adults lying wide awake at night worrying about the future. Rarely do we imagine a four-year-old quietly lining up toy animals because “the forest is on fire”, or a five-year-old asking whether the sea will still…
By Valerie Sollars- University of Malta, Malta* 1998: My initial encounter with EECERA. I found myself attending the EECERA conference in Santiago de Compostela. Although relatively close to Malta, it took three flights and twelve hours to reach Santiago de Compostela – from noon to midnight for the outbound journey and 6 a.m. to 6…
By Gerry Mulhearn- Charles Sturt University, Australia Membership of EECERA for over twenty years has been a major influence both professionally and personally for me. Many aspects of EECERA have contributed – the journal, SIGs, and identifying mutual interests and contexts, but most of all attending many annual conferences. Living in Australia and working in…
By Michel Vandenbroeck– Emeritus Professor, Ghent University, Belgium Michel presenting at EECERA 2017 in Bologna. In 1986, I started to work at the Centre for Innovation in Early Childhood (VBJK) in Belgium. The center emerged from a collaboration between the universities of Ghent, Brussels and Louvain and was situated in the Ghent University. Our main…
EECERA 2025 in Bratislava gave us a conference to remember. The opening reception in the aula of Comenius University — a beautiful and historic setting — began with warm welcomes from the Faculty of Education and our President, Professor Chris Pascal. Children danced, and a local teacher filled the hall with music on a long-necked…
Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Planting Seeds of Resilience in South Africa’s ECCE through Local Hubs and Collaboration* By Sandra Bruwer, Lesley Wood and Benita Taylor- North-West University, South Africa Resilience in the face of…
Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. ECCERA Narratives – How we grow together By Irene Gunning- EECERA Board of Trustees We’re launching a new EECERA blog, and we’d love you to be part of it. As…
by Dr Christina Egan Marnell, Early Childhood Ireland Photo by Shelby Murphy Figueroa on Unsplash Over the past 5 years, Early Childhood Ireland has been investigating how a culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy can be developed through a play and arts-based approach. Often co-constructed with educators, this journey has taken us into the realm of storytelling,…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Early Identification and Intervention for Students…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Leveraging LEGO Bricks and mentoring program…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. How Well Are You, Dear Early…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Building a Socially Sustainable Future for…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. The movement characteristics of children in…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Understanding how human-nature connection develops in…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Listen and Learn – Pedagogical Development…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Beyond Inclusion: How Early Childhood Education…
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA. Problem-Solving in Early Childhood Education and…
