Too Tired to Listen? How Educator Wellbeing Unlocks the Building Blocks of Child Agency

Guest post by Cecilia Wong and Natasha Tania Stansilas Image by Google. (2026). Gemini (July 2026 version) Child-centred, participatory practice is now widely endorsed. Yet in real classrooms, participatory practice stays uneven, often squeezed out by institutional pressures and daily behaviour-management demands. Singapore preschools operate under stringent government guidelines and quality-assurance frameworks. Educators often face…

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Classroom Quality at Pre-Primary Level in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Structural and Process Dimensions

Guest post by Sharmin Heena Quality pre-primary education (PPE) is now seen as essential for children’s lifelong learning and well-being. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2 highlights the importance of quality early childhood education for building literacy, numeracy, social-emotional skills, and school readiness. While many countries have expanded access to PPE, ensuring consistently high-quality learning environments…

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The Role of Playfulness in Professional Development

Guest post by Alessandra Pimentel and Mônica Appezzato Pinazza The PALUDICON Research Group (Program of Playful Activities in Different Contexts), originally created as a university extension program, aims to promote professional development through playfulness, grounded in Historical-Cultural Theory (HCT) and the Reggio Emilia Approach. Between 2022 and 2025, the program was carried out by a…

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Between Digital Tools and Play: Understanding Early Childhood Teachers’ Decision-Making in the UK and China

Guest post by Shuolin He Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash Digital technology is now part of many young children’s everyday lives, both at home and in educational settings. In early childhood education, however, its use remains a complex and sometimes contested issue. While digital tools may support communication, documentation, literacy, creativity and home-school links,…

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Beyond the screen: Rethinking children’s agency through light and shadow play

What a study in Mongolian kindergartens reveals about technology, participation, and democratic learning Guest post by Tserennadmid Shagdarsuren and Tala Fig. 1. A child explores light and shadow with toy animals.* When we talk about children’s agency, we often imagine a child making an independent choice—selecting an activity, taking the lead. But what happens when…

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Unlocking Hidden Resources: Rethinking Early Childhood Education in Resource-Scarce Contexts

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…

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Rethinking Reflection in Early Childhood Education: Agency, Democracy and the Digital Age

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…

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Guest Post: Envisioning a Nurturing Ecosystem in Which ECCE Can Thrive

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…

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Exploring linguistic diversity and inclusivity through plurilingualism

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,…

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EECERA Conference 2025 – Guest Blog # 51: LEGO® Bricks and Mentoring

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…

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EECERA Conference 2025 – Guest Blog # 50: Teacher Well-Being Matters

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…

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EECERA 2025 Conference – Guest Blog #1: Teaching on the Margins

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. Teaching on the Margins: What Do…

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