Shifting landscapes in early childhood education

Change occurs in young children’s lives as a matter of course. Healthy children grow and develop (Berk Citation2012). They make multiple horizontal transitions daily, for example moving from mealtime to play, and navigate major vertical transitions, such as starting school (Kagan and Neuman Citation1998). Children experience changes to their routines at home when their parents make adaptations to working practices (Kim Citation2020; Snyder et al. Citation2021), and they experience new approaches to curriculum and pedagogy at first hand in their settings (Manning, Thirumurthy, and Field Citation2012; Murray Citation2017; Yang et al. Citation2022). When educators leave early childhood education (ECE) settings, it is children who must adjust to new educators. Whilst ECE educators may move to new settings for their professional development in strong workforce systems, in weaker systems educators’ dissatisfaction results in the ECE workforce attrition that results in change for children (Nutbrown Citation2021). War wreaks havoc in children’s lives, often displacing them from their homes and the carers and educators they know (Korp and Stretmo Citation2020). In recent decades, the pace and variety of change in young children’s environments, including their experiences of ECE, have increased exponentially, affecting young children’s lives in many different ways (Clark Citation2022). While young children appreciate novel experiences (Murray Citation2022), they also thrive on continuity and routine (Clark Citation2022; Zigler and Kagan Citation1982). Balance may therefore be important.

Författare: Jane Murray

Shifting landscapes in early childhood education

International Journal of Early Years Education Volume 31, 2023 – Issue 1