There is much we can learn from listening to the voices of research participants in academic inquiry

It is truly an honor to serve in the role of guest editor for EECERJ. I have been told that the invitation to take on the role of a guest editor signifies a level of respect for the individual's knowledge, experience, and standing within the academic or professional community. I can assure you that, in this case, nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true that I am getting older, I do not think I am getting any wiser. I may have a higher level of knowledge than before. After all, we learn something new every day. However, I must acknowledge that there is always more to discover and comprehend. My level of ignorance is immense! This self-awareness serves as a powerful motivator for learning and personal growth. Thus, the honor is having the privilege of being among the first to read and learn from the manuscripts that are presented on this issue.

In the ever-evolving landscape of academic inquiry, this issue of our research journal presents a compilation of groundbreaking research, insightful analyses, and scholarly contributions from experts across our Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) field. The researchers used diverse methodologies including qualitative, quantitative, and mix methods. The issues tackled are just as diverse, ranging from the mentoring of teacher candidates to how maltreatment is related to multiple risk factors regarding the child’s development. The manuscripts’ diversity of subjects comprises of children, teacher candidates, practitioners, and parents living in Albania, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The researchers give voice to their subjects by providing them with an opportunity to express their thoughts, opinions, and perspectives. They allowed individuals to communicate their ideas, feelings, and experiences, particularly in situations where they might not have had the chance to be heard. Giving voice to the research participants is about empowering them to share their viewpoint and ensuring that their opinions are acknowledged and valued. In this way, research promotes inclusivity, diversity, and open communication. Overall, giving voice to the research participants fosters a more inclusive and democratic environment where diverse perspectives are recognized and respected.

Our journey begins by listening to teacher candidates. Nathanaili’s research provides us with great insight into the Albanian preparation of preschool teachers. Utilizing a combination of quantitative content analysis and qualitative focus group interviews, the researcher identifies many challenges facing professional practice for teacher candidates, highlighting their lack of support. After identifying the most prominent findings of the study, the researcher provides various proposals to address the problems directed to institutions of higher education, local communities, and for the Albanian ministry of education.

Teacher candidates in Turkey provide insight into a more specific problem, foreign body aspiration in children. Utilizing quantitative methods, Ceylan and Turan looked into the candidates’ first aid self-efficacy for foreign body aspiration. We are reminded by Bandura (1977) that self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to successfully accomplish a specific task and by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) that we can measure teacher efficacy by asking ‘how much can you do to … ..’ The researchers found that though earning higher-than-average scores regarding knowledge of foreign body aspiration, the efficacy of the teacher candidates was low, which can have detrimental implications for the children under their care in an emergency situation. The manuscript presents strong recommendations to address the problem.

Four of the manuscripts in this issue give voice to ECEC practitioners. Researchers in the UK looked at practitioner inquiry (PI), questioning the role ethics play in PI research and the boundaries between university ethics committees and more practitioner-led research. McNair and colleagues conclude that PI can drive change in our field and highlight the impact that co-created knowledge has on ECEC.

Pedersen et al. examined what characterizes teachers’ interactions with children in micro-level transitions in Norwegian preschools. Their qualitative study acknowledges that interactions can be complex and challenging but important for children’s wellbeing and development. Recognizing that less is known about interaction processes in micro-level transitions in preschool, the researchers investigated what characterizes teachers’ interactions with children. The researchers highlight the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication, cautioning that the relationships formed during transitions are determined by the way teachers move and speak.

A two-year qualitative study conducted in Denmark investigated the effects of structuring programs for continuing professional development around systemic practices. By using an online learning environment that encouraged reflection processes, the practitioners taking part in this professional development actively contributed rather than just acting as passive users of expert guidance. In this context, Walker and Jensen emphasize the importance of cultivating cultures of reflection. Fostering cultures of reflection is essential for continuous improvement, enhanced learning, adaptability, increased self-awareness, effective decision-making, improved team collaboration, well-being, resilience, and fostering innovation.

Practitioners in Sweden voiced concern for children’s home situations. Utilizing a bio-ecological systems framework, Persdotter and colleagues looked at longitudinal data focusing on early indicators of child maltreatment. The quantitative study highlights the importance of recognizing how risk of maltreatment is related to multiple risks factors regarding the child’s development, provides a deeper understanding of the importance of relationships between professionals and families, and alerts us to be aware of how cultural differences between ECEC providers and families can lead to racial disproportionality and disparity in reports of maltreatment. The researchers offer important recommendations. Understanding the home situation that can lead to the maltreatment of children is crucial for early intervention, child protection, tailored support, prevention of recurrence, empowering families, legal action when necessary, public awareness, and fostering community support in the effort to create safe and nurturing environments for children.

Two manuscripts in this issue give voice to parents. Dempsey and colleagues in the UK shed light on how fathers’ and mothers’ adjustments are impacted differently by the firstborn child's move to school. A thorough quantitative analysis brought to light the mother's need for social support during the transition and the necessity of striking a balance between work, family, and school obligations.

Among the many things parents do for their children, reading plays an important role. Kucirkova and Jensen looked at the role of smell in parent-child shared book reading sessions. The verbal interaction between Norwegian families and their three- to five-year-old children while they read an olfactory book was examined in their qualitative study. The researchers list the main ways that shared book reading between adults and children using olfactory storybooks satisfies three language metafunctions related to smell. Smells serve a unique communicative function in shared book readings.

The last three articles in this issue give voice to the young children themselves. Finish researchers examined the transition from home to ECEC. Revilla and colleagues were interested in the first transition to an institutional setting for infants. The qualitative study advances our understanding of ECEC care environments, interactions, and transitions from a relational perspective by talking about the (re)production of space through negotiation.

Eliassen et al. investigated the relationship between later academic achievement and the ECEC program's quality. The Norwegian researchers’ quantitative study results suggest that early social skills act as a mediating factor in the association between process quality in ECEC and later school achievement. Unlike organized activities, the results demonstrate a statistically significant indirect effect of instructional practices on school outcomes through social skills. The findings suggest strategies that help kids in ECEC enhance and grow their social skills may eventually result in improved academic achievement.

The last manuscript in this issue is a qualitative study that also looks at social behavior, but instead of looking at ECEC programs’ quality, the researchers looked at the length of time in attendance at such programs. Specifically, Heikkilä and Reunamo's research addressed the connection between years spent in ECEC and children’s social behavior, and it offers new information about how children’s social behavior evolves. The findings indicate that there are gender variations and a relationship between children's years in ECEC and their social orientations and focal points of attention. Less adaptable orientation was seen in the kids the longer they had attended ECEC. The longer the children attended ECEC, the more dominant their orientation was. After more than four years of ECEC, the children rarely focused their attention on adults or non-social things, instead choosing to focus on multiple children.

I invite you to delve into the profound insights and methodological innovations presented within these pages, in many ways a compendium of cutting-edge studies and scholarly dialogues that traverse the varied landscapes of teaching and learning. Listen to the voices of the research participants, as we have much to learn from them.