Editorial

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.

(Nelson Mandela 1995)

The inspirational words above were the opening lines of President Nelson Mandela at the launch of the Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund in 1995 in South Africa. Mandela's struggles in childhood, his lived experiences in a generation abused by society, his revolutionary stance towards apartheid and his achievement as the first black president in South Africa offered him sufficient perspectives to make the connection between the social construction of society and its implications for nurturing children.

In a troubled society ravaged by social injustice he argued that children should be the highest priority for nation building. They are an essential part of the human project for society to perpetuate and renew itself. Taking into account the vulnerabilities of childhood, Mandela advocates that careful attention be paid to the priorities set for children. In order to guide this important process he notes that ‘our actions and policies, and the institutions we create, should be eloquent with care, respect and love’ (Mandela 1995, 1). He calls upon all in society – government, institutions and organised sectors in civil society to give direction to change. As people act for children, about children, and not forgetting with children, transformation of society happens.

The global relevance of Mandela's insights has implications for the way we view educational reform, values to be transmitted, policies for children and actions of all those that act on behalf of children and with them. The changes in political, social, cultural, economic climate as well the research focus in child development and early education, shapes what happens to young children and their families. At this point in our history early education is featuring as a critical intervention for all children through universal and targeted interventions. These are at different stages with a focus on different age groups in early childhood in countries in the majority and the minority worlds. The models of provision and priorities for early education also differ taking into account contextual realities.

The present edition of EECERJ has a variety of articles from different countries which provide engagement with issues related to educational priorities for young children in different contexts. These can be loosely grouped into three themes, namely, a paradigmatic shift to a child-oriented perspective and its implications for pedagogy and curriculum planning, content and skills for early education and professionalism in early childhood education.

Two articles are devoted to examining the focus on child participation and the complexities that arise. Sommer, Samuelsson and Hundeide argue that in shaping quality early childhood education there is no ‘Rolls Royce’ of programmes that can claim superiority. They note how powerful discourses influence practice in particular historical times. Their article draws attention to particular features and aspects of current discourses that can be used to implement children's right to education. In particular they use the concepts of child perspective and children's perspective to show the importance of adults/teachers understanding of child development, childhood in contemporary times and sensitive supporting of children in their quest to make sense of their life world.

Whilst many marvel at the Reggio Emilia approach at enabling a child perspective paradigm, however Hočevar, Kovač Šebart and Štefanc lay bare some of the shortcomings in the approach by examining assumptions of a preplanned curriculum and children's participation. They make salient the idea that in a complex society curriculum planning is defined not only by priorities set at grassroots by children, their teachers and parents but also by broader agendas that govern preschool education. They also contend that the subordinate position of children, places limits on their participation. A reality check on child participation means that children must be educated to understand the boundaries of democratic participation. The authors argue that the Reggio Emilia approach can be strengthened by paying attention to the gaps in their assumptions.

The next three articles focus on content and skills in early childhood education. The first two are strong in advocating for soft borders whilst the last one advocates for a skill specific in a particular content area. Neumann and her colleagues review evidence on letter and numeral identification and their relationships with early literacy and numeracy skills. They note that children's exposure to numerals and letters in their surroundings especially through environmental print afford opportunities to name symbols, learn about symbols and differentiate between them. In keeping with the emergent and integrated ways in which children learn, studies show a correlation between early numerical and letter identification. The authors suggest practical strategies to help young children with numeral and letter identification. Carlsen from Norway provides another example of blurring content areas to promote learning. He uses framings of learning and development from a socio-cultural perspective to create an activity for teaching mathematical concepts through a popular fairy tale in kindergarten. He uses the metaphor of orchestration which includes the context of a fairytale, questions and specific tools to show children's engagement in mathematics. This approach requires thorough planning in advance.

The focus on children's thinking in science education comes to the fore in a study by Ravanis and colleagues who researched teaching activities for the construction of a precursor model of thermal expansion and contraction of metals. This study was carried out with five- and six-year-olds in Greece. It illustrates how specific science activities when approached in a systematic way, offer opportunities for children to describe, predict and explain a phenomenon. In tracking children's thinking in four stages, this study shows how close attention to children's engagements can lead to making meaning of their reasoning abilities. Strong teaching support and integrated instructional design are important to consider to stimulate children's cognitive abilities.

The next four articles focus on three tiers of professionals in the early years, namely, pre-service, practicising teachers and leaders. Murray's article examines the nature of professional identity formation for a group of students who were part of the pilot Early Years Professional Status in England. The study shows that as future graduate leaders of practice and change agents in Children Centres the students were actively engaging with external and internal expectations to construct their professional identity. The motivating force of passionate care featured as a critical base for constructing their identity and a broader purpose beyond the narrow confines of their own goals.

In continuing teacher education Varol reports on a study on kindergarten teachers' beliefs towards learning and teaching and their instructional practices in the context of kindergarten education becoming compulsory in Turkey. Teachers were supported by a curriculum which required them to set up learning environments as well as plan and execute challenging and developmentally appropriate activities. The interviews revealed that teachers had weak understandings of the multiple dimensions (material, people, programmes) that were important for enhancing young children's learning. The observation of practices revealed that a significant amount of time was spent out of task (e.g. transitions) and limited time was spent on instruction in the subject areas. In the quest to produce quality teachers for the early years their positions as lifelong learners is essential.

Also in continuing teacher education Page and Elfer foreground the emotional dimension of nursery work with special reference to the complexities of attachment interactions with children under three in an English Children's Centre. It is interesting to note how the attachment-based practice of the staff was shaped by an intuitive approach based on personal experiences rather than theoretical ideas and practical guidelines. This points to the importance of recognising how momentary incidents and vulnerabilities form part of the lived experiences of staff working with very young children.

In examining leadership Heikka and Hujala stretch the imagination of the concept beyond what individuals do. Their article reports on a Finnish study which examined stakeholders' perceptions of leadership responsibilities through the framing of contextual and distributed leadership in seven municipalities. Data produced through focus group interviews indicated that both quality improvement and pedagogical leadership were perceived to be the main responsibilities for leadership. Whilst there were varied practices in the distribution of responsibilities for leadership, there is a lack of strong interdependent enactments between the different stakeholders in the municipality system. The interdependency is necessary for shared responsibility towards sustainable improvements and having greater capacity to deal with changes.

As an advocacy stance for early childhood education in the context of weak political will, Loizou provides insights into setting a framework for an early childhood research laboratory at the University of Cyprus. She uses her personal experiences, struggles to get buy-in and dilemmas to show how she conceptualised and operationalised the research laboratory. Drawing on the theoretical framework of communities of practice and supportive ideas of apprenticeship in thinking she presents the laboratory as a place of mutually connected activities with different target groups involved in research, training and service.

All the articles in this issue go some way towards illuminating priorities for young children. Through the paradigmatic focus on children we learn a little more about their capabilities but also how their limitations can be strengthened through thoughtful actions of adults. The insight into content and skills shed light on areas of focus and actions that can enhance children's development and learning. Professionals who work directly with children and advocate for them have an enormous task. For those on the ground Kagan (2011, 541)) warns ‘little children don't miss a trick, they want to learn, and they do learn.’ Young children demand optimal performance from their teachers. Teachers should have high expectations and clarity of focus and so should leaders, advocates and government officials. A multi-pronged approach which includes partnerships and favourable systemic conditions would go a long way in supporting Mandela's call for making children the highest priority for nation building and I would add global citizenship.