Early Childhood Care and Education in a Complex World: Supporting Agency, Diversity and Inclusion

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is becoming increasingly diverse in its form, purpose and quality within and across countries, catering to diverse communities and families. Advances in research challenge us to view infants, toddlers and preschoolers as curious and capable learners, who seek out playful human interactions, initiate opportunities and exercise agency to experience the world around them.  While adults are to protect children from harm, our role is also to ensure that children today can flourish and learn in ways that will enable them to become guardians and changemakers in an evolving world.

The Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association (PECERA) 2026 Conference encourages all of us to contribute towards a regional conversation about how ECCE systems can:

• Continue to improve in ways to support national priorities, yet promote learner agency; and

• Share innovative curricular and pedagogical strategies and/or theoretical principles that could improve supports for playful learning among neurodiverse and socio-culturally different learners