Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a particular focus, relevant to international pedagogies as a provocation and outlines the associated political, socio-cultural and ethical Early Childhood Education challenges. It explores how questioning is the first step to disrupting thinking and self-awareness of biases and assumptions so new ways of seeing can be enabled. The book focuses on four key aspects of wider contemporary issues that have impacted on global childhoods. These are: children’s health and well-being, child poverty, English as an Additional Language and inclusion of migrants and intercultural perspectives. The book examines the distinctive philosophical, theoretical and practical interpretations of each looking at the contextual historical, socio-cultural and current political influences, using case studies and narratives to illustrate links between theory, research, policy and practice.