ABSTRACT
“Seeing over the wall” is a thought Loris Malaguzzi offered to gesture to the recognition that deep understanding comes from seeking a variety of perspectives (Reggio Children, 2001). In recognizing Ontario’s colonial history and related deficit educational practices, this chapter outlines complex views of children, families, educators, communities, and education that counter these colonial legacies. These views are keystones for the recently established Provincial Centre of Excellence for Early Years and Child Care where educators, children, families, communities, instructors, leaders, and researchers are invited to collaboratively reimagine early childhood education as spaces for democratic possibilities. With the goal of growing a politicized system of education that is responsive at every level to pedagogies of children’s cultures and to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015b), the Centre is designed to grow a provincial pedagogist network by working intensively with educators, families, and communities in pedagogical hubs across the province.
