ABSTRACT
For the last three decades in Australia, the early childhood landscape has become overcrowded with process and compliance documents, regulatory requirements, and practice imperatives. Organizations have become increasingly risk averse, adding to the expectations of staff and administrators working in early childhood programs. The early childhood curriculum and practice is now under the aegis of government as evidence of their investment in a future successful society and their accountability to taxpayers in funding fee relief support for families who access early childhood programs. Written by a passionate early childhood teacher, this chapter raises a number of questions while exploring issues of contemporary professional practice, including the rights of children to play, to engage in educational experiences, to gain a sense of their own capabilities and sense of self, to have space to think, and to ‘be’. The chapter contains advice for neophyte teachers as well as more experienced early childhood teachers encouraging them to be advocates for the principles of early childhood education, young children and their families, and for the status and standing of early childhood teachers.
