ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the authors aim to acknowledge and exemplify a number of philosophical and political threads of thinking and action which speak of the men they knew and which have been interwoven throughout collaborative work with John. There are five threads of thinking and action in John Bennett’s work. The first thread is his internationalism and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Starting Strong project. The second thread is his European cultural project, European Early Childhood Education Research Association and the EU. The third thread is his equality, social justice and solidarity through policy, publications and cross-border work. The fourth thread is his cross-paradigmatic and multi-perspective ways of knowing, seeing and constructing knowledge about quality ECE. The fifth and final thread is John's deep cultural life, explorations, dialogues and experiences. The Greek word is polymathes, 'having learned much' with poly meaning 'much', and manthanein meaning 'learn'.