Paulo Freire in ECE: Towards a critical understanding and alternative narratives

Abstract

This article explores critical understanding and alternative narratives within early childhood education (ECE) by drawing on Paulo Freire's ideas. Building on existing literature on how Freire's work has been interpreted in ECE, we continue the critical discussion on the possibilities and contextualization of Freire's ideas, particularly in the early childhood profession and workforce. We offer a reinterpretation of the pedagogy of hope and its crucial role in supporting a just and sustainable ECE workforce, emphasizing the potential for transformative changes in the field. Through a multi-year, cross-cultural ethnographic study in the US and China, we analyze teachers’ internal voices, counter-narratives, and intersectional dynamics through a Freirean lens, focusing on the well-being of early childhood professionals in culturally diverse communities.