Collaborative for Early Childhood Representation

Representations of the lived experiences of New York City’s (NYC) earliest learners can move us to reimagine the politics of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in our city. The Collaborative for Early Childhood Representation is a group of early childhood caregivers and teachers helping one other make their ongoing work with NYC’s earliest learners and their families accessible to the general public in creatively interactive and critically engaging ways. By creating opportunities for New Yorkers to experience the emotional, relational, cultural and aesthetic dimensions of being an early learner in NYC, we intend to inform and transform the politics of ECEC in NYC—to empower ECEC in NYC to be a locus of democratic politics in NYC. As a collaborative we compare, contrast and consult the ways in which we are as individual teachers and caregivers working with the youngest of children in NYC on representing their lived experiences educationally, artistically and politically. This makes it possible for our individual ECEC practices to be in dialogue and solidarity across our different ECEC settings and contexts and for our public-facing curations of our creative and care-based work with and for NYC’s earliest learners to be inclusive and wide-reaching. Critical feedback from individuals and communities, including ECEC scholars, advocates, policymakers and stakeholders, informs and nuances our understandings of whether our pedagogical and care practices are indeed reflecting the transformative power of ECEC.

“Sharing documentation with this intention [to provoke assumptions, values, and beliefs about how and what children learn] can be seen as a political act—a way to shape public perception of young people, the purpose of schooling, and educational policies.” (Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Approaches in All Schools)