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In this case study I explored the dilemmas of three early childhood care and education (ECCE) teachers in a poor community in the Cape Flats of Cape Town, South Africa during COVID-19, and how they used these dilemmas to transform their teaching. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and data was collected through a semi-structured interview and thematically analyzed. Ethical clearance was secured from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Mezirow's transformative learning theory was used as an analytical framework for the study. In particular, Mezirow's concept of disorienting dilemmas was used to engage with the dilemmas the ECCE teachers were confronted with during the pandemic. Further, his concept of perspective transformations was used to analyze how the ECCE teachers engaged with these dilemmas to transform their teaching. Findings show that while ECCE teachers' faced disorienting dilemmas of digital inequity and of children's interactive play, they also adopted alternative roles and actions as they engaged in dialogue and shared negotiations, ensuring that the functioning of the ECCE centre would continue in solidarity with the children and parents. These findings have important implications for how local government provide financial and digital support for poor communities during times of crisis.

This study is part of larger South African project funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training and EU which focused on how practitioners listen to young children in early childhood care and education to encourage a sense of belonging and participation. The study was conducted at two early childhood care and education centres, one advantaged and one disadvantaged, where practitioners were interviewed about their views and experiences of listening to children. Data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The study found that practitioners were keenly aware of the importance of listening to young children, thereby democratising pedagogical spaces and validating children's right to participate. Their views highlighted the link between listening and encouraging a sense of belonging. Furthermore, listening with regard to being relational, responsive and encouraging agency were viewed as tools to support and encourage belonging. The study also highlights the complexity of asserting children's voices in pedagogical spaces (due to factors related to time and curriculum constraints).

Background: Internationally and nationally, reflective practice is suggested as a tool to inform quality teaching and learning. In South Africa, the quality of education is in the spotlight as schoolgoing children continue to perform poorly. This article investigates reflective practice in Grade R teaching. It explores teachers' understanding of reflective practice to inform their practice to support learners having a positive first year of formal schooling. Aim: The aim of this study was investigate the knowledge and understanding of Grade R teachers about reflective practice. Setting: Two Grade R teachers in one school in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town participated in the study. Methods: An interpretivist case study using semi-structured interviews and document analysis informed the findings. Thematic analysis revealed common themes to explore the knowledge and understanding of Grade R teachers regarding reflective practice. Results: The teachers interviewed demonstrated a tacit understanding of reflective practice. They described it as an innate aspect of their teaching. Their knowledge and understanding are theoretical and there is no evidence of reflective practice in the documents used to inform their teaching on a daily basis. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the participants use reflective practice innately. Support by the school and the Department of Basic Education through professional development has the potential to encourage the use of reflective practice for quality teaching and learning.

It is imperative that children's participatory rights are supported and therefore it is incumbent upon adults genuinely to listen to them and take their views seriously. However, 28 years into a democratic South Africa and children's participatory rights are not fully actualised and implementation seems to be problematic in early childhood education. The purpose of this article was to explore 13 final-year student teachers' understandings about children's participatory rights in the Reception Year (Grade R) and how these understandings influence their practice using Lundy's model of participation and Honneth's theory of recognition. A qualitative approach was applied, and data was collected through a focus group interview that was undertaken online. The data revealed that student teachers had a limited understanding of children's participatory rights but aligned more towards children's protection rights. Additionally, whilst the participants related the concepts of Lundy's model of participation to mainly pedagogical scenarios that lacked children's genuine participation, the participants gave children the recognition to building their self-confidence, self-respect and self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores parents' perceptions of their children's belongingness in early childhood care and education (ECCE) centres. It stems from the unexpected findings of a transformative ECCE pedagogy research project, which was characterised by multicultural, multiracial and varied economic conditions. As such, the authors expected controversial parental perceptions of the quality of the care and education their children experienced in these centres. However, this was not the case. Drawing on the theory of salutogenesis and its key concept, namely a sense of coherence, parents' responses about their children's early learning and well-being across diverse ECCE contexts were overwhelmingly positive. This prompted the question: what was it in these centres that allowed parents to experience a strong sense of belonging and such positive sentiments concerning their children's sense of well-being? This phenomenological study was informed by the narratives of 19 parents, collected through the transformative pedagogy project, set in rural and urban situations, and at well-resourced and under-resourced centres. Findings reflected four identifiable themes. Firstly, parents favoured the diversity of influences at the centres, viewing these as rich opportunities for their children's development and learning. Secondly, parents felt a strong conviction that the ECCE teachers were genuinely concerned about and sensitive towards their children. Thirdly, parents believed that their children were learning playfully in safe, loving spaces, and fourthly, parents were confident that their children were happy in the centres. These findings are particularly welcomed in the ECCE space, which is often demoralised and marginalised within the broader schooling system. Transdisciplinarity Contribution: The article shows that quality early childhood learning and teaching can take place across disparate contexts, be they urban or rural, well-resourced or under-resourced. This study identified factors that led to parents perceiving that their children experienced happiness and a sense of belonging in different centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]