2027: Call for Papers for Thematic Issue

Putting Babies at the Centre: Pedagogies of Care

Issue Editor(s):

• Dr Jane Dorrian, The Open University, UK
• Dr Joanne Josephidou, The Open University, UK
• Dr Eleonora Teszenyi, The Open University, UK

The earliest months and years of life are a period of extraordinary growth, sensitivity, and possibility. During this time, babies form foundational relationships and begin making meaning through embodied, sensory, and relational encounters with the world (Degotardi & Pearson, 2014; Cooper & Quiñones, 2022; Dalli & White, 2015). Early relational experiences, including everyday moments of attunement, touch, and emotional responsiveness, support the development of babies’ emerging sense of self and their capacity to regulate emotions and engage with others (Gerhardt, 2015; Bowlby, 1969). Yet caring for babies remains one of the most misunderstood and undervalued aspects of research and practice in childhood, education, and society (Benoit et al., 2025; Page, 2018).

Despite growing attention to early childhood education, pedagogical discourse often privileges measurable outcomes and developmental benchmarks. The everyday relational, ethical, and affective work of caring for babies is frequently positioned as pre-pedagogical, or indeed merely custodial (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 2013; Noddings, 2013; Degotardi, Page & White, 2017). However, research in infant–toddler pedagogy increasingly highlights the complexity and significance of relational work with babies, emphasising the emotional labour, attentiveness, and professional judgement required of educators working with the youngest children (Elfer, Goldschmied & Selleck, 2012; Johansson & Emilson, 2010). This thematic issue seeks to challenge those assumptions which promote or privilege education over care, by centring pedagogies of care as intellectually rigorous, ethically grounded, and professionally complex practices that are foundational to babies’ learning, development and wellbeing.

Scope and Rationale

This thematic issue will spotlight the relational experiences, caregiving environments, and professional practices that underpin pedagogies of care for babies and infants (birth to two years). We invite contributions that honour babies’ rights, capabilities, and unique ways of being, and that critically examine how care operates as pedagogy in homes, early childhood settings, and community contexts.

We aim to contribute to ongoing efforts toward the professionalisation of infant-toddler work, the reframing of early childhood education and care, and a reconsideration of what caring for babies could and should look like in practice. In doing so, we seek scholarship that disrupts persistent binaries between ‘care’ and ‘education’, and that foregrounds the ethical and relational dimensions of work with the youngest children.

Aims of the Thematic Issue

This thematic issue aims to address the challenges and complex questions surrounding pedagogy and practice for the youngest children in early childhood education and care settings. Specifically, we seek to:

• Elevate care as central pedagogy rather than peripheral labour
• Strengthen the intellectual and professional recognition of infant-toddler educators
• Foster dialogue across disciplines, including education, childhood studies, sociology, psychology, health, and social policy
• Advance critical and generative thinking about what caring for babies makes possible in education and society

Proposed Contributions

We invite a range of early childhood professionals to contribute to this thematic issue dedicated to exploring pedagogies of care and how these manifests in the diverse early childhood care context globally. The thematic issue welcomes contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes and questions:

• Attuned and responsive caregiving as the foundation of early learning and wellbeing, recognising that when working with babies, care is pedagogy,
• Relational pedagogy and emotional labour, with particular attention to key aspects of forming secure relationships,
• Babies’ voices and agency, affirming babies’ rights, dignity, and personhood,
• Professional knowledge, identity and status associated with baby-room practice, and how this is perceived within professional and social spheres,
• Innovative research methodologies for studying babies’ experiences and perspectives.

Submissions may take the form of

• empirical research,
• reflective practice pieces,
• critical theoretical explorations, or
• case studies that illuminate what pedagogies of care might look and feel like.

By bringing these voices together, this thematic issue aims to deepen sector understanding, challenge assumptions about babies and those who care for them, and champion the critical importance of the pedagogy of care.

Contributors are invited to submit proposals that are between 400 and 500 words. Please email these to: jces.editorial@gmail.com and include ‘JCES Thematic Issue: Putting Babies at the Centre: Pedagogies of Care’ in the ‘subject’ line of your email. The authors of selected proposals will be invited to submit a full paper, which will undergo a double anonymous peer review by the editorial board members and external reviewers.

Important Key Dates:

• November 15, 2026: Submit a proposal of no more than 500 words to the following email address: jces.editorial@gmail.com
• January 15, 2027: Abstract proposal decision sent to author/s
• March 31, 2027: First full paper submission due for review.
• November 2027: Anticipated date for publication

 

References

Benoit, A. M., Page, T. F., DiCarlo, C. F., Rueter, D. S., & Grantham-Caston, M. (2025). Quality of infant caregiving, early childhood teachers’ relational perceptions, and infant classroom characteristics. Early Childhood Education Journal. Springer Online. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02073-9

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books.

Cooper, M., & Quiñones, G. (2022). Toddlers as the one-caring: co-authoring play narratives and identities of care. Early Child Development and Care, 192(6), 964–979. https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1080/03004430.2020.1826465

Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (2013). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Dalli, C. and White, E.J. (2015) Group-based early childhood education and care for under 2-year-olds: Quality debates, pedagogy and lived experience. In: Farrell A, Kagan SL, Tisdall EKM (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 36–54.

Degotardi, S., & Pearson, E. (2014). The relationship worlds of infants and toddlers: Multiple perspectives from early years theory and practice. Open University Press.

Degotardi, S., Page, J., & White, E. J. (2017). (Re)conceptualising relationships in infant-toddler pedagogy. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 18(4), pp. 355-361

Elfer, P., Goldschmied, E., & Selleck, D. (2012). Key persons in the early years: Building relationships for quality provision in early years settings (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Gerhardt, S. (2015). Why love matters: How affection shapes a baby’s brain (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Johansson, E., & Emilson, A. (2010). Toddlers’ life in Swedish preschool. International Journal of Early Childhood, 42(2), 171–187. DOI 10.1007/s13158-010-0017-3

Noddings, N. (2013). Caring: A relational approach to ethics and moral education (2nd ed.). University of California Press.

Page, J. (2018). Characterising the principles of Professional Love in early childhood care and education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1459508