research

‘What Matters in Early Childhood Studies Now’ is a three-day colloquium that will be held online on January 27, January 29, & February 1, 2022. Conceived as an open, collaborative and democratic space, this event welcomes panelists, students, early childhood educators, pedagogists, researchers, advocates, policy makers and community members working with and for children across disciplines, paradigms and contexts. It invites responding to -- and thinking with—this question: What matters in early childhood studies now?

Inspired by Liboiron (2020) this event intends to generate knowledge in early childhood studies differently and collaboratively. It seeks to challenge the traditional relationships and hierarchies that often exist between audience and presenters and instead open up a meaningful space of reciprocity for the ‘exchanging’ of ideas and experiences in early childhood studies. 

Registration link HERE

Program

Please join us in dialogue with Fikile Nxumalo (Canada), Dylan Yamada Rice (United Kingdom), Spyros Spyrou (Cyprus), Almina Pardhan (Pakistan), Jóhanna Einarsdottir (Iceland), Junlei Li (United States),  Cristina Delgado Vintimilla (Canada), Walter Omar Kohan (Brazil) and Liselott Mariett Olsson (Sweden). This curation of panels and pairing of panelists who approach their work from various perspectives or paradigms is intended to activate a generative engagement with tensions and ideas that explores the ways early childhood research, advocacy, practice, and knowledge are active in the world and its making. The panelists will engage in dialogue about the following topics:

• Orienting to children’s 21st-century inheritances in order to activate ‘otherwise’ futures, 
• Acknowledging a diversity of presents, situating ECEC in the ‘now’  
• Bridging as worlding - connecting past, present and future to collectively respond through interdisciplinary co-labouring

Exchanging

Prior to the colloquium with panelists, registered audience members will be invited to come together on December 8th, 2021 at 3:00 pm PST for a pre-colloquium gathering hosted on Zoom. In preparation for such gathering, participants will be invited to read and engage with methods from Liboiron's (2020) Exchanging. With that inspiration they will be invited to come together to generate ideas, questions, and curiosities to prepare for the panel conversations that will happen during the colloquium. This preparatory gathering will be an opportunity to collaborate and think deeper about:

• What forms of knowing and being does engaging with reciprocity make possible?
• What might these different ways of doing/relating activate in early childhood conferences? 
• Might we be able to exchange ideas, practices, theories or experiences differently?

The colloquium is organized by The Collective, a group of graduate students, educators, researchers and advocates with a shared interest in early childhood studies, in collaboration with the Canadian Association for Young Children (CAYC),  Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC),  Brock University Child and Youth Studies Department,  Ryerson University School of Early Childhood Graduate Studies Program, and the Centre for Childhood Studies at Capilano University. 

Disruption & Transformation

The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted young children and families, as well as all the systems of care and support for them. Compounding this duress have been the effects and threats of climate change, as well as growing awareness of the impact of social, economic and racial inequities. Further, here in BC, there has been acknowledgement of the additional stressors and barriers faced by families with children with complex support needs.

The 2022 Early Years Conference will focus on the theme: Disruption and Transformation to reflect our changed landscapes and systems. Many services have been forced to make radical changes in how they support young children and families. Many are experiencing burnout. But some have also found power in the possibility, leading to innovation, strengthened relationships with children and families, and stronger connections across communities.

Event overview

Join us virtually on March 1 & 2, 2022 for the Early Years Conference 2022: Disruption and Transformation, where we will reflect on and explore the important but delicate relationship between these two forces. We invite those in the early childhood development, intervention and family support fields to attend the Early Years Conference 2022. We will explore the factors impacting children’s development and family support services during this challenging time.

We are pleased to announce the conference keynotes will be provided by Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth, British Columbia’s Representative for Children and Youth, and Dr. Michael Ungar, Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience and Professor of Social Work, Dalhousie University. We look forward to the opportunity to connect their expertise and insight to the conference theme of disruption and transformation.

Please see below for the ‘At a Glance’ Conference Program. The conference program details will be updated as speakers and sessions are confirmed. Conference registration will be launched in November 2022.

Conference Program "At a glance"

Learning Objectives

During the Early Years 2022 Conference, participants can expect to:

• Review the latest evidence-based research and practice related to child development, early childhood intervention, and family support
• Recognize the impact of disorder and disruption on children and families but also those who support them
• Be inspired – to lead, to innovate and to bounce forward
• Build stronger connections with peers and with the children and families they support

Who Should Attend

This conference will be of interest to all those who work with young children and/or families, including:

• Aboriginal/ Indigenous Early Childhood Development Professionals 
• Administrators/Managers
• Advocacy Organizations
• Behavioural Therapists
• Counsellors
• Dietitians and Nutritionists
• Early Childhood Educators
• Education Assistants
• Families
• Family Development Workers
• Family Resource Program Staff
• Government Representatives
• Infant Development Consultants
• Infant Mental Health Professionals
• Nurses 
• Occupational Therapist
• Oral Health Professionals
• Parent Educators 
• Physicians
• Physiotherapists
• Policy Makers
• Pregnancy Outreach Groups
• Program Facilitators
• Psychologists
• Recreation Therapists
• Researchers
• School Administrators
• Social Workers
• Speech Therapists
• Students
• Support Workers
• Supported Child Development Consultants
• Teachers
• Other