Promoting equity in an early years context: the role of participatory educational teams

This article presents an alternative participatory pedagogy in Early Years as a contribution to the promotion of equity and social justice for children, particularly those from ethnic minorities and low income families, enhancing their chances of educational success. The development of mass education was implemented in many countries by centralised educational systems through curricular uniformity that assumed cultural homogeneity. The increase of cultural diversity in current societies and schools make this bureaucratic assumption grossly inadequate for educating children in a school for all. To counteract this strategy, the Childhood Association, supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, has been developing a participatory pedagogy in Early Years alternative contexts, entitled Pedagogy-in-Participation. This article presents the development of participatory professional teams within this pedagogical perspective as a means to promoting equity and social justice. The initiative requires substantial investment in building up the capacity of the entire workforce to work with all type of diversities, including ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.