Early Childhood Education

Professional development for educational change: building inclusive and culturally responsive practices


Liz Chesworth (Principal Investigator) and Elizabeth Wood (Co-Investigator)


This knowledge exchange project builds on our previous research on curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education (ECE), and related publications. In 2021 we received funding from the Froebel Trust to undertake a collaborative research project with early years educators in a multi-diverse primary school. The aim of the project was to explore how approaches to curriculum, teaching and learning can recognise and build on children’s knowledge, skills and interests from their diverse home practices and life contexts. The project challenged deficit assumptions about minoritised children in policy, and identified educators’ knowledge of inclusive and culturally responsive practices.

Our current project has received ESRC IAA funding and focuses on sharing our research with early years educators. We want to show that diverse languages, cultures and communicative practices are important resources for children, for teachers’ curriculum decision-making, and for play, creativity and learning.

In the words of one of our teacher partners, "Children do amaze you and in some contexts they have so much rich vocabulary and understanding" (project participant)

Over the past few months we have been working with educators to produce digital resources that demonstrate how teachers incorporate children’s knowledge and interests in inclusive curriculum planning and pedagogical decision-making. Over the next few months we will be collaborating with the UK charity, Early Education, to disseminate the resources to primary schools and early years settings via a national online event, a website, social media and blogs.


Our project website, Curriculum Making in the Early Years, will be published very soon. Educators will be able to explore how equity and responsiveness can be integrated into a dynamic process of curriculum making that values play, playfulness and diversity. We start from the premise that all children should have access to - and time for - freely chosen play to build complexity in their learning and social relationships. We value the capabilities, knowledge and skills that all children build through informal learning experiences at home. Taking a positive focus on children’s interests, communicative practices and diverse life experiences provides an alternative to narrowly-framed education outcomes.


Early years educators will be able to use the website to access resources to:

  • Identify children’s interests to inform curriculum planning - understanding children as knowledgeable experts in their own lives.

  • Consider curriculum planning and decision-making that incorporate children’s interests, knowledges and diverse home practices.

  • Promote equality and diversity through inclusive and culturally responsive practices to support children’s progress and achievements.