Coda: Thinking forward - diversity and context

Everything is a result of interactions between the world children inhabit, their families and those myriad individuals who are integral parts of the child’s education, care and development. How and what the child learns is dependent upon the wider community, its culture and the way governments develop policies and systems intended to develop useful learning opportunities. Authors and editors ask questions about differences in power, collaborative working, policy formation, diverse child-rearing practices, and how change has occurred and is being managed “on the ground”. Authors and editors introduce difficult questions about the ways children are encouraged/expected to learn. The presence of diversity in early childhood education, care and development represents both challenges, and opportunities.