Introduction—Language in context: positioning young children's language and literacy learning within place, community and culture

The early childhood years are a critical period for the development of language and literacy skills. While human beings are born with innate neurological dispositions that enable the development of language and literacy skills, young children’s language development cannot be divorced from the context in which it takes place. Context, in every sense, is inextricably intertwined with young children’s language and literacy learning opportunities. By applying an ethno-methodological approach to child-educator interactions, Amanda Bateman and Aste Cekaite explored how literacy expectations in early childhood curricula in Sweden and New Zealand are implemented through talk-in-interaction between children and educators. In many respects, the roles taken up in the assessment context were consistent with socially expected roles of teacher and student. Collectively, the papers represent a multi-theoretical and multi-methodological approach to understanding and appreciated the situatedness and diversity of young children’s language and literacy experiences.