Evidencing practice: re-focusing on children’s flourishing, fulfilment and wellbeing

It still astonishes us to think that the EECERJ has provided an invaluable multi-disciplinary platform for the dissemination of high-quality research into ECE policy and practice for more than 30 years. The Editorial team throughout this time have worked unstintingly to develop the capacity and capability of the ECE research community, its evidence base and the rigour and reach of its methodologies. We believe we have now an established field of study which, as we live through these momentous and challenging times, is making a deep and transformative difference to ECE policy and practice across the world. Yet, despite our sense of achievement and pride in our collective endeavours, as President of EECERA and Editor in Chief of EECERJ, we have to acknowledge that our field has urgent and unfinished work to do as new global challenges confront us. In this joint Editorial, we want to set out an agenda for EECERA and its research community to debate and develop as a first step to transformative action to enhance the lives of our youngest children. Our case is twofold. First, we need to rethink what is the prime purpose of our early education and care programmes and shift our attention to creating the conditions for our children to flourish and have the chance to lead fulfilled lives with a sense of wellbeing. Currently, with an increasing shift to performative programmes and prescribed outcomes there seems less emphasis on these core aspects of life, and little evidence on how children thrive and are empowered. Second, we need to better promote the importance of systematic and rigorous practitioner/ practice-based research evidence, refocusing on context and processes and to raise the visibility and status of the Greek notion of Eudaimonic. In this editorial, we aim to explore how we can be better at identifying, describing and evaluating the Eudaimonic allowing our children to flourish and live with greater fulfilment and wellbeing.