Aistear: a journey without a road map

In Ireland, there is currently an unprecedented policy focus on education and care for children in the years before compulsory schooling. This policy focus is warranted. We know without question that high quality early childhood education and care reaps measurable gains in thinking and social skills for all children. In addition, studies have demonstrated that for those young children living with the injustice of poverty those gains are even greater. These benefits are primarily determined by early childhood educator knowledge and understanding of child development and learning, providing appropriate cognitive challenge; strategic planning for a wide range of curriculum experiences; and the quality of educator-child verbal interactions through open-ended questioning, meaningful conversations and extension of children’s language and thoughts (Siraj-Blatchford, Sylva, Muttock, Gilden, & Bell, 20021)