Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Education: Policies, Practices, Interaction, and Development

Dear Colleagues,

Linguistic and cultural diversity has become a defining feature of early childhood education in many parts of the world. Increased mobility, migration and global interconnectedness mean that growing numbers of young children are exposed to more than one language in their homes and communities. Early childhood institutions are, therefore, important spaces where multilingualism and multicultural experiences are encountered, negotiated and supported in everyday interactions. Understanding how children, families, educators and policymakers respond to these changes is essential for developing inclusive educational practices and effective language policies.

At the same time, the expansion of multilingual early childhood environments presents both challenges and opportunities. Educators are expected to support children’s acquisition of the language of schooling while also recognizing the value of home languages and cultural identities. Families seek guidance on how to maintain their linguistic heritage while facilitating their children’s participation in educational systems. These developments make early multilingual education an important area of inquiry for both researchers and practitioners, particularly as educational institutions seek approaches that promote linguistic inclusion, equitable learning opportunities and positive developmental outcomes for young children.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate recent advances in research on linguistic and cultural diversity in early childhood education. It brings together contributions that examine how multilingualism is addressed in educational policy, classroom practice and family–institution collaboration. Particular attention is given to the ways in which language ideologies, institutional frameworks and everyday interactions shape children’s language development in multilingual settings. The collection also explores how early childhood institutions respond to the needs of linguistically diverse families and how educators develop strategies for supporting children who grow up with multiple languages.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Language policies and frameworks in early childhood education
• Linguistic and cultural diversity in early childhood learning environments
• Multilingual development in early childhood
• Interactional practices in multilingual classrooms
• Translanguaging and language choice in early learning contexts
• Collaboration between families and early childhood institutions
• Educators’ beliefs, identities and pedagogical practices in multilingual settings
• Professional development for educators working with multilingual children
• Children’s language awareness and peer interaction in multilingual contexts
• Community and institutional support for linguistic diversity in early education
• Inclusive practices supporting home languages and languages of schooling
• Methodological approaches to studying multilingualism in early childhood education

Dr. Maria Yelenevskaya
Dr. Ekaterina Protassova
Guest Editors

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• multilingualism
• linguistic diversity
• early childhood education
• bilingual development
• language policy
• inclusive education
• material environment