Advancing Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood Education

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on advancing inclusive practices in Early Childhood Education (ECE), with particular attention to how educators, leaders, families, allied health professionals, and broader systems can effectively support the learning, participation, and wellbeing of all children. Inclusion in ECE extends beyond ensuring access to educational settings; it involves creating responsive, equitable, and meaningful learning experiences that recognise and value the diverse strengths, identities, abilities, and lived experiences of every child.

We invite empirical, theoretical, and practice-based contributions that explore innovative approaches to inclusive pedagogy, curriculum design, educator preparation, leadership, and professional learning. The Special Issue also welcomes research that critically examines the systemic, cultural, and policy contexts that enable or constrain inclusive practice within early childhood settings.

Of particular interest are manuscripts that investigate strategies for supporting children with additional needs, those who have experienced adversity or trauma, and children from culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse backgrounds. We particularly encourage contributions that examine how educators, allied health professionals, families, community organisations, leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders collaborate to implement, support, and sustain inclusive practices in early childhood education. Studies highlighting interdisciplinary approaches, partnership models, family engagement, and system-level support for inclusion are especially welcome.

By bringing together diverse national and international perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to advance knowledge of effective and sustainable inclusive practices in early childhood education. It aims to inform policy, practice, and future research while strengthening the capacity of educators and other professionals to create environments where all children experience belonging, participation, and opportunities to thrive. Ultimately, the Special Issue contributes to broader efforts to promote equity, social justice, and high-quality inclusive education for all children across diverse early learning contexts.

Dr. Masud Ahmmed
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.