Building a More Inclusive and Globally Engaged Early Childhood Research Community

The International Journal of Early Childhood (IJEC) aims to bring the global early childhood community together to facilitate exchange of research knowledge. Its purpose is to contribute to scientific debate and research in early childhood fields of practice in early education and care. Articles published in this journal have a primary focus on children aged from birth to eight years.

As Editor-in-Chief of IJEC, Prof. E. Jayne White has become a leader focused on strengthening the journal as a platform that supports researchers across career stages. Her approach has prioritized rigorous, constructive peer review, expanded opportunities for diverse methodologies, and greater visibility for work from different parts of the world. For researchers, this translates into a more supportive publishing environment, clearer pathways to publication, and increased opportunities to engage with a broader scholarly community.

In recognition of this impact, she was awarded the Editorial Impact Award for 2025, reflecting her contribution to shaping and supporting the field through scholarly publishing.

Through a renewed emphasis on editorial collaboration, outreach, and inclusivity, IJEC has begun to rebuild momentum. These more inclusive efforts are helping to re-establish the journal as a trusted venue for high-quality research, while also making it more accessible to emerging scholars and those working in underrepresented contexts.

In conversation, Jayne highlights how her research explores the ways children are positioned as learners, particularly through visual and sensory dimensions of experience. By working across technologies, philosophical traditions, and dialogic approaches, she encourages researchers to consider new methods and perspectives. This has practical implications for the field: it supports innovation in research design, enriches pedagogical understanding, and invites more nuanced interpretations of early childhood practice.

Leading a journal in a rapidly evolving research landscape also brings challenges that resonate widely across the research community. Jayne points to ongoing perceptions about early-years scholarship and the need to broaden acceptance of diverse methodologies. She also emphasizes the importance of supporting researchers in developing publishing literacies, an area that is particularly relevant for early career researchers navigating increasingly complex expectations around academic publishing.

A key theme in her approach is collaboration. By drawing on the strengths of authors, reviewers, and editors, she aims to create conditions where contributors are set up to succeed. For researchers, this means more constructive feedback, stronger mentorship through the review process, and a clearer sense of how their work can contribute to ongoing debates in the field.

Building a structured and scalable editorial ecosystem

IJEC’s development has been shaped by a deliberate emphasis on inclusive and worldwide distributed expertise and clearly defined editorial roles. With the support of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP), this has led to the expansion of Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members covering the full breadth of the field. Together, this structure ensures that manuscripts are handled with appropriate subject-matter depth, enabling more informed assessment and more constructive peer review.

Engaging with the journal

For researchers working in early childhood education and related disciplines, engagement with IJEC extends beyond submission alone. Opportunities include contributing to open calls for papers and thematic collections, participating in peer review, and collaborating across disciplinary and geographic boundaries.

• Explore current content and initiatives via the journal homepage
• Contribute to open collections
• Get in touch to share ideas or explore collaboration opportunities

Ultimately, the trajectory of International Journal of Early Childhood reflects a commitment to advancing early childhood research as a collaborative, inclusive, and methodologically diverse field. IJEC’s editorial team, with the support of OMEP, is helping to strengthen connections across researchers, enhance the quality and accessibility of published work, and ensure that the journal continues to serve as a meaningful platform for scholarly exchange and impact. When supported by clear structure, disciplinary expertise, and an engaged community, a journal becomes more than a venue for publication, it becomes part of the infrastructure that shapes the field itself.