This issue of the International Journal of Early Childhood (IJEC) is the first under my editorship. I wish to thank sincerely the previous editor, Eva Johansson, for her leadership of IJEC across the last six years. The position of an editor can be daunting because of the constant and various demands that require attention. Eva has handled these demands with her characteristic composure and skill. Anita Berge has been the IJEC secretary assisting Eva for the last few years and she has also been a key person in ensuring that review and publication processes for manuscripts were managed efficiently.

I am sure that there are many reasons why people agree to be editors. I find this editorial opportunity a privilege. IJEC provides a voice for the work of OMEP so that the published articles can advocate for the well-being and the rights of children across the world, especially their access to early learning and educational opportunities. At a personal level, as an editor, there is an opportunity to obtain a broad view of what current international research is being conducted in early childhood fields. At a professional level, I can have some impact on the nature of knowledge generated through early childhood research. It is an interesting process to have a new manuscript arrive on my ‘desk’ and consider the contribution that it can potentially make to new knowledge for policy and practice that can support children within, and across, different national contexts.

The most important part of an editorial role is to guide the development of manuscripts through to publication with the assistance of the IJEC Associate Editors and reviewers. When a manuscript is published, it can be as satisfying an experience as seeing one’s own work online or in print. It is very important to serve the early childhood research community with the papers published in IJEC by ensuring that the articles represent a diverse range of voices globally and encompass diversity in the theoretical perspectives and research methodologies, as well as ensuring that papers accepted for publication meet quality research standards.

This issue presents nine original research articles on diverse topics, compiled with the assistance of Katrina Meldrum, my IJEC secretary, at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The papers included in this issue were submitted by authors with affiliations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Italy, and the United States. Three articles report significant international collaborations (i.e., Finnish and Brazilian researchers, Chinese and US researchers, and Italian and US researchers).

Four articles (Rutanen et al.; Lemay et al.; Stratigos et al.; Puroila & Estola) have a content focus on children less than three years of age in early education and care contexts. They present diverse methodologies and theoretical positions. One of the papers with an international collaboration authored by Cecconi et al. examines the value of utilizing an early childhood program assessment instrument as a tool for in-service professional development and this was trialled in Italy. In another international collaboration, the paper by Fees et al. examines the current perceptions of educational philosophies and practices of kindergarten teachers in China. Soini et al. report research on the nature of 3-year-old children’s physical activity levels in childcare settings in Finland. The paper by Grace et al. explores the views of families in disadvantaged communities in Australia about the barriers and facilitators to participation in early childhood education and care services. Peng and Md-Yunus consider whether early elementary school students in Taiwan, who had received Montessori early education, had higher school achievement than students who attended non-Montessori elementary programs.

The representation of articles in the current issue of IJEC from different national contexts illustrates the reach of IJEC across the world.