Praxis in early childhood research with infants and educators

As emerging literature reflects, praxis is an important and useful concept for thinking about the many aspects of early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood research. In this article, I seek to contribute to discussions about praxis in ECE as a valuable concept for meeting the ethical challenges that arise in participatory research involving both infants and educators. I argue that research with infants necessitates particular ethical and transformational thinking and action. Research with infants and early childhood educators adds further complexity, and requires a balancing of ethical considerations for all those involved in the research. Using the theory of practice architectures as both a conceptual and analytical framework, I reflect on how particular cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements shaped (and were shaped by) my research practices while undertaking my doctoral study. I discuss how the practice architectures that prefigured the project enabled opportunities for praxis, and propose theoretical and practical implications.