Reconstructing Early Childhood Teacher Identity in Changing Educational Landscapes: Future Directions for Language Education

Abstract

This chapter discusses how early childhood teacher identity is reconstructed in the context of changing educational landscapes, especially related to language education. It states that given the interplay of migration, multilingualism and inclusion in education as also neurodiversity, digital transformation or AI and policy accountability, teachers can no longer remain as mere caregivers or instructors. Instead, early childhood teachers must learn to be multilingual advocates and inclusive communicators, relational pedagogues and ethical designers of digital mediation as agentic professionals. Bringing together teacher identity theory with discussions in language education, inclusion and technology, the chapter argues for a multidimensional approach to teacher education and professional development in future oriented early childhood contexts. Copyright © 2027, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global Scientific Publishing is prohibited. Use of this chapter to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited. The publisher reserves all rights to license its use for generative AI training and machine learning model development.