Curricular justice through relationships: what can we learn from early childhood?

This article contributes to emerging conversations on curricular justice by foregrounding the practices and possibilities within early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Drawing on data from intensive case study research in an Australian preschool in a high-poverty area, we analyse two relational vignettes that illustrate how curriculum work is shaped through everyday encounters between educators and families. Using Indigenist methodologies and the Theory of Practice Architectures, we examine the conditions – material, discursive, and relational – that support or constrain justice-oriented pedagogical practice. Rather than framing justice as an individual disposition or a technical intervention, we locate it in the arrangements that make responsive, inclusive practice possible. The analysis highlights how deep listening, recognition, and trust are central to curriculum making, particularly in contexts marked by structural inequality and cultural marginalisation. We argue that curricular justice in ECEC is a situated, ongoing practice requiring systemic support, conceptual clarity, and sustained engagement with the diverse lifeworlds of children and families. Implications are identified for both the ECEC field and broader education systems seeking to move beyond surface-level inclusion towards relational and structural transformation.