The colonial history of the South Pacific resulted in generations of South Pacific Island children being educated in what is fundamentally a western system, aiming to prepare them for employment in what is increasingly becoming a western economic environment. In recent years this environment has become strongly influenced by neoliberal ideology which positions children as human capital, the employable citizens of the future. Accompanying this is a growing post-colonial movement which positions Indigenous values and practices as crucially important in shaping the identity of children. Part of this is the process of recognising that Indigenous knowledge has an important place in Indigenous nations. It is in this context that citizens in many previously colonised nations are attempting to develop their own early childhood policies and systems in order to deliver the kind of services and support that will best achieve their vision for the future. In this paper we explore the understandings of early childhood professionals in the South Pacific. These professionals are the leaders, and future leaders whose work will shape the way in which early childhood services develop over the following years. Thus their understandings provide an indication of the ways in which the tensions between western neoliberalism and Indigenous post-colonialism may be enacted in the context of South Pacific nations.

The aim of the editorial is to share research insights in early childhood with parents, families and the community in a manner that is accessible. I take the most recent research on issues relating to families with young children and discuss the implications of these for Armidale families.

The aim of the editorial is to share research insights in with families and the community in a manner that is accessible. The impact of regionality is a key focus in this new interpretation of research as is interpretation of the impact of neoliberalism on education, educational policy development and ultimately on citizenship.

In recent years, war has affected many civilians. More than 24 million people worldwide were displaced from their homes because of wars in 1996 (Machel, 1996). Half of the displaced people are children, who are particularly vulnerable to increased risk factors associated with displacement. Risk factors include physical danger (shelling, sniping, land mines), limited access to food and water, separation from parents, high levels of violence, substance abuse, illness, rape, prostitution, sexual molestation and mutilation, trafficking, and conscription. Such risk factors continue to exist in refugee camps. The arrival of peacekeeping troops does not lessen all the risk factors. Increased rates of child prostitution, and subsequent HIV infection, are often the result of living in areas occupied by peacekeeping troops (Machel, 1996).

The aim of the editorial is to share research insights in with families and the community in a manner that is accessible. The impact of regionality is a key focus in this new interpretation of research as is interpretation of the impact of neoliberalism on education, educational policy development and ultimately on citizenship.

Indigenous peoples around the world are struggling to create their own, unique early childhood system that reflects their cultural values and supports their dream of raising their children to proudly wear their own cultural identity. In this research, we share the work being undertaken by Pacific early childhood professionals. The study is part of a larger study across several nations which aims to explore early childhood professionals' understanding of their path towards professionalisation. We suggest that there are numerous obstacles that impede this work, one of which is what appears to be limited awareness amongst those very professionals needing to lead the agenda, of the nature of the obstacles in their path. The values and practices arising from neoliberalism are hegemonic, and it is easy for those living under their influence to perceive this way of being as the only legitimate way of being. We used social constructionism and a narrative-based online survey to collect our information and present it using a narrative framework (focused around a popular children's song that emphasises how to face challenges in life).

In this article, we propose to critique the way in which a hegemonic understanding of quality in early childhood settings is imposed upon practitioners, families and children through legislated quality assurance processes. The reality of neoliberalism is played out in the establishment and maintenance of the Australian early childhood quality assurance processes as they operate up to 2015, and the definition of approved qualifications for those working in early childhood. In both cases a tightly defined, top-down approach is used to assure quality. This has the effect of limiting flexibility and de-professionalising the work of early childhood professionals. It is our contention that in this neoliberal climate, early childhood practitioners have failed to construct their arguments in ways that could be better understood by outsiders to the profession; instead they are focusing on how best to be compliant. Challenging these hegemonic positions may even be perceived as being 'anti-quality' and not in the best interests of the early childhood sector. We analyse the current context in Australia (which reflects international trends) and explore possible strategies to re-empower the early childhood profession.

The aim of the editorial is to share research insights in early childhood with parents, families and the community in a manner that is accessible. I take the most recent research on issues relating to families with young children and discuss the implications of these for Armidale families.

The aim of the editorial is to share research insights in early childhood with parents, families and the community in a manner that is accessible. I take the most recent research on issues relating to families with young children and discuss the implications of these for Armidale families.

Food security and insecurity is more than a primary production-related issue. The food security-related policies and actions decided upon and implemented in Australia today will continue to have wide-reaching impacts on health and wellbeing for future generations of Australians. This chapter is written as a result of a dialogue between the four authors, Foskey, Avery, Brunckhorst and Sims; each bringing different disciplinary and professional perspectives. All four authors have extensive experience working in interdisciplinary environments. Such interdisciplinary approaches are vital in responding to 'real world' issues that defy 'easy categorisation' (Jacobs and Amos 2010, p. 2). The authors began an 'epistemologically oriented' (Huutoniemi et al. 201 0, p. 85) conversation focused on theory-building at the intersection of different disciplines, a process acknowledged as playing 'a vital role within the repertoire for producing knowledge' (Zahra and Newey 2009, p. 1061). The goal of this iterative conversation has been to synthesize knowledge across disciplinary boundaries in order to develop an interdisciplinary model of food security (a process outlined in MacMynowski 2007).