Communing to re-imagine figured worlds

The importance of community has been widely recognised in the field of early childhood education, however the various ways it has been conceived, together with taken-for-granted notions of education, have made it difficult to actualise the processes involved in contextually meaningful ways. This article draws on cultural models theory to explore educational leaders’ re-imagining and re-designing of early childhood educational learning communities in a range of diverse settings. The examination of processes and artefacts used to promote democratic identities and agency highlights the significance of establishing shared principles, sociality, and challenging power relations to engaging in processes of communing that are contextually meaningful, sustainable and democratic. Refereed/Peer-reviewed