Reflective practice and teacher agency in intercultural early childhood education: bridging policy and practice

This paper examines the role of reflective practice as a mediating link between intercultural education policy, curriculum frameworks, and classroom practice in early childhood education. Drawing on contemporary theories of intercultural pedagogy, teacher learning, and professional agency, the study focuses on the Greek Early Childhood Curriculum (2023), which foregrounds inclusion, diversity, and democratic values. Despite this policy emphasis, the enactment of intercultural principles in everyday pedagogy remains uneven. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study is based on semi-structured interviews with early childhood educators working in culturally diverse settings. The findings indicate that reflective practices support educators in critically examining their assumptions, negotiating curricular expectations, and exercising professional agency in responding to cultural diversity. However, structural constraints, including limited institutional support and prescriptive policy frameworks, continue to shape and, at times, restrict such agency. The study argues that reflective professional practice is central to bridging the gap between policy and practice and to fostering inclusive and participatory early childhood environments.