Afterword

The pandemic has shone a spotlight on the fragilities of the ECEC sector in so many ways. It has revealed the inequalities that exist for children and families. The sector, however, is speaking back. A significant development in pandemic times, seen since the apartheid era in South Africa, is the mobilisation of the ECD workforce to advocate for change. Court cases, protest actions, forming of advocacy groups, demanding participatory actions, and insertion into key decision-making bodies are now a feature of the ECD landscape in South Africa. The lack of professional recognition of the ECEC workforce has echoed loudly around the globe. COVID-19 has highlighted the already existing issues of fragmented differences between ECEC programs – the split between children aged birth to three years compared to ECEC programs provided for children aged 3–6 years typically known as preschools or kindergartens.