An overarching theme in this issue of Early Childhood Folio is the challenge for teachers of responding to the growing diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand society. In this issue, tribute and commentary is paid to Marie Bell as an inspirational educator and advocate. Authors in this issue argued for teachers to critically examine their own values and practices and keep informed about current theory and knowledge. These sentiments align well with Marie’s staunch views that teachers need “to understand and keep up to date with knowledge about the way young children learn and develop and grow”.

This issue of Early Childhood Folio takes the reader from a big-picture debate about the place of play in the curriculum to a close-up view of an infant’s experience in an early childhood centre. Another article explores cross-cultural questions in research into how Chinese parents see New Zealand early childhood education, and  there are insights into how children encounter te ao Māori from their early childhood centre situated in the heart of the national museum, Te Papa. Plus, a narrative inquiry approach to wellbeing and an exploration of working theories—described here as the  “neglected sibling” of Te Whāriki’s learning dispositions. This issue also features an interview with renowned child advocate Jane Ritchie, in the first of a new series of interviews with people whose research has made a difference in early years education.