About SJIEC
Social Justice In Early Childhood (SJIEC) is a not for profit, politically active organisation working for social justice issues pertaining to the lives of children. It’s members consist of early childhood teachers and educators, consultants, academics, researchers, managers, community people, and those generally interested in the rights of children. The group is Sydney based with national and international members.
SJIEC runs an annual conference titled “Throwing the baby out with the bathwater”, and other affordable professional learning opportunities. In 2017, the inaugural Anti-Bias Awards were presented and the annual award is now announced at the conference each July. Our activist work includes a range of political campaigns. Lobbying across political parties is central to the group’s success.
The SJIEC Foundation
The SJIEC Foundation is and isn’t new. The SJIEC group began in the International Year of Tolerance during the Early Childhood Australia Conference in Sydney in 1995 – the same year that Barb Creaser and Elizabeth Dau’s first edition of The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood was published.
You can read about our history here on the website and in Chapter 22 of The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood 3rd Edition.
Given the close relationship between SJIEC and The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood, when Elizabeth Dau asked Dr Red Ruby Scarlet to edit a long awaited third edition of the book, we saw an opportunity to bring the fruits of this book and the movement it began, together with the equally potent work of the SJIEC group, in order that the work could continue and expand.
In 2017 the SJIEC Foundation was set up by Dr Red Ruby Scarlet and Mr Nicholas Stewart of Dowson Turco Lawyers following the publication of The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood 3rd Edition (2017) published by Multiverse Publishing. The SJIEC Foundation was established with the support of generous donations by most of the contributing authors to The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood 3rd Edition (2017) who waived contractual payments for their contributions to the book.
The SJIEC Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation. We are currently in pursuit of DGR status, and donations are not tax deductible at this stage. We have no paid staff. All of our work is undertaken by the Board in collaboration with volunteers on various projects.
The 2023/24 board:
Fabulous Chair: Dr Red Ruby Scarlet
Fabulous Treasurer: Stephen Gallen
Fabulous Secretary (and Public Officer): Catherine Sansom
Fabulous Board Member: Sarah Louise Gandolfo
Fabulous Board Member: Dr Rachel Chapman-Bellamy
Fabulous Board Member: Alistair Gibbs
Fabulous Board Member: Liz Cohen
If you would like to be involved in the SJIEC Foundation events or projects please contact us by email: info@sjiec.org
The purpose of the SJIEC Foundation is to create resources pertaining to anti-bias, social justice and equity for little or no cost. Material produced by the Foundation may be published on social media for public consumption. If organisations would like to reproduce any of the content they can contact the Board for permission via email foundation@sjiec.org
SJIEC sells anti-bias merchandise in our online shop. If you’re not a fan of a ‘tee or tote’ but you’re committed to children and children’s rights – you might like to make a donation to the SJIEC Foundation to continue its work – click on the DONATE NOW button below.