This study seeks to develop a more nuanced understanding of how English language teacher educators navigate the tensions between and across institutional expectations, the Chilean sociopolitical landscape, the increasing diversity and their pedagogical choices as they construct their professional identities. By examining how these educators negotiate and resist the hegemonic discourses and practices embedded and embodied in language teacher education, such as the valorisation of native-speakerism, the devaluation of local knowledges, and the erasure of multilingual realities, this study highlights the centrality of cultivating linguistic ideological clarity. Such clarity is essential for challenging entrenched power structures and reimagining more equitable, inclusive, and contextually responsive language education. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 English language teacher educators across diverse regions of Chile, this study examines the ideological tensions, professional negotiations, and acts of resistance enacted by teacher educators who critically engage with linguistic ideological clarity. The findings reveal that while English remains framed as a tool for social mobility, teacher educators actively problematise its association with dominant ideologies and normative systems and structures. This study advances a new term, that of ‘ideological agency’, which contributes to a growing body of work that foregrounds language teacher educators not only as curriculum implementers, but as ideological agents capable of unsettling taken-for-granted assumptions embedded in national education discourses. By making visible the ideological work undertaken by Chilean educators, this research calls for a reimagining of language teacher education as a space for critical hope, justice-oriented praxis and transformative identity development.

Gender mainstreaming in rural development aims to integrate gender perspectives into all policies and programs to address systemic inequalities. However, its implementation often falls short, perpetuating stereotypes and failing to dismantle structural barriers to gender equality. This chapter examines the importance of gender equality for transforming agrifood systems, with a focus on women entrepreneurs in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Using the case of traditional fermented foods, it explores the challenges and opportunities for improving women's opportunities within food value chains. Specifically, we highlight the disconnect between policy rhetoric and practical outcomes, emphasizing the need for localized gender-responsive policies addressing intersectional socio-economic factors. We argue that gender mainstreaming requires integrating gender considerations into policy design, implementation, and monitoring, while empowering women as active agents of change. By addressing structural barriers to gender equality, such as discriminatory land tenure systems and inequitable market access, gender-responsive policies can foster inclusive and equitable agrifood systems.

This introduction situates Learning for Wisdom in Early Childhood and Primary School Education: Children’s Perspectives and Pathways within contemporary debates about childhood, education, and human development. Challenging deficit models that often confine wisdom to adulthood, and instead affirming children’s capacity for developmentally appropriate, relational and culturally situated engagement with wisdom. Drawing on philosophical, psychological, and cultural traditions, the chapter frames wisdom as a multidimensional process integrating cognitive, emotional, social, and ethical dimensions. Outlining six thematic parts, the chapter explores emergent wisdom in early childhood, narrative and experiential pathways, emotional and relational growth, dialogical encounters between learners and guides, and holistic approaches to whole-person development. Cross-cutting themes highlight the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy, experiential learning, and relational ethics. The introduction concludes by positioning learning for wisdom as a transformative educational aim that equips children to navigate complexity with discernment, compassion, and integrity, and sets the stage for the volume’s exploration of how wisdom can be cultivated from the earliest years of schooling.

This book explores how wisdom can be cultivated through learning in the early years and primary schooling. It brings together diverse traditions and practices, showing how children’s encounters with nature, stories, and community can nurture curiosity, resilience, and ethical awareness, resonating across cultures and generations.

The chapters weave together case studies and approaches that highlight the richness of learning for wisdom. Philosophical inquiry into wisdom can develop a child’s social, imaginative, cogitative, cognitive, intellectual, moral, emotional, and spiritual skills – helping to bring their sense (and sensitivity) of wisdom to life in practice. Forest-based education demonstrates how outdoor environments foster imagination and ecological responsibility. Bibliotherapy illustrates the power of stories to support emotional growth and empathy. Social-emotional learning and whole school initiatives show how communities can embed wisdom into everyday practice. Perspectives from Australian Indigenous traditions emphasise relationality and respect, while Chinese approaches highlight continuity, moral formation, and dialogue. Together, these examples span geographical and temporal contexts, offering readers a tapestry of methods that connect ancient insights with contemporary classrooms, and practical strategies like the Wisdom Wheel.

Accessible and inspiring, this collection is designed for educators, researchers, and general readers seeking fresh ways to enrich early years and primary education. By weaving together diverse traditions and practices, it offers groundbreaking insights into how learning can cultivate wisdom – transforming early years and primary education into a foundation for lifelong flourishing.

Its sister volume, Teaching for Wisdom in Early Childhood and Primary School Education: Educators’ Practices and Pedagogies, demonstrates how educators can nurture children's curiosity, ethical reflection, and resilience in the early years and primary schooling.