Being in this together: Improvising imaginaries of professionalism through care collectives

This article critically reimagines professionalism in Ontario, Canada's early childhood education and care sector, where dominant constructions of professionalism are shaped by neoliberal, patriarchal, and colonial logics that depoliticize and devalue early childhood educators’ work. Historically, professionalism has been tied to surveillance, credentialization, and quality-control mechanisms that obscure the lived experiences of a predominantly feminized and racialized workforce. In response, the authors explore the emergence of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario's CARE Collectives—activist communities rooted in a feminist ethics of care and collective leadership. Originating from a campaign for decent work and professional pay, the CARE Collectives offer an alternative vision of professionalism grounded in relationality, emotion, and community-based activism. Drawing on narratives from Collective leads, the authors trace how these groups create spaces where professionalism is not imposed but co-created through embodied, affective, and ethical practices. This article moves beyond critique to propose professionalism as a dynamic, relational process—one that values collective becoming and affirms the political and pedagogical possibilities of care. Through this reconfiguration, the authors contribute to a growing movement to reclaim professionalism as a site of resistance, imagination, and transformation.