In this article, the authors interrogate the use of 'belonging' in Belonging, Being and Becoming: the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF), Australia's first national curriculum for early childhood education and care settings and, from the authors' interrogation, possibilities are offered for thinking about and working with the EYLF in critical and transformative ways. In order to scaffold their interrogation, the authors develop a cartography of understandings of belonging drawn from diverse disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. The cartography highlights multiple, interconnected dimensions (ways of belonging) and analytical axes (dynamics and politics of belonging). The analysis indicates direct or implicit reference in the EYLF to many dimensions of belonging, but an apparent silence about the politics of belonging. The authors argue that the silences should not be interpreted as apolitical, but rather as a strategic response to political pressures shaping the EYLF's development.

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framework for guiding curriculum and pedagogy in all early childhood settings. In this article, several core members of the Charles Sturt University-led Consortium contracted to develop and trial the EYLF outline the political and policy context that has shaped its development; the intent and approach of the Consortium; and some of the many 'decision points and dilemmas' (Westbury, 2007) they encountered. The article concludes with reflections on lessons learned and implications for early childhood curriculum development.

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Thirty years after the dismissal of the Whitlam Government, the Australian political, economic and social landscape is dominated by discourses of economic rationalism. The reification of market forces presents challenges for early childhood professionals seeking to establish a viable future trajectory for children's services that includes universal access to affordable, high-quality centre-based long day care services. This article argues that political activism, grounded in critical imagination, critical literacy and critical action, can assist in addressing this challenge.