Currently, there is a growing enthusiasm both nationally and internationally regarding the significance of early childhood as a phase of intense developmental leaps and pivotal decisions that shape a person's future. Children are thus seen as factors for the future and are considered the primary and most important recipients of the new socially invested welfare state. As a result, questions about effective and appropriate (social) pedagogical professionalization are increasingly coming into focus and are the subject of interdisciplinary scientific and political discussions about early childhood. This volume addresses this diagnosis of the times and aims to critically and reflectively examine and illuminate the dominant interpretative patterns regarding approaches to early childhood as well as the current challenges of (social) pedagogical professionalization.