Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and p ....Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and play.Read moreRead less
A multi-modal investigation of current and proposed structures and processes determining and sustaining quality in Australian centre-based child care. Access to good quality government-regulated child care is a national policy direction, underpinned by Australia's quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms, and based on evidence that high quality care positively affects children's developmental wellbeing. Of concern is that care of poorer quality is linked with adverse outcomes, especially f ....A multi-modal investigation of current and proposed structures and processes determining and sustaining quality in Australian centre-based child care. Access to good quality government-regulated child care is a national policy direction, underpinned by Australia's quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms, and based on evidence that high quality care positively affects children's developmental wellbeing. Of concern is that care of poorer quality is linked with adverse outcomes, especially for more vulnerable children. The effective provision of high quality care requires a thorough understanding of the structures and processes that contribute to and sustain quality outcomes. The results of this study will provide invaluable information to guide the decisions of policy makers and service providers in determining new directions in child care quality assurance.Read moreRead less
Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for you ....Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for young children. It plans to theorise new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education, articulate innovative pedagogies, and inform national and international policy and practice to address 21st century learning imperatives.Read moreRead less
Attracting, preparing, and sustaining quality teachers in early education. This project aims to address the chronic shortage of early childhood teachers in Australia, which is compromising quality and return on investment in early education. The project expects to generate new understandings about this specialist teacher workforce through an innovative, ecological, longitudinal design that will track early childhood teachers’ career trajectories and develop a world-first tool to assess early chi ....Attracting, preparing, and sustaining quality teachers in early education. This project aims to address the chronic shortage of early childhood teachers in Australia, which is compromising quality and return on investment in early education. The project expects to generate new understandings about this specialist teacher workforce through an innovative, ecological, longitudinal design that will track early childhood teachers’ career trajectories and develop a world-first tool to assess early childhood teacher quality. Findings are expected to inform policy— including the Australian Government-endorsed 10-year national Workforce Strategy and the Australian Government's Early Years Strategy— to support the future sustained supply of a quality early childhood teacher workforce and improve outcomes for young children.Read moreRead less
Continuity and change in curriculum and pedagogies as children start school. This project considers the impact of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum on transition to school in Australia. Through extensive interviews and surveys, it gathers evidence to influence theoretical, policy and practice approaches to transition to school and, hence, the future schooling of all Australian children.
A sound start: innovative technology to promote speech and pre-literacy skills in at-risk preschoolers. One in five Australian preschoolers have speech impairment and without specialist services face an increased risk of reading difficulties and life-long consequences. Given that demand for services exceeds supply, this project will determine if a preschool computer-based service can promote speech development and reduce risk of reading difficulty.
Reconceptualising early mathematics learning: The fundamental role of pattern and structure. The critical shortage of mathematicians, statisticians and scientists in Australia today can be traced in large part to inadequacies in early mathematics learning. Many students fail to achieve a basic understanding of mathematics, although the subject is crucial to participation in a technology-based society and the building of a knowledge culture. The innovative program for the first year of formal sc ....Reconceptualising early mathematics learning: The fundamental role of pattern and structure. The critical shortage of mathematicians, statisticians and scientists in Australia today can be traced in large part to inadequacies in early mathematics learning. Many students fail to achieve a basic understanding of mathematics, although the subject is crucial to participation in a technology-based society and the building of a knowledge culture. The innovative program for the first year of formal schooling, to be developed and tested in this study, will provide a much firmer foundation for later development. The project will enhance the achievement of national numeracy goals by enabling a high quality, effective mathematics education for all Australian children. Read moreRead less
How the allocation of children's time affects the stimulation of cognitive and non-cognitive development. In a 2008 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, more than seven percent of Australian children have fewer than 11 books in their family home, Australia ranks in the bottom third of OECD nations for infant mortality and 21st out of 27 for children eating meals with their parents. The Rudd Government is committed to a child-centred approach to family policy. In ....How the allocation of children's time affects the stimulation of cognitive and non-cognitive development. In a 2008 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, more than seven percent of Australian children have fewer than 11 books in their family home, Australia ranks in the bottom third of OECD nations for infant mortality and 21st out of 27 for children eating meals with their parents. The Rudd Government is committed to a child-centred approach to family policy. In this study we investigate the allocation of Australian children's time and its effect on their cognitive and non-cognitive development. Cognitive and non-cognitive development is crucial to the future wellbeing of a child and therefore to the wellbeing of the nation.Read moreRead less
Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next ....Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next step in the development of an Australian evidence base for professional home visiting: a key strategy for the delivery of services to promote the health and development of young Australians. The findings of this study will have significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.Read moreRead less
Promoting healthy eating, active play and sustainability awareness in early childhood curricula: Addressing the Ben10™ problem. A pedagogical communication strategy has been developed to allow early childhood educators to design curriculum interventions that support children’s learning about healthy eating, the importance of active play and the sustainability consequences of their food and toy selections. The aim of this study is to conduct a randomised trial to evaluate the efficacy of the curr ....Promoting healthy eating, active play and sustainability awareness in early childhood curricula: Addressing the Ben10™ problem. A pedagogical communication strategy has been developed to allow early childhood educators to design curriculum interventions that support children’s learning about healthy eating, the importance of active play and the sustainability consequences of their food and toy selections. The aim of this study is to conduct a randomised trial to evaluate the efficacy of the curriculum interventions, developed by teachers using this pedagogical communication strategy, on children’s knowledge about healthy eating, active play and the sustainability consequences of their food and toy selections. This project connects strongly with the learning outcomes of the National Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum to be implemented in 2014.Read moreRead less