Language for learning: Developing learning-oriented talk in long-day-care. This study aims to identify, for the first time, key features of infant-toddler long day care (LDC) environments that support or constrain the development and use of language as a critical tool for early learning. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating early LDC predictors of preschool language skills, and will deliver much-needed new evidence to inform LDC pedagogy and curriculum development and ....Language for learning: Developing learning-oriented talk in long-day-care. This study aims to identify, for the first time, key features of infant-toddler long day care (LDC) environments that support or constrain the development and use of language as a critical tool for early learning. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating early LDC predictors of preschool language skills, and will deliver much-needed new evidence to inform LDC pedagogy and curriculum development and practice and, ultimately, to improve long term educational outcomes. This will provide significant benefits, such as improving the quality of infant-toddler LDC programs, which stands to enhance children’s learning and life-long outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100365
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,000.00
Summary
Creating better futures for children through effective parent education. Children born into circumstances of socio-economic disadvantage are at risk of missing out on the developmental, educational and social opportunities that give them the best possible start in life. By helping parents in disadvantaged families to cope with adversity, parent education services can mitigate these risks, build resilience in families, and change children's prospects for the future. This project aims to identify ....Creating better futures for children through effective parent education. Children born into circumstances of socio-economic disadvantage are at risk of missing out on the developmental, educational and social opportunities that give them the best possible start in life. By helping parents in disadvantaged families to cope with adversity, parent education services can mitigate these risks, build resilience in families, and change children's prospects for the future. This project aims to identify the most effective ways that parent educators can create lasting positive impacts for families. This project also aims to find out what needs to change to make these best practices more widespread and cost effective, including learning from study of low-cost community-based services.Read moreRead less
Optimising the quality of long day care: Early childhood teachers' perceptions of the impact of regulation. This study will investigate long day care teachers' perceptions of the cumulative impact of statutory, regulatory and other externally determined requirements on their capacity to provide the quality of care essential to young children's well being, development and healthy start to life. By seeking teachers' views about how to address mounting concerns about balancing public accountability ....Optimising the quality of long day care: Early childhood teachers' perceptions of the impact of regulation. This study will investigate long day care teachers' perceptions of the cumulative impact of statutory, regulatory and other externally determined requirements on their capacity to provide the quality of care essential to young children's well being, development and healthy start to life. By seeking teachers' views about how to address mounting concerns about balancing public accountability and professional autonomy, the study recognises their potential to contribute actively to policy-making. Outcomes will include guidelines to inform policy development by major stakeholders (e.g., government departments, employers, industrial unions); suggested strategies for policy implementation; and resources to facilitate teachers' professional decision-making.Read moreRead less
Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the int ....Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the inter-relationship between the technologies and imaginative play - the renowned developmental force in the early years. By utilising theoretically based criteria, and considering the perspectives of children and their families, this study will develop principles for developmentally sound use of tablet technologies in children's digital play.Read moreRead less
Young children in digital society: An Online Tool for service provision . This project aims to identify the practices enacted and shared amongst young children, their families and educators in digital society.The project is significant because in digital society families and educators face new demands ensuring technologies are used in the best interests of young children. Knowledge about practices in digital society informs adult decision-making using technologies with, by and for young children ....Young children in digital society: An Online Tool for service provision . This project aims to identify the practices enacted and shared amongst young children, their families and educators in digital society.The project is significant because in digital society families and educators face new demands ensuring technologies are used in the best interests of young children. Knowledge about practices in digital society informs adult decision-making using technologies with, by and for young children in the early years. The outcome is a new Online Tool for the Partner Organisations to share exemplar practices benefiting Australian children, their families and educators with new resources, materials and programs in areas including: digital media production, cyber-safety education, digital play and digital parenting.
Read moreRead less
Investigating educator-infant talk and infant-peer interactions in Long Day Care. Very young children’s participation in language rich experiences form a foundation for their subsequent learning and wellbeing. Most studies focus on mother-child interactions but this project analyses the conditions for rich interactions in long day care centres, specifically educator-infant talk and infant-peer communication. High quality infant childcare can provide a buffer against social and educational disadv ....Investigating educator-infant talk and infant-peer interactions in Long Day Care. Very young children’s participation in language rich experiences form a foundation for their subsequent learning and wellbeing. Most studies focus on mother-child interactions but this project analyses the conditions for rich interactions in long day care centres, specifically educator-infant talk and infant-peer communication. High quality infant childcare can provide a buffer against social and educational disadvantage and, with one in four Australian infants attending long day care centres, our findings will provide evidence-based knowledge to support best practice in infant pedagogy and curriculum. Strategies to promote the best possible infant care and education will ultimately strengthen our nation’s human capital.Read moreRead less
Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative ....Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative teaching and learning solutions for individuals, workplaces and education providers; particularly higher education. This project should provide significant benefits for a national policy on lifelong learning to address Australia’s agile skills development needs.
Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100412
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,376.00
Summary
Self-regulation in children. This project aims to reconcile insights from education and cognitive psychology to develop an integrative model of self-regulation and evaluate it using a low-cost self-regulation intervention compatible with existing practices. Children with low self-regulation in the preschool years are likelier to have poorer intellectual, health, wealth and anti-social outcomes in adulthood. However, this knowledge has not yet yielded a framework for understanding self-regulatory ....Self-regulation in children. This project aims to reconcile insights from education and cognitive psychology to develop an integrative model of self-regulation and evaluate it using a low-cost self-regulation intervention compatible with existing practices. Children with low self-regulation in the preschool years are likelier to have poorer intellectual, health, wealth and anti-social outcomes in adulthood. However, this knowledge has not yet yielded a framework for understanding self-regulatory change, nor generated particularly successful methods for enacting this change. This project is expected to provide theory- and evidence-based strategies for parents, educators and governments to give young children the best possible start in life.Read moreRead less
Quality in adult-child interactions during digital experiences. This project aims to address the digital phenomenon with young children by investigating possibilities for adult-child interactions, guidance for educators and ways to measure quality in interactions. The project intends to influence how mobile technologies and applications are created and used in early childhood contexts. Expected outcomes include theory and evidence-based guidelines for adults about how to interact with children d ....Quality in adult-child interactions during digital experiences. This project aims to address the digital phenomenon with young children by investigating possibilities for adult-child interactions, guidance for educators and ways to measure quality in interactions. The project intends to influence how mobile technologies and applications are created and used in early childhood contexts. Expected outcomes include theory and evidence-based guidelines for adults about how to interact with children during digital play. The findings may have implications for educators and families supporting children’s digital experiences as well as app designers creating digital opportunities. The project can therefore contribute to a global agenda focused on young children and technology.Read moreRead less