ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0510-2244
Current Organisations
Edith Cowan University
,
Edith Cowan University - Mount Lawley Campus
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Communication Technology and Digital Media Studies | Community Child Health | Early Childhood Education (excl. Māori) | Education Systems | Computer-Human Interaction
Child Health | Learner Development | Expanding Knowledge in Technology |
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2016
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-10-2022
DOI: 10.1177/18369391221130788
Abstract: Early childhood pedagogical practice in primary schools is often challenged by academic demands, debate about best practice and ongoing change through new policy initiatives. This paper reports an investigation of how early childhood pedagogical leaders assist early years teachers in schools to embrace change and embed early childhood pedagogy. Framed within a constructivist epistemology, this paper reports on findings from three case studies drawn from a larger mixed-methods study from Perth, Western Australia. Data collected through shadowing pedagogical leaders, undertaking contextual interviews and analysing school documents revealed that pedagogical change was promoted, encouraged and sustained through a number of strategies. These included utilising early childhood ch ions, developing relational trust with staff, establishing communities of practice and empowering teachers as decision-makers. This paper highlights the critical role early childhood pedagogical leadership can play in recognising the professional capability of early childhood teachers to drive ongoing improvement in school contexts.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-12-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-02-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S40723-023-00107-6
Abstract: This national study explored the role of digital technologies in early childhood education and care settings and whether they could contribute to quality improvement as reported by educators and assessors of quality in Australia. In this paper, data from Stage 2 of the Quality Improvement Research Project were used, which comprised 60 Quality Improvement Plans from educators linked with 60 Assessment and Rating reports from the assessors who visited early childhood centres as part of the administration of the National Quality Standards by each of Australia’s State and Territory jurisdictions. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory ( Bronfenbrenner, U. (1995). Developmental ecology through space and time: A future perspective. In P. Moen, G. H. Elder, Jr., & K. Lüscher (Eds.), Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development (pp. 619–647). American Psychological Association. 0.1037/10176-018 Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, Bronfenbrenner and Ceci, Psychological Review 101:568–586, 1994) was adopted to facilitate a systemic and dynamic view on the use of digital technologies in these 60 ECEC settings. References (e.g. comments/ suggestions/ ex les) made by the educators about the implementation of digital technologies were counted and thematically analysed. Results revealed the strong role new technologies (e.g. documentation and management platforms, tablets, apps, etc.) play in the majority of ECEC settings and especially in relation to three of the seven Quality Areas: Educational programme and practice (Quality Area 1) Collaborative partnerships with families and communities (Quality Area 6) and Governance and leadership (Quality Area 7). Future directions for research are suggested and implications for embracing a more holistic, integrated and broad view on the use of digital technologies are discussed.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S13384-018-0270-2
Abstract: Stories appear frequently in the Australian media regarding parent and teacher perceptions and attitudes towards the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy. However, thorough empirical investigations of parent perceptions are sparse. This study presents a survey of 345 parents across Years 3 and 5 from a s le of Independent schools in Western Australia. A representative s le of teachers from these schools were also surveyed in order to compare and contrast parent and teacher perspectives about the transparency and accountability associated with testing, the usefulness of results for helping in idual students, and the perceived clarity of communication of results. Findings reveal mixed positive and negative views that reside within an overall prevailing low opinion of the testing. Some ways for improving the perception of the testing with the general public are discussed.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-02-2021
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 09-2018
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Date: 2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-06-2021
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2016
DOI: 10.1177/183693911604100405
Abstract: IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, EARLY childhood educators have been asking whose agenda does early childhood knowledge serve and for what purpose? This has come to the forefront of debate as play as a pedagogical tool is disappearing from programs for four- and five-year-old children in favour of early academics through a pushdown curriculum. Such a trend was confirmed from research conducted with 200 Western Australian early years educators (mainly teachers) to discuss their most concerning early childhood pedagogical issue. This paper describes the educators' most significant concern, which was the erosion of play-based learning and the tension about the use of play as a legitimate pedagogical tool in early years programs. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about current moves in early childhood education. The knowledge shared by educators has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years and impacts on children, educators, parents and schools, and in particular, early childhood pedagogy.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Date: 31-01-2015
Abstract: The Hairytales of Heroboy programme was implemented in two communities, one metropolitan and one regional, in Western Australia in 2012. The programme, which targeted the reading skills of six- to nine-year-old children, aimed to encourage them to read for pleasure, to build their reading confidence and to improve their literacy skills. The programme was managed by librarians in each community who made contact with children in their local schools to encourage their participation. Teachers in the local schools were provided with
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 09-2018
Abstract: THE POLITICAL IMPERATIVE that underscores the quest for continuous improvement and quality provision of early childhood education and care in Australia has seen the unparalleled development of a federal policy framework for children's services. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a National Quality Framework (NQF) and, as part of this, the National Quality Standard (NQS) was developed to drive continuous improvement and set a national benchmark for the provision of children's services outside the schooling sector. The Western Australian Minister for Education required not only prior-to-school children's services to meet the NQS, but also the early years of school that cater for children aged four years to eight years (Kindergarten to Year 2). This research project followed the journey of four schools that implemented the NQS in 2016, in the first year of mandatory use. A case study approach using qualitative methods of in idual and focus group interviews of principals, teachers, teaching assistants and Department of Education consultants was undertaken. The data was analysed by the coding of common themes and by completing a cross-case synthesis. Leadership was the most common theme for successful implementation of the NQS. This paper reports on the aspects of leadership across multiple layers that represented the involvement of Department of Education consultants, principals and staff at four public schools. Essentially, the NQS increased staff power and agency, and united their vision for continuous quality improvement that contributes to the national quality agenda for children.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-05-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S13384-021-00446-8
Abstract: From 2016, all Western Australian schools were mandated to implement the National Quality Standard (NQS) in Kindergarten through to Year 2. Over the first year of implementation, this mandate had varying degrees of success in adoption. This study examined four schools which were identified as having implemented the NQS. A qualitative methodology was employed to examine those factors that supported implementation. A key finding was the integral role played by distributed leadership in adopting new initiatives. Using Activity Theory to conceptualise the data, it was found that psychological ownership was a key factor in enabling distributed leadership. Ownership was enabled when community differences were acknowledged, and time was given for the NQS tool to be reassessed and reconfigured as one’s own. Once staff had psychological ownership, they were more likely to support implementation of the NQS. This study has implications for leaders and those implementing the NQS or other initiatives in schools.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 09-2018
Abstract: THE INTEGRATION OF MINDSET THEORY into classrooms can assist children in optimising academic achievement, increasing their agency for learning. The development of a growth mindset allows children to exercise autonomy over their learning, helping them to develop positive lifelong learning habits for the twenty-first century. This paper explores early childhood teachers’ perspectives of mindset and the role of a growth mindset in developing children's agency for learning. Despite increasing research in this field, little is known about the perspectives that early childhood teachers have of mindset. This paper reports on the data from a study that describes teachers’ perspectives towards fostering a growth mindset in children in the early years of school. Ninety-five Western Australian early childhood teachers from Kindergarten to Year 2 completed a survey that examined their perspectives of growth mindset. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about what teachers believe about mindset, and their ability to implement it. The information shared by teachers has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-01-2023
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Date: 2013
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-11-2023
DOI: 10.1177/18369391221139912
Abstract: ‘We’re not useless, we know stuff!’, said a four-year-old when asked why adults should ask him what he thinks about his experiences at his early learning centre. This paper describes the literature and methods used to gather children’s voices in early childhood and education (ECEC) settings across Stage 1 and 2 of the 3 stage national Learning Frameworks Update project. Asking children about their ideas and experiences was undertaken by familiar educators using research tools designed and supported by the research team. The methods of dialogic drawing, talking circles and visual elicitation were described and further explained to enable educators to gather children’s perspectives on their learning experiences in ECEC contexts. We reflect on the efficacy of these methods, approaches and strategies to support meaning-making from a erse representation of children and how this can influence policy decision-making.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 22-10-2020
Abstract: This paper reports on findings from four case studies, as part of a large-scale study undertaken to evaluate the KindiLink initiative across Western Australia in remote, regional and metropolitan communities. KindiLink is an educator-led playgroup initiative in public school sites in Western Australia targeted at Aboriginal children and their families. KindiLink aims included the cultivation of Aboriginal families’ and children’s developing sense of belonging and engagement at their local primary school. A constructivist paradigm was used to describe the subjective experiences of in iduals, which was important to ascertain if the aims of KindiLink had been met. To complement the meaning-making of the experience, qualitative data were collected via detailed studies of four KindiLink sites to capture similarities and differences of the settings and gain depth of experience through the voices of the participants. The study found KindiLink successfully connected Aboriginal children and families to schools and built a sense of belonging and productive relationships between families, staff, school and the community in a culturally safe space. Furthermore, KindiLink developed the capacity and confidence of parents as their children’s first teachers and supported the home learning environment. The Aboriginal Indigenous education officer in each programme was critical to the engagement of Aboriginal families and acknowledgement of cultural aspects important to children’s growing cultural identities. The relationships built between KindiLink staff and families, and between families, were important for children’s and their families’ growing sense of belonging to the school, which assisted participation at school.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2023
Start Date: 02-2021
End Date: 02-2028
Amount: $34,934,592.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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