ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7267-9978
Current Organisation
Southern Cross University
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Research Topics
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.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Specialist Studies in Education | Early Childhood Education (excl. Māori) | Education Systems | Developmental Psychology And Ageing | Psychology | Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators | Special Education and Disability | Special Education | Teacher Education: Early Childhood | Educational Policy, Administration And Management | Developmental Psychology and Ageing
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Early childhood education | Learner and Learning Achievement | Equity and Access to Education | Moral and Social Development (incl. Affect) | Pedagogy | Learner and Learning Processes | Learner Development | Teacher and Instructor Development | Education policy | School/Institution Policies and Development | Special Needs Education | Special education |
Related Links
Publications
Re-conceptualizing executive functions as social activity in children's playworlds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Playworlds as an evidenced-based model of practice for the intentional teaching of executive functions
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 23-10-2022
A shared reading intervention with parents to enhance young children's early literacy skills
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-12-2013
How Does Initial Teacher Education Research Frame the Challenge of Preparing Future Teachers for Student Diversity in Schools? A Systematic Review of Literature
Publisher: American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Date: 14-12-2021
Abstract: Teachers consistently identify working with “ erse learners” as challenging. This raises questions about how teacher educators conceptualize and enact preparation of teachers for heterogeneous populations. This article provides a systematic review of literature relating to both “teacher education” and “ erse learners,” to identify knowledge claims regarding the way this “problem” and possible “solutions” should be framed. Analyzing 209 peer-reviewed journal articles (2009–2019), the article identifies groups most frequently described as erse, three qualitatively different clusters of claims regarding how teachers can be prepared for ersity, and factors identified as constraining preparation. Analysis reveals a literature broad in focus—referencing many groups—but shallow in depth. The majority describe strategies for teaching about or catering to ersity with only few considering teaching for ersity. There is also limited engagement with specialist literature relating to concepts such as gender or race and little attention to teacher educators’ own knowledge. The article concludes with implications for teacher educators, arguing for enhanced critical epistemic reflexivity.
Parents perception and experience of transitioning to adulthood for their child diagnosed with an intellectual disability
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-11-2022
Researching early childhood student teachers: Life histories and course experience
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2000
DOI: 10.1007/BF03169021
Assessment by interview and portfolio in a graduate school program
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-02-2010
Children’s perspectives on why and when teachers listen to their ideas: Exploring opportunities for participation in the early years of school
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2021
Enhancing social–emotional development through evidence-based resources
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2018
Abstract: SOCIAL–EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) programs have demonstrated positive outcomes with universal audiences in several categories. Studies show that teachers are competent at administering such programs, yet there is limited research on educators’ ability to create an effective teaching program that meets SEL educational outcomes. This study explored early childhood educators’ use of an SEL resource and its effect on children's social–emotional development. Paired s le t tests explored changes to development over an eight-week period, between an intervention (n = 15) and control centre (n = 17). Checklists and journal entries provided insight into the educators’ teaching program and related activities. Findings suggest early childhood educators are capable of designing a teaching program targeting SEL instruction, using evidence-based practices. Results indicate that the resource had a significant effect on children's social–emotional development, particularly in targeted areas. These findings may assist early childhood educators in their planning, documentation and assessment of SEL outcomes, and may contribute to the literature on SEL in universal education settings.
Can teacher–child relationships support human rights to freedom of opinion and expression, education and participation?
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-12-2017
DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2018.1408855
Abstract: This study explored how teacher-child relationships change over the early school years, in terms of closeness and conflict, whether these trajectories differ in type and frequency for children with typical development and children with speech and language concern (SLC), and whether the trajectories are associated with school outcomes at 12-13 years. Participants were children, parents and teachers in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Parents identified 2890 children with typical communication and 1442 children with SLC. Teacher-rated teacher-child closeness and conflict were collected biennially over six years. Academic and social-emotional outcomes were reported by teachers and children. Growth mixture modelling was conducted to generate teacher-child relationship trajectories and Wald's chi-square analyses were used to test the association between trajectories and school outcomes at 12-13 years, after controlling for a range of covariates including child's sex, language background, Indigenous status, age and socio-economic position. In both groups, the majority of children had teacher-child relationship trajectories with sustained high closeness and low conflict that predicted positive outcomes at age 12-13, but the SLC group was more at risk of less positive trajectories and poorer school outcomes. Close, less conflicted relationships with teachers may provide a supportive context for later language, literacy and social-emotional development. This study highlights the role of teachers in supporting children in their development of communication and academic skills that will optimise their capacity for freedom of opinions and expression, education and participation, as enshrined in Articles 19, 26 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Young children's moral evaluations of inclusion and exclusion in play in ethnic and aggressive stereotypic peer contexts
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-12-2022
Designing a model of practice for australian teachers of young school-age children on the autism spectrum
Publisher: Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES)
Date: 04-2021
Abstract: Extensive work has been undertaken in North America on effective practices in early childhood education, early childhood special education, and autism-specific interventions. Much of this work, however, has not been disseminated in teacher-friendly ways nor has it been translated into useable formats that support teacher uptake and incorporation into everyday classroom practice. The research presented here drew on practice literature from North America and a Design-Based Research approach to produce a Model of Practice (MoP) for Australian classroom teachers working with students on the autism spectrum in their first year of primary school. This practice model aims to support pedagogical decision making in relation to the effective and inclusive education of this student cohort. Iterative cycles of design involving generation of educational practices from the literature, content validation by experts, and social validation by classroom teachers were undertaken. These cycles were guided by MoP design principles and resulted in a prototype Early Years Model of Practice (EY-MoP) comprising 29 empirically-supported practices, which were highly endorsed by Australian teachers. The field testing of the EY-MoP should provide preliminary evidence of the applicability of this tool in Australian early years classrooms.
Reconciling Dilemmas of Social Justice in Literacy Lessons: A Case Study of Preservice Primary Teachers
Publisher: Edith Cowan University
Date: 2014
Working with teachers’ pedagogical strengths: The design of executive function activities for play-based programs
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2017
Abstract: EVIDENCE FOR THE PREDICTIVE effect of executive functions (EF) on school readiness and later school achievement has been noted. However, some studies show that EF activities are not sustained beyond the study period due to limited engagement by teachers and children. In light of this problem, this paper presents the pedagogical outcomes of a pilot study where teachers used ‘playworlds’ (Lindqvist, 1995) to embed EF into their programs. Five preschool teachers and five assistant teachers participated in the study over 10 weeks. Focus group interviews of all participants were conducted. A cultural-historical analysis showed that teachers developed motivating activities that promoted the sustainable development of EF in contexts of high child-engagement and motivation. The pedagogical features and implications for early childhood education are reported.
What influences teachers’ support for children’s reasoning about social inclusion in primary school education classrooms?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-03-2022
Teacher education and teaching for diversity: a call to action
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-12-2020
Seeking a reflexive space for teaching to and about diversity: emergent properties of enablement and constraint for teacher educators
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-11-2019
Playworlds and Executive Functions in Children: Theorising with the Cultural-Historical Analytical Lenses
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-06-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S12124-019-09495-2
Abstract: This paper provides a theorisation of developmental conditions to support executive functions (working memory, inhibition and shifting) in children in playworlds settings, where children and teachers play together in collectively created imaginary situations. Vygotsky's general law of development of psychological functions constitutes the general frame for the analysis of the process of development of executive functions (EF) in playworlds, and the theoretical concepts of drama, social situation of development and perezhivanie are used as analytical tools to examine opportunities of playworlds to support children executive functions.
Capturing epistemic reflexivity for teacher educators teaching about/to/for diversity in teacher education
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Multilingualism and speech-language competence in early childhood: Impact on academic and social-emotional outcomes at school
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
Sociometric stability and the behavioral correlates of peer acceptance in early childhood
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-10-2009
DOI: 10.1080/00221320903218364
Abstract: The author presents findings from an Australian study examining the behavioral correlates and stability of social status among preschool-aged children. Using sociometric assessment, the author determined the social status of an initial s le of 187 preschool-aged children (94 boys, 93 girls M age = 62.4 months, SD age = 4.22 months). The author observed children (N = 70) who were classified as rejected, neglected, or popular. For a total of 25 min during a 3-month period, the author observed children engaging in free play in their preschool centers. Results indicate that children classified as popular were more likely to engage in cooperative play, engage in ongoing connected conversation, and display positive affect, compared with those classified as rejected or neglected. Popular children were less likely than rejected children or neglected children to engage in parallel play, onlooker behavior, or alone-directed behavior. To test for stability and change, the author repeated sociometric interviews 6 months after initial sociometric classification. Results indicate that preschool-aged children's social status classifications showed a moderate to high rate of stability for those children classified as popular, rejected, or neglected.
Practices for teaching moral values in the early years: A call for a pedagogy of participation
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2011
Abstract: Schools have long been seen as institutions for preparing children for life, both academically and as moral agents in society. In order to become capable, moral citizens, children need to be provided with opportunities to learn moral values. However, little is known about how teachers enact social and moral values programs in the classroom. The aim of this article is to investigate the practices that Australian early years teachers describe as important for teaching moral values. To investigate early years teachers’ understandings of moral pedagogy, 379 Australian teachers with experience teaching children in the early years were invited to participate in an online survey. This article focuses on responses provided to an open-ended question relating to teaching practices for moral values. The responses were analysed using an interpretive methodology. The results indicate that the most prominent approaches to teaching moral values described by this group of Australian early years teachers were engaging children in moral activities. This was closely followed by teaching practices for transmitting moral values. Engaging children in building meaning and participatory learning for moral values were least often described.
Early years teachers’ epistemic beliefs and beliefs about children’s moral learning
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-12-2011
Peer mentoring for first-year teacher education students: The mentors’ experience
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-2008
'This is possibly THE hardest decision a parent has to make'. Deciding when your child is ready to start prep
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 06-2017
Abstract: WHILE THE MAJORITY OF Queensland state school students begin schooling in the first year they are eligible to do so, a small number of families delay entry. This paper explores voluntary delayed entry to state schools in Queensland through analysis of quantitative data gathered by the Department of Education and Training, and parental decision making around delayed entry via qualitative data sourced from an Australian parenting website. Results revealed that the number of children who are delayed entry is increasing, and that the majority of students delayed are boys who are the youngest in their cohort. A key reason for parents choosing to delay is the child's birth date being close to the state's cut-off entry date. Importantly, the decision of whether to delay entry appears to be emotional for parents, and it is argued that parents require support and services to help them make this decision.
Children with Autistic spectrum disorder in early childhood education programs: A social constructivist perspective on Inclusion
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2008
DOI: 10.1007/BF03168362
The development of children's epistemic beliefs across the early years of elementary school
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-04-2020
DOI: 10.1111/BJEP.12280
Abstract: A growing body of research shows that the beliefs we hold about the nature of knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) may mediate moral reasoning. However, a limitation of much of the research in the area of epistemic beliefs is the lack of a longitudinal approach. The study investigated longitudinal changes in Australian elementary school children's beliefs about knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) across three judgement domains (personal taste, ambiguous facts, and moral values). The participants in this longitudinal study were tracked from Year 1 through to Year 3 of primary school. In Year 1, there were 169 participants (83 boys, 86 girls) aged 6-7 years (M = 6.7, SD = 0.32). In Year 2, there were 156 participants (79 boys, 77 girls), and in Year 3, there were 129 participants (65 boys, 64 girls). Using vignettes that reflected each of the three judgement domains, children were interviewed about the beliefs held by two puppet characters. The interviews took place each year across the early years of elementary education in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3. Findings revealed that children's epistemic beliefs in each of the judgement domains became more subjectivist over time but that the age at which this occurred differed according to the judgement domain in question. We argue that it is important for teachers to pay attention to children's beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing in the process of scaffolding their reasoning about moral values for active citizenship.
Promoting social inclusion in the early years of elementary school: a focus on children's epistemic beliefs for moral reasoning
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-08-2017
Changes in children’s reasoning about the social inclusion of aggressive children over the early years of elementary school
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 13-05-2017
Emergent Literacy Assessment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Have Limited Verbal Communication Skills: A Tutorial
Publisher: American Speech Language Hearing Association
Date: 18-01-2021
DOI: 10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00030
Abstract: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of experiencing difficulties with the development of literacy, including the emergent literacy skills recognized to underpin conventional literacy success. Comprehensive assessment is essential. Characteristics of ASD can make assessment challenging, and this can be compounded when children are unable to demonstrate their skills using spoken language. The purpose of this clinical tutorial is to outline the process of emergent literacy assessment for children with ASD who have limited verbal communication skills. A case ex le of a 5-year-old boy is presented. Pertinent literature is reviewed around the literacy profiles of children with ASD, the subgroup of children with ASD who have limited verbal communication skills, key components of emergent literacy, and previous research examining the emergent literacy abilities of children with ASD. The case report is described in depth and emphasizes the key factors to consider when designing an assessment battery and protocol. The case ex le information is interpreted, and its application is discussed. Key outcomes are highlighted including a greater understanding of the child's literacy strengths and needs and the implications for in idualized instruction. The clinical tutorial highlights the need for a comprehensive, well-planned assessment approach that involves all members of the educational team, and that is considerate to the needs of the in idual child and responsive to their communication needs.
Gender differences in early literacy and mathematics achievement and self-regulatory behaviours in the first year of school: An Australian study
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2017
Abstract: THIS PAPER PRESENTS ANALYSES of gender differences in classroom behaviours (e.g. attentiveness and task persistence) and early academic outcomes. Data is drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian children (LSAC). In these analyses, data from Wave 1 data collection (2004) and Wave 2 data collection (2006) for the Kindergarten Cohort are used. A s le of 2315 children who were in Year 1 of school at Wave 2 data collection are the focus for the analyses reported. The analyses draw on teacher ratings of children's literacy and language competence and mathematical thinking in Year 1 of school as well as ratings of children's self-regulatory behaviour in the classroom and level of problem behaviours. Girls were rated by their teachers as having better literacy and language outcomes that were predicted by more positive classroom behaviours. Results are discussed with respect to the influence of children's classroom behaviours on academic learning at the beginning of formal schooling.
The first year university experience: Using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-02-2009
Electronic Gaming: Associations with Self-Regulation, Emotional Difficulties and Academic Performance
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Date: 2018
Children's epistemic reasoning about social inclusion of aggressive peers in a culturally diverse school
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-08-2022
DOI: 10.1002/BERJ.3766
Abstract: Moral reasoning in values education can promote a democratic way of life. It involves addressing behaviour expectations in responses to violence or bullying. There is increasing interest in how children make moral judgments about social inclusion within erse cultural settings. Critical research highlights the relationship between epistemic cognition (views about the nature of knowledge and knowing) and reasoning. In this paper, we argue that this relationship is likely to be important in reasoning about moral values for inclusion in culturally erse schools. However, we know little about how children in erse educational settings reason about and enact school values for inclusion. Our study addresses this gap by examining primary school children’s epistemic reasoning about the social inclusion of peers with a focus on justifications for inclusion/exclusion of aggressive peers. Twenty‐six children (10–11 years old) from one culturally erse school community in Australia were asked to illustrate (drawings) and reflect on (15–20 minute interviews) a conflict situation involving exclusion from play. The findings showed that most children reasoned about including/excluding others based on a ‘one right answer’ pattern which reflected an explicit focus on following the school rules. Fewer children moved ‘beyond right answers’ to show transition towards perceiving multiple perspectives in their reasoning about inclusion/exclusion. Implications for values education are discussed.
Enhancing executive function through imaginary play: A promising new practice principle
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 22-04-2020
Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a study conducted with preschool teachers trialling an intervention in which executive function activities are embedded in teachers’ daily practices and imaginary play is used to build meaningful problem situations that children solve using executive functions. The participants were 227 preschool children (53% male, M age = 55.5 months, SD = 4.2) in 10 preschool groups from Brisbane, Australia. The intervention consisted of educators and children creating and developing an imaginary situation (playworld) over an extended period (e.g. one school term). Executive function was assessed pre- and post-intervention. A repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significant differences between Time 1 and Time 2 on all executive function measures. The study found that teachers can develop children’s executive functions when executive function activities are embedded in teachers’ daily practices, and when imaginary play is used to build meaningful problem situations that children solve using executive functions.
How do Australian pre-service teachers understand differentiated instruction and associated concepts of inclusion and diversity?
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-04-2021
Developing peer mentoring support for TAFE students entering 1st -year university early childhood studies
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2005
Understanding relationships between epistemic cognition and executive functioning: Implications for measurement and practice in early childhood
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-04-2022
DOI: 10.1177/18369391221089381
Abstract: Research shows that epistemic cognition can support reasoning about the inclusion of erse children. We argue that, to engage in such reasoning, children need the capacity to consider and evaluate competing knowledge perspectives (epistemic cognition) and to be cognitively flexible. Cognitive flexibility involves a subset of skills within the suite of self-regulation skills known as executive functions (EF). This study explored the extent to which cognitive flexibility might be related to epistemic cognition and the effectiveness of a pictorial and interview methodology to explore children’s epistemic cognition. Eighty-two children participated in three EF tasks designed to assess their ability to flexibly shift from one mental set to another (cognitive flexibility). Children were also interviewed about the drawings they created to represent social exclusion/inclusion in their play settings. Results indicated that, in contrast to expectations, cognitive flexibility and epistemic cognition were not related. Challenges associated with using the pictorial and interview methodology are discussed.
Researching teacher educators’ preparedness to teach to and about diversity: investigating epistemic reflexivity as a new conceptual framework
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-01-2019
Reasoning about social inclusion over the early years of primary school: a focus on epistemic cognition
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-08-2019
Choosing work and care: Four australian women negotiating return to paid work in the first year of motherhood
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.2304/CIEC.2013.14.2.168
Abstract: Australian women make decisions about returning to paid work and care for their child within a policy environment that presents mixed messages about maternal employment and childcare standards. Against this background, an investigation of first-time mothers' decision-making about workforce participation and childcare was undertaken. Four women were studied from pregnancy through the first postnatal year using interview and diary methods. Inductive analyses identified three themes, all focused on dimensions of family security: financial security relating to family income, emotional security relating to childcare quality, and pragmatic security relating to childcare access. The current policy changes that establish improved childcare quality standards in Australia present a positive step toward alleviating family insecurities, but are insufficient to alleviate the evidently high levels of tension between workforce participation and family life experienced by these four women transitioning back into the workforce in Australia.
Doing the right thing in the early years of primary school: a longitudinal study of children’s reasoning about right and wrong
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-2019
A Developmental Cascade Model of Behavioral Sleep Problems and Emotional and Attentional Self-Regulation Across Early Childhood
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-11-2017
DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2015.1065410
Abstract: This article documents the longitudinal and reciprocal relations among behavioral sleep problems and emotional and attentional self-regulation in a population s le of 4,109 children participating in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)-Infant Cohort. Maternal reports of children's sleep problems and self-regulation were collected at five time-points from infancy to 8-9 years of age. Longitudinal structural equation modeling supported a developmental cascade model in which sleep problems have a persistent negative effect on emotional regulation, which in turn contributes to ongoing sleep problems and poorer attentional regulation in children over time. Findings suggest that sleep behaviors are a key target for interventions that aim to improve children's self-regulatory capacities.
Characteristics of preservice teachers in multi-campus settings: Using demographics and epistemological beliefs to unpack stereotypes
Publisher: Edith Cowan University
Date: 2008
Observing the classroom literacy environment of children on the autism spectrum in specialist classrooms
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 24-06-2022
DOI: 10.1177/00049441221107424
Abstract: There is increasing awareness of the high levels of support needed for literacy learning for children on the autism spectrum. Although research has investigated the quality of the classroom literacy environment, little attention has been paid to examining the classroom literacy environment in specialist classrooms catering specifically for children on the spectrum. The current study used the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) to guide observations, combined with stimulated recall and semi-structured teacher interviews to explore the classroom environments and teacher practices used to support children on the spectrum. Ten teachers from two primary specialist schools participated. The findings highlighted the strong focus on language development and foundational literacy skills across the early years in both schools. Findings demonstrated the potential utility of an observation checklist such as the ELLCO in guiding observations when augmented by stimulated recall interviews. Suggestions are provided for assessing the literacy environment in specialist classrooms for children on the spectrum.
Educational policy for citizenship in the early years in Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2011
Australian Children with Special Health Care Needs: Social-Emotional and Learning Competencies in the Early Years
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-09-2012
Teachers' and children's personal epistemologies for moral education: Case studies in early years elementary education
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2012
Literacy, numeracy, and learning in school-aged children identified as having speech and language impairment in early childhood
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2009
At risk students and teacher-student relationships: student characteristics, attitudes to school and classroom climate
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-03-2019
Exploring intercultural competence through the lens of self-authorship
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-06-2016
Epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral learning in the early years of school: relationships and complexities
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 28-05-2015
Online learning environments: What early childhood teacher education students say
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 25-06-2007
Epistemic Climates for Active Citizenship: Dialogically Organised Classrooms and Children’s Internal Dialogue
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2018
The importance of self-regulation: a mediator of early socio-emotional difficulties on later socio-emotional and relational outcomes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-10-2021
Young children's thinking about bullying: Personal, social-conventional and moral reasoning perspectives
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-03-2019
Abstract: Research into young children’s understanding of bullying in the early years of schooling is limited. The current study examined young children’s understanding, explanations and reasoning behind whether behaviours represented in cartoon scenarios depicted bullying or non-bullying incidents. Seventy-seven children aged 4–8 years from one kindergarten and three schools in metropolitan South Australia participated in single, age-appropriate interviews with an early childhood educator/researcher. All children described each cartoon ( N = 77) explaining their reasons why they considered each one as bullying or not ( N = 76). Consistent with previous research which employed cartoon methodology with young children, findings indicated that children confused bullying with aggressive-only behaviour, resulting in over-labelling incidents as bullying. Examination of their thinking about bullying revealed that children in this study drew on moral reasoning perspectives and their understanding of relevant behavioural and social expectations and conventions.
How epistemic reflexivity enables teacher educators’ teaching for diversity: Exploring a pedagogical framework for critical thinking
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/BERJ.3789
Abstract: Recent research points to the importance of teacher educators teaching for ersity in initial teacher education programmes. Teaching for ersity is an approach to teacher education in which an understanding of specialist literature and a focus on critical thinking supports a social justice agenda as opposed to merely using different tips and tricks to prepare future teachers for teaching erse learners in the classroom. In this study, we explored how Australian and New Zealand teacher educators negotiated a social justice agenda in teacher education programmes, using a new transdisciplinary framework of epistemic reflexivity. The Epistemic Reflexivity for Teacher Education (ER‐TED) framework draws on epistemic cognition (Clark Chinn’s A ims, I deals, R eliable epistemic processes – AIR – framework) and Margaret Archer’s reflexivity to explore knowledge claims in teacher educators’ pedagogical decision‐making. The findings identified how teacher educators in our study discerned and deliberated with respect to epistemic aims for justification, which involve transformative critical thinking and critical thinking for self. They reported good knowledge (ideals) as being scholarly in nature, and reliable epistemic processes based on higher‐order thinking (analysis and evaluating competing ideas) or engaging with multiple perspectives. The teacher educators in our study are clear ex les of how strong overall evaluative epistemic stances enable teaching for social justice. We argue that the ER‐TED framework can help us as a profession to address teaching for ersity in teacher education programmes based on the belief that the pursuit of social justice requires an evaluativist epistemic stance.
Early childhood profiles of sleep problems and self‐regulation predict later school adjustment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-02-2016
DOI: 10.1111/BJEP.12109
Abstract: Children's sleep problems and self-regulation problems have been independently associated with poorer adjustment to school, but there has been limited exploration of longitudinal early childhood profiles that include both indicators. This study explores the normative developmental pathway for sleep problems and self-regulation across early childhood and investigates whether departure from the normative pathway is associated with later social-emotional adjustment to school. This study involved 2,880 children participating in the Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) - Infant Cohort from Wave 1 (0-1 years) to Wave 4 (6-7 years). Mothers reported on children's sleep problems, emotional, and attentional self-regulation at three time points from birth to 5 years. Teachers reported on children's social-emotional adjustment to school at 6-7 years. Latent profile analysis was used to establish person-centred longitudinal profiles. Three profiles were found. The normative profile (69%) had consistently average or higher emotional and attentional regulation scores and sleep problems that steadily reduced from birth to 5 years. The remaining 31% of children were members of two non-normative self-regulation profiles, both characterized by escalating sleep problems across early childhood and below mean self-regulation. Non-normative group membership was associated with higher teacher-reported hyperactivity and emotional problems, and poorer classroom self-regulation and prosocial skills. Early childhood profiles of self-regulation that include sleep problems offer a way to identify children at risk of poor school adjustment. Children with escalating early childhood sleep problems should be considered an important target group for school transition interventions.
Critical values education in the early years: Alignment of teachers’ personal epistemologies and practices for active citizenship
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Personal Epistemology and Teacher Education
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 23-05-2012
Trajectories of parental involvement in home learning activities across the early years: associations with socio-demographic characteristics and children’s learning outcomes
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-11-2016
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