ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3519-6317
Current Organisation
Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
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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)
Education Systems | Early Childhood Education (excl. Māori) | Learning Sciences | Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators | Sociology | Educational Technology and Computing | Education Policy | Sociology Of Education | Educational Policy, Administration And Management | Sociology of Education
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Teaching and Instruction Technologies | Education and training not elsewhere classified | Equity and Access to Education | Education and Training Systems Policies and Development | School/Institution Community and Environment | School/Institution Policies and Development | Education policy | Expanding Knowledge in Education | Health education and promotion | Children's/Youth Services and Childcare |
Related Links
Publications
Young learners: Teachers' conceptualisation and practice of literacy in Australian preschool contexts
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2012
Addressing inequality: educators responding to the contexts of young children’s lives?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/CHSO.12416
Abstract: A child's early relationships and experiences influence their long‐term development and learning. In Australia, some children can face complex levels of deprivation when compared to their peers. This study sheds light on how educators are responding. Data analysed consist of in idual interviews with early childhood educators working in erse communities. The findings highlight educators’ accounts of responsiveness as narrowly framed with attention focused on children's cultural heritage which overshadows other equity groups. The paper argues that by becoming sensitive to the contexts of children's lives, there is potential to build the early childhood workforce's capacity for addressing inequalities in childhood.
Meridional Ocean Carbon Transport
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1029/2019GB006336
Abstract: The ocean's ability to take up and store CO 2 is a key factor for understanding past and future climate variability. However, qualitative and quantitative understanding of surface‐to‐interior pathways, and how the ocean circulation affects the CO 2 uptake, is limited. Consequently, how changes in ocean circulation may influence carbon uptake and storage and therefore the future climate remains ambiguous. Here we quantify the roles played by ocean circulation and various water masses in the meridional redistribution of carbon. We do so by calculating streamfunctions defined in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and latitude coordinates, using output from a coupled biogeochemical‐physical model. By further separating DIC into components originating from the solubility pump and a residual including the biological pump, air‐sea disequilibrium, and anthropogenic CO 2 , we are able to distinguish the dominant pathways of how carbon enters particular water masses. With this new tool, we show that the largest meridional carbon transport occurs in a pole‐to‐equator transport in the subtropical gyres in the upper ocean. We are able to show that this pole‐to‐equator DIC transport and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)‐related DIC transport are mainly driven by the solubility pump. By contrast, the DIC transport associated with deep circulation, including that in Antarctic bottom water and Pacific deep water, is mostly driven by the biological pump. As these two pumps, as well as ocean circulation, are widely expected to be impacted by anthropogenic changes, these findings have implications for the future role of the ocean as a climate‐buffering carbon reservoir.
The Water Mass Transformation Framework for Ocean Physics and Biogeochemistry
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 23-03-2020
DOI: 10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU2020-5476
Abstract: & & To understand the role of the ocean in the climate system, it is no longer sufficient to study either physics or biogeochemistry. Future efforts need to combine these disciplines to truly understand our future climate. The water mass transformation (WMT) weaves together circulation, thermodynamics, and biogeochemistry into a description of the ocean that complements traditional Eulerian and Lagrangian methods. Here we present a derivation of a WMT framework that offers an analysis that renders novel insights and predictive capabilities for studies of ocean physics and biogeochemistry that determine ocean tracer uptake, circulation and storage. We will discuss application for this framework for biogeochemical studies and its potential for inferring unmeasurable biogeochemical processes from estimates of the measurable physical processes.& &
Teacher confidence and professional capital
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
(Re)framing teachers’ family engagement practice as cultural work
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-06-2022
Early childhood education and care educators supporting parent-child relationships: a systematic literature review
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 18-10-2016
Strengthening the quality of educator-child interactions in early childhood education and care settings: a conceptual model to improve mental health outcomes for preschoolers
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-08-2018
Integrating Health and Educational Perspectives to Promote Preschoolers’ Social and Emotional Learning: Development of a Multi-Faceted Program Using an Intervention Mapping Approach
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-01-2020
Abstract: High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can strengthen the social and emotional skills that are crucial for children’s ongoing development. With research highlighting an increasing prevalence of emotional and behavioural challenges in young children, there is emphasis on embedding teaching practices and pedagogies to support social and emotional skills within early learning programs. A growing body of research has examined the impact of social and emotional learning programs in ECEC however, few studies describe the intervention development process, or how educators and other professionals were engaged to increase the relevance and feasibility of the program. The current paper describes the development of the Cheshire Social-Emotional Engagement and Development (SEED) Educational Program, an online learning tool to support early childhood educators to foster children’s positive mental health. Cheshire SEED was designed using five steps of the Intervention Mapping methodology: (i) comprehensive needs assessment to create a logic model of the problem (ii) creation of program outcomes and change objectives mapped against determinants of educator behaviour (iii) co-design of theory-based methods and practical strategies (iv) program development and (v) adoption and implementation planning. The process and decisions at each step of the IM protocol are presented, and the strengths and limitations of the approach to develop a mental health intervention for ECEC settings are discussed.
Identifying play skills that predict children’s language in the beginning of the first year of school
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 29-12-2023
Science in the National Early Years Learning Framework
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Date: 21-05-2012
Expectations of mentoring in a time of change: views of new and professionally isolated early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2013
Using Intervention Mapping for child development and wellbeing programs in early childhood education and care settings
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.EVALPROGPLAN.2018.02.011
Abstract: Supporting children's social and emotional learning benefits all elements of children's development and has been associated with positive mental health and wellbeing, development of values and life skills. However, literature relating to the creation of interventions designed for use within the early childhood education and care settings to support children's social and emotional skills and learning is lacking. Intervention Mapping (IM) is a systematic intervention development framework, utilising principles centred on participatory co-design methods, multiple theoretical approaches and existing literature to enable effective decision-making during the development process. Early childhood pedagogical programs are also shaped by these principles however, educators tend to draw on implicit knowledge when working with families. IM offers this sector the opportunity to formally incorporate theoretical, evidence-based research into the development of early childhood education and care social and emotional interventions. Emerging literature indicates IM is useful for designing health and wellbeing interventions for children within early childhood education and care settings. Considering the similar underlying principles of IM, existing applications within early childhood education and care and development of interventions beyond health behaviour change, it is recommended IM be utilised to design early childhood education and care interventions focusing on supporting children's social and emotional development.
Cross-sectoral professional relationships and transition to school: an Australian study
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-05-2021
Evaluating a strategic approach to professional development through guided reflection
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2005
The problem of inequality in Australia’s early childhood education and care sector: A policy frame analysis
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 20-10-2019
Young children's everyday concepts of the internet: A platform for cyber-safety education in the early years
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.1111/BJET.12529
Integrated children's services: Re-thinking research, policy and practice
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2013
Applying Intervention Mapping to develop an early childhood educators’ intervention promoting parent–child relationships
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-08-2019
Identifying professional functionings of early childhood educators
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 13-03-2019
Transforming practice through a professional learning program: barriers and enablers
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-08-2019
Early Childhood Education, Sociocultural Contexts - Professional Partnerships in ECE
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Date: 2019
“It’s Embedded in What We Do for Every Child”: A Qualitative Exploration of Early Childhood Educators’ Perspectives on Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 05-02-2021
Abstract: Early childhood educators play an important role in supporting children’s social and emotional development. While a growing body of research has examined the impact of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on child outcomes, the approaches educators use to strengthen children’s social and emotional functioning through their everyday practices are less defined. This study explored Australian early childhood educators’ perspectives on children’s social and emotional development, the approaches educators use to encourage children’s social and emotional skills, the enablers and barriers to SEL within the preschool environment, and the additional support needed. Thirty Early Childhood Education and Care professionals participated in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Findings suggest children’s social–emotional development is at the forefront of educator planning, practice, and reflection. Participants described utilising various approaches to support children’s social and emotional skills, embedded within interactions and relationships with children and families. Specifically, strategies could be grouped into four broad categories: a nurturing and responsive educator–child relationship supporting SEL through everyday interactions and practice utilising the physical environment to encourage SEL and working in partnership with caregivers. There was, however, inconsistency in the variety and type of approaches identified. Time constraints, group size, educator confidence and capability, high staff turnover, and limited guidance regarding high-quality social and emotional pedagogy were identified as key barriers. Participants sought practical strategies that could be embedded into daily practice to build upon current knowledge.
Integrated practice in the early years in Australia: The assumptions, omissions and contradictions of policy reform
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 24-07-2016
Abstract: The aim of this article is to examine current national early years’ policy reform, which emphasises the importance of service integration, national quality standards and a quality knowledge base for educators concerning the provision of early childhood education and care. Using Queensland, Australia, as an ex le, a policy discourse analysis identifies two problematics of implementing current national policy – the early childhood education and care problematic and the integration problematic. The article argues that speedy implementation of a national policy in order to meet national targets has unintended consequences for the knowledge base of educators and the possibility of collaboration within service provision. Although government commitment in this area is evident, these consequences and the current difficulties surrounding integration are the result of the lack of a specific integration strategy, and government investment focussed on the development of an integrated workforce.
The ‘Universal Access to early childhood education’ agenda in Australia: rationales and instruments
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-10-2019
Building teacher professional capabilities through transformative learning
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-10-2021
Facilitating children’s agency in early childhood education and care
Publisher: ACER Press
Date: 10-2020
The effect of an area-based intervention on breastfeeding rates in Victoria, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.HEALTHPOL.2008.08.004
Abstract: Best Start is an area-based early childhood intervention where projects are developed and implemented through a community partnership. A core tenet of the initiative is that implementing projects through a partnership generates greater value than would be expected if projects were undertaken independently by partner members. In this study we examine whether: (1) Best Start is effective in increasing the proportion of infants being fully breastfed at 3 months and 6 months. (2) The quality of community partnerships is a potential mechanism for change. Best Start was implemented in Victoria, Australia. The study examined breastfeeding rates before and after Best Start in sites with Best Start breastfeeding projects compared to the rest of state. The relationship between partnership quality scores and breastfeeding percentages was also examined. Both analyses controlled for socioeconomic and demographic differences and clustering by area. Best Start targeted some of the most socially disadvantaged communities in Victoria. In the 3 years of its operation, the rates of fully breastfeeding at 3 months (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.14-1.47) and 6 months (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.1-1.61) increased in Best Start sites compared to the rest of the state. Quality of partnership scores was positively associated with increased percentages of fully breastfeeding (3 months=OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06 6 months=OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.98-1.08). These results suggest that area-based interventions are effective in increasing percentages of fully breastfeeding. The study also supported the idea that developing quality community partnerships had a positive influence on their success.
Disclosures of harming others during their most recent drinking session: Findings from a large national study of heavy-drinking adolescents
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-06-2022
DOI: 10.1111/DAR.13336
Abstract: The extant Alcohol's Harms to Others (AHTO) literature is largely comprised of reports from victims. We investigated AHTO from perpetrators' perspectives, including how harms were associated with in idual characteristics, and alcohol quantities consumed during the perpetration incident. Participants ( N = 2932) were 14–19 years old, recruited primarily through social media and screened as risky drinkers. They completed face‐to‐face ( n = 594) or self‐administered ( n = 2338) surveys. They self‐reported whether during their last risky drinking session (LRDS) they had perpetrated any verbal abuse, physical abuse or property damage. A multinomial logistic regression examined whether nine factors were associated with perpetrating zero, one or 2+ categories of AHTO. Eleven percent ( n = 323) reported perpetrating at least one form of AHTO (7.5% verbal, 1.9% physical and 4.6% property). Perpetration of AHTO at LRDS was uniquely associated with: younger age, male gender, experiences of childhood physical punishment, greater perpetration incident‐specific drinking, concurrent illicit drug use, and less frequent use of safety strategies while drinking in the past 12 months. Controlling for the other variables, an increase of six Australian standard drinks (60 g of alcohol) increased the odds of perpetration by 15% [95% confidence interval (CI) adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.08, 1.23], and an increase of 15 Australian standard drinks increased the odds by 42% (95% CI AOR 1.20, 1.69). In idual characteristics, larger quantities of alcohol consumed, and a disinclination to practice harm reduction lified risk of AHTO perpetration. This has implications for health promotion and risk prevention/reduction strategies.
Young learners: Mapping the beliefs and practices of preschool teachers in relation to early literacy development
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-04-2012
Sensitivity of a Coarse-Resolution Global Ocean Model to Spatially Variable Neutral Diffusion
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-11-2021
Teacher agency and professional practice
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2020
Pak2 as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Cardioprotective Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.312829
Abstract: Secreted and membrane-bound proteins, which account for 1/3 of all proteins, play critical roles in heart health and disease. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the site for synthesis, folding, and quality control of these proteins. Loss of ER homeostasis and function underlies the pathogenesis of many forms of heart disease. To investigate mechanisms responsible for regulating cardiac ER function, and to explore therapeutic potentials of strengthening ER function to treat heart disease. Screening a range of signaling molecules led to the discovery that Pak (p21-activated kinase)2 is a stress-responsive kinase localized in close proximity to the ER membrane in cardiomyocytes. We found that Pak2 cardiac deleted mice (Pak2-CKO) under tunicamycin stress or pressure overload manifested a defective ER response, cardiac dysfunction, and profound cell death. Small chemical chaperone tauroursodeoxycholic acid treatment of Pak2-CKO mice substantiated that Pak2 loss-induced cardiac damage is an ER-dependent pathology. Gene array analysis prompted a detailed mechanistic study, which revealed that Pak2 regulation of protective ER function was via the IRE (inositol-requiring enzyme)-1/XBP (X-box–binding protein)-1–dependent pathway. We further discovered that this regulation was conferred by Pak2 inhibition of PP2A (protein phosphatase 2A) activity. Moreover, IRE-1 activator, Quercetin, and adeno-associated virus serotype-9–delivered XBP-1s were able to relieve ER dysfunction in Pak2-CKO hearts. This provides functional evidence, which supports the mechanism underlying Pak2 regulation of IRE-1/XBP-1s signaling. Therapeutically, inducing Pak2 activation by genetic overexpression or adeno-associated virus serotype-9–based gene delivery was capable of strengthening ER function, improving cardiac performance, and diminishing apoptosis, thus protecting the heart from failure. Our findings uncover a new cardioprotective mechanism, which promotes a protective ER stress response via the modulation of Pak2. This novel therapeutic strategy may present as a promising option for treating cardiac disease and heart failure.
Exploring the notion of ‘group’ in Chinese children’s learning: a tri-partite focus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-04-2020
Hepatoprotective Effects of Four Brazilian Savanna Species on Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in HepG2 Cells
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 26-09-2023
Where to from here? Career choices of pre-service teachers undertaking a dual early childhood/primary qualification
Publisher: Edith Cowan University
Date: 2013
Teacher professional learning through pedagogy of discomfort
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-11-2018
The effects of an area-based intervention on the uptake of maternal and child health assessments in Australia: A community trial
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-03-2009
(Re)affirming identities: implementing a play-based approach to learning in the early years of schooling
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-08-2018
Looking to the future: Producing transdisciplinary professionals for leadership in early childhood settings
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2013
Supporting teacher professionalism through tailored professional learning
Publisher: UCL Press
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.18546/LRE.17.2.03
Abstract: The issue of continuing professional learning for educators in the early childhood education and care sector is in the spotlight in Australia due to the government's reform agenda, which seeks to professionalize the workforce. In an effort to ensure quality programmes are on offer for all children, educators are expected to upskill. The assumption is that quality learning opportunities for children are aligned with a more skilled and capable workforce. This is problematic due to the ersity of the early childhood education and care workforce and its ability to convert professionalization opportunities into achievements. The focus of this article is a study that problematized the alignment of professional attributes valued in the policy space and in the field of practice to understand educator agency, a key element of professional capability. Once this alignment is known, professional learning experiences can be tailored to better support the professionalization of these educators.
Preparing the australian early childhood workforce for rural and remote settings: A review of the literature
Publisher: Edith Cowan University
Date: 12-2011
Equity in early childhood education: policy framing, translation and enactment
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2023
Young children’s agency with digital technologies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-10-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CHSO.12512
Abstract: This paper examines the evidence of children's agency in research about infants, toddlers and technologies. It finds that an implicit reliance on technological determinism as a theoretical perspective for positioning technologies relative to young children's development tends to shape research in terms of understanding the impact of technologies on young children. Drawing on critical constructivism as a philosophical stance on technologies, this paper argues that children's agency with technologies may be further investigated in terms of practice architectures to better understand the social mediation of infant and toddler interactions and engagements with technologies.
Developing a measure to understand young children’s Internet cognition and cyber-safety awareness: a pilot test
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-07-2016
Reading practices experienced by preschool children in areas of disadvantage
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 10-2005
Abstract: The purpose of this survey investigation was to gain insight into the different home literacy practices of preschool children in some disadvantaged areas across the state of Victoria, Australia. Findings indicate that parents read to their children regularly from a young age, found libraries easy to access and use, and have children who enjoy books and paper and pencil activities. However, more than half of them found there was not enough information available to support them in their child's literacy development. It is argued here that such information should be made available as a matter of some urgency and be distributed through libraries.
VENM: An Algorithm to Accurately Calculate Neutral Slopes and Gradients
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 23-03-2020
DOI: 10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU2020-5618
Abstract: & & Mesoscale eddies stir along the neutral plane, and the resulting neutral diffusion is a fundamental aspect of subgrid-scale tracer transport in ocean models. Calculating neutral diffusion traditionally involves calculating neutral slopes and three-dimensional tracer gradients. The calculation of the neutral slope traditionally occurs by computing the ratio of the horizontal to vertical locally referenced potential density derivative. However, this approach is problematic in regions of weak vertical stratification, prompting the use of a variety of ad hoc regularization methods that can lead to rather nonphysical dependencies for the resulting neutral tracer gradients.& & & & Here we introduce VENM a search algorithm that requires no ad hoc regularization and significantly improves the numerical accuracy of calculating neutral slopes, neutral tracer gradients, and associated neutral diffusive fluxes. We compare and contrast VENM against a more traditional method, using an independent objective neutrality condition combined with estimates of spurious diffusion, heat transport, and water mass transformation rates. VENM is more accurate, both physically and numerically, and should form the basis for future efforts involving neutral diffusion calculations from observations and possibly numerical model simulations.& &
Researching professional recognition in a pre-school setting: a critical realist approach
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-10-2020
Rationale, Design and Methods Protocol for Participatory Design of an Online Tool to Support Industry Service Provision Regarding Digital Technology Use ‘with, by and for’ Young Children
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-11-2020
Abstract: Adults who educate and care for young children are exposed to mixed-messages about what is in the best interests of young children in digital society. Such mixed-messaging makes adult decision-making about technology use in the best interests of young children hard to achieve. This project addresses this problem by working with leading organisations providing services related to quality digital media production, online-safety education, digital play and digital parenting. Using a Participatory Design approach, families, educators, industry partners and researchers will conduct mixed-methods investigations concerning: Relationships Health and Well-being Citizenship and Play and Pedagogy to identify practices concerning technology use ‘with, by and for’ young children. Iterative design cycles will develop an Online Tool to support organisations providing services to young children and the adults responsible for their education and care. As society becomes more digital families and educators need new knowledge about what people do in digital society to inform their decision-making. This project will support organisations to use an empirically informed approach to service provision regarding using technologies in the best interests of young children.
Supporting practice change in early years classrooms: Australia and Turkey as case studies
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 28-02-2021
Affirmative discourse intervention: A framework for re-democratising engagement with education policy discourse
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 10-11-2020
Abstract: In recent times, education policy and reform discourses have become increasingly politicised by neo-liberalism, with critical policy methodologies struggling to catch up. Critical policy sociologists have noted that critical commentaries rarely succeed in changing or impacting dominant education policy pathways. This article presents a framework for critical engagement in education policy drawing on Foucauldian notions of governmentality, with the aim to imagine a path to policy discourse intervention, or truth-telling. The ‘affirmative discourse intervention’ model comprises three interrelated processes to engage and respond to discourse as a function of governmentality: discourse recognition, discourse disruption and discourse agency. The article outlines the affirmative discourse intervention model and its theoretical underpinnings, then draws on data from the recent and ongoing Australian early childhood quality reform policy to illustrate the affirmative discourse intervention processes in application. The final section offers possibilities that emerge when re-imagining discourse agency in early childhood education and invites further commentary.
Tracing the interconnectedness of early childhood educators’ professional capital
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 31-07-2023
DOI: 10.1108/JPCC-06-2022-0030
Abstract: Since the early 2000s there has been increased attention on the professionalisation of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce in many OECD countries. This study focuses on what Australian early childhood educators holding the lowest level of qualification – Certificate III are experiencing in relation to their professional capital in a sector that is experiencing wide-spread and ongoing reform. The study identifies the human capital, social capital and decisional capital of these educators, then explores the interconnections. This paper was funded by the Australian Research Council. The qualitative data consider the capabilities of certificate-qualified educators and how these are enabled or constrained within the workplace. The corpus of data for this study consists of 14 interviews with Certificate III-qualified educators from three locations across Victoria, Australia. Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2012) forms of professional capital (human, social and decisional) act as organisers for the themes identified through a thematic analysis. Themes identified in the data speak to inequity in access to professional learning, the valuing of life experiences, clear isions of labour that impact what knowledge is valued, and differences in educator agency in the decision-making process. Many certificate-qualified educators experience a workplace culture that lacks trust in an in idual’s professional competence and does not appreciate collegial knowledge and skill building as a collective enterprise. The conceptual framing of this study provides a unique way to explore the experiences of certificate-trained educators. The study introduces the idea of using exploratory categories and the identification of levels of human, social and decisional capital. This type of study involving this cohort of educators is unique.
Exploring the social justice work of early childhood educators
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-09-2018
Abstract: With the importance of the early years of a child’s life to their learning and development, it is important that early childhood educators are skilled, reflective professionals who have the ability to actively support the learning of all children. Using a capability approach to human development as an evaluative framework, this article explores how early childhood educators across three early childhood services understand and take up the challenge of catering for ersity in children’s learning. Educators with a social justice outlook are acknowledged as believing in the capacity of all children to succeed despite the circumstances of their lives or their abilities. While there are many real strengths that the educators in this study are saying, observing, reflecting on and doing, none of the educators mentioned children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds as targets of their social justice work. The call is for educators to be more reflective of themselves and their practice to bring into focus the ‘unchallenged’ related to decision-making and professional judgements about programs and pedagogy, the ‘unseen’ such as children from underprivileged backgrounds, and the ‘under-valued’ being their own capabilities or those of their colleagues that remain untapped in their social justice work in relation to young children’s learning and development. This research aims to raise awareness of the need for educators to consider the context within which they work and what this may mean for the experiences and situations of the children with whom they work.
Teacher professional learning as a social practice: an Australian case
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 31-05-2018
‘Out of the loop’: early childhood educators gaining confidence with unfamiliar policy discourse
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-06-2016
VENM: An Algorithm to Accurately Calculate Neutral Slopes and Gradients
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2019MS001613
Thinking about Practice in Integrated Children's Services: Considering Transdisciplinarity
Publisher: The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
Date: 09-08-2012
DOI: 10.1017/CHA.2012.27
Abstract: Integrated service delivery in the early childhood education and care sector is burgeoning as a direct result of government agendas in Australia that privilege services for young children and families, especially those considered most vulnerable and at risk. In many cases this means reviewing and revising current practice to work more collaboratively with other professionals. This paper reports the findings of one aspect of a larger Australian study entitled: ‘Developing and sustaining pedagogical leadership in early childhood education and care professionals’. The focus of this paper is the understandings and practices of professionals in both Queensland and Victoria working in integrated Children's Services across the education, care, community and health sectors. The notion of transdisciplinary practice is also explored as a way to sustain practice. Qualitative data collection methods, including the ‘Circles of Change’ process, the ‘Significant Change’ method and semi-structured interviews were used. The findings indicate concerns around professional identity, feeling valued, role confusion and the boundaries imposed by funding regulations. Working in a transdisciplinary way was generally considered a useful way to move practice forward in these settings, although the ramifications for leadership that this approach brings requires further consideration.
Name it and claim it: supporting early childhood teachers to recognise themselves as researchers
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-06-2023
Video-based methodologies: the affordances of different viewpoints in understanding teachers’ tacit knowledge of practice that supports young children’s oral language
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-04-2018
Teacher practices for building young children’s concepts of the internet through play-based learning
Publisher: James Nicholas Publishers
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.7459/EPT/40.1.03
Metabolic stress-induced cardiomyopathy is caused by mitochondrial dysfunction due to attenuated Erk5 signaling
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-017-00664-8
Abstract: The prevalence of cardiomyopathy from metabolic stress has increased dramatically however, its molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 5 (Erk5) is lost in the hearts of obese/diabetic animal models and that cardiac-specific deletion of Erk5 in mice (Erk5-CKO) leads to d ened cardiac contractility and mitochondrial abnormalities with repressed fuel oxidation and oxidative damage upon high fat diet (HFD). Erk5 regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1α (Pgc-1α) is critical for cardiac mitochondrial functions. More specifically, we show that Gp91phox activation of calpain-1 degrades Erk5 in free fatty acid (FFA)-stressed cardiomyocytes, whereas the prevention of Erk5 loss by blocking Gp91phox or calpain-1 rescues mitochondrial functions. Similarly, adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-mediated restoration of Erk5 expression in Erk5-CKO hearts prevents cardiomyopathy. These findings suggest that maintaining Erk5 integrity has therapeutic potential for treating metabolic stress-induced cardiomyopathy.
Social and Emotional Learning Associated With Universal Curriculum-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 07-12-2018
Individual and Collective Reflection: Deepening Early Childhood Pre-service Teachers’ Reflective Thinking during Practicum
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2018
Abstract: THIS STUDY EXPLORED INDIVIDUAL and collective reflection as pedagogical approaches to support early childhood pre-service teachers’ reflection during practicum. Current trends in the literature show a shift from in idual reflection to collective reflection, with an emphasis on social constructivist perspectives. This qualitative study focused on a Malaysian teacher education institution conducting an undergraduate early years program from the UK as the selected case. Sources of evidence came from interviews, direct observations and documents such as student teachers’ teaching portfolios, their reflection journals and assessment forms. The results show that collective reflection supported higher levels of reflective thinking during practicum at the integration, validation and appropriation levels of reflection, compared to when they reflected in idually. Collective reflection provided Malaysian teachers with a new platform for problem-solving, connecting theory to practice, as well as the sharing and consideration of multiple perspectives, resulting in a deeper understanding of classroom practices.
Exploring and evaluating levels of reflection in pre-service early childhood teachers
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 09-2011
DOI: 10.1177/183693911103600316
Abstract: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY is to add to the current literature that focuses on approaches to assessing and evaluating reflection. It adds to this literature by developing and trialling a method of assessing reflection occurring in student teachers' reflective tasks. The reflective tasks were taken from a Self-Assessment Manual (SAM) developed specifically for early childhood practitioners and student teachers, and piloted with six early childhood student teachers. Through the application of an adapted version of the Boud, Keogh & Walker (1985) framework (Sim, 2006), six levels of reflection processes learners might experience were identified and responses aligned to these stages. Initial results show this model was able to provide an effective framework for objectively evaluating student teachers' levels of reflection, enabling a defined level of analysis for the assessor. What is also noted is the correlation between the type of reflection task and the reflection level demonstrated in the student teacher responses. Introducing the student teachers to the framework so they can self-assess, in order to deepen their understanding of their own reflection levels, is the next step of the project.
Effective mentoring for the next generation of early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-05-2017
Beneficial outcomes and features of playgroup participation for children and adult caregivers: A systematic review of the literature
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
The influence of practicum supervisors’ facilitation styles on student teachers’ reflective thinking during collective reflection
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-02-2018
Early childhood educators’ perceptions of parent–child relationships: A qualitative study
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2018
Abstract: PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIPS are the most critical for children's social and emotional development and wellbeing. While parent–child relationship support programs are well documented, there are none designed for educators’ use within early education and care settings. To inform development of an educator program, an understanding of educators’ everyday practices, their role in supporting parent–child relationships and children's social and emotional development was sought. Educators reported the importance of parent– child relationships, yet were hesitant to engage with parents. Educators’ knowledge was primarily implicit—drawing on observations and practical experiences to build their knowledge of relationships and social and emotional development—which contributed to reluctance in sharing their knowledge with parents. Educators requested theoretical, evidence-based approaches to build further knowledge and inform everyday practices in supporting parent–child relationships. These findings are critical to the development of an educator-led parent–child relationship program for use within education and care settings.
School playgroups: Which features of provision matter?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-03-2022
DOI: 10.1002/BERJ.3785
Abstract: This paper identifies the shared features of provision in exemplar school playgroups defined using the social capital concepts of bonding and bridging relationships. Relationships promote capabilities amongst people, with play a known capability for advancing children's developmental and educational outcomes. By attending to the bonding and bridging relationships in each school playgroup, exemplar groups were identified and studied to reveal their shared features of provision. Six main features of provision were identified, including materials, facilitator, space, location, scheduling and health and safety. Awareness of these features may benefit school leaders and/or governance seeking to implement a school playgroup within their own community. Findings from this project suggest high‐performing school playgroups can operate in areas of lower and higher socioeconomic status and/or parental education, and in regional and rural areas.
Review of “Isoneutral control of effective diapycnal mixing in numerical ocean models with rotated diffusion tensors”
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 03-11-2017
A response to the "comments on the review" for Hochet et al.
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 19-12-2017
Teacher professional learning in Early Childhood education: insights from a mentoring program
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-12-2016
The Effect of Air‐Sea Flux Products, Shortwave Radiation Depth Penetration, and Albedo on the Upper Ocean Overturning Circulation
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 10-09-2018
DOI: 10.1029/2018GL078442
Supporting oral language learning in young children
Publisher: ACER Press
Date: 10-2020
A systematic review of targeted social and emotional learning interventions in early childhood education and care settings
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 24-12-2021
Do Curriculum-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs in Early Childhood Education and Care Strengthen Teacher Outcomes? A Systematic Literature Review
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-02-2020
Abstract: There is growing awareness of the benefits of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in Early Childhood Education and Care settings for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. While many SEL programs aim to strengthen teachers’ capacity and capability to foster children’s social and emotional skills, research effort has focused on understanding the impact on child outcomes, with less emphasis on improvement in teaching quality. This systematic literature review examined the effectiveness of universal curriculum-based SEL programs on teacher outcomes. Fifteen studies met inclusion criteria, capturing ten distinct SEL interventions. The findings suggest SEL programs may strengthen teaching quality, particularly the provision of responsive and nurturing teacher-child interactions and effective classroom management. Data were insufficient to ascertain whether participation improved teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, or social-emotional wellbeing. The potential pathways between SEL intervention, teaching quality and children’s developmental outcomes are discussed.
Related Organisations
Institute Of Early Childhood Development, The University Of Melbourne
Location: Australia
Institute Of Early Childhood Development, State College Of Victoria
Location: Australia
Related Funding Activities
Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP160101759
Start Date: 11-2017
End Date: 09-2023
Amount: $156,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP150104534
Start Date: 06-2015
End Date: 12-2018
Amount: $305,900.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP190100387
Start Date: 05-2020
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $556,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0990128
Start Date: 05-2010
End Date: 12-2014
Amount: $406,857.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity