Australian Early Years Research Articles

Prioritising children’s participation in research: including children’s voices in updating a national early learning framework

ABSTRACT Involving children as stakeholders and including their voices in updating the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (for children birth to age 5) was a focus of this project design. The design was grounded in participatory approaches with a children’s rights perspective, as the team prioritised seeking children’s views and encouraging their agency on matters that affect them. This three-stage research project across 15 months sought children’s input in each stage. Research methods consisted of everyday playful activities supported by educators in early childhood environments using dialogic drawing, talking circles and discussions using photo elicitation. Educators received information to support their use of these methods. While parents/carers gave ethical consent, children’s assent was obtained. Across the three stages, analysis of children’s drawings, comments and discussions showed the importance of their relationships with educators, their friends and the relationships between their educators and families. These findings demonstrate the importance of educators building reciprocal, respectful relationships with children and their families and between children. Further, these research methods fitted with the foundational pedagogical practices of the educators, with educators commenting on how useful they were and children on how they enjoyed using them.

Outdoor learning across the early years in Australia: Inconsistencies, challenges, and recommendations

In this article, we explore inconsistencies in the implementation of outdoor learning across Australian early years’ education. The benefits of outdoor learning justify regular employment of this pedagogical approach in both early childhood education and primary school settings. Early childhood education services provide daily outdoor learning opportunities as required by Australian national policy documents. However, Australian primary schools are not subject to such requirements and teachers often face challenges regarding outdoor learning, thus regular implementation in primary classes can be a low priority. As children in the year before school and the first year of school have similar learning and developmental needs, we argue that the benefits of outdoor learning should be available to all children across the early years. We also recommend regular outdoor learning in the first year of schooling to promote continuity as children transition from early childhood education to primary schools.

Changing musical self-efficacy for Australian early childhood educators, teachers and carers

Early childhood educators (ECEs), teachers and carers in Australia have been developing an awareness and understanding of the fundamental importance of discovery play and process in various aspects of children’s learning since 2009. The focus in most areas of the curriculum has shifted from teacher directed rote learning, based on outcome or product to children’s playful, experiential, discovery processes in line with the Australian developed Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). ECEs, teachers and carers have developed an awareness of process pertaining to most aspects of the early childhood (EC) curriculum. Through my research I discovered that there is little definition or exploration of how this process pertains to EC music education. The teaching of music has largely remained focused on performance or product, singing songs or dancing with or without instruments, relying on recordings. Playful process if offered predominantly involves instrumental play and discovery of timbre. I found that there was little definition, experience or prescription of what musical process might involve. I hoped to determine how to effectively enable ECEs, teachers and carers to sing and change their musicking practices. My longitudinal Action Research (AR) study revealed that the process of reflective vocal play and vocal doodling was almost entirely lacking and yet pivotal for the development of vocal self-efficacy, musical metacognition and vocal agency of both ECEs, teachers and carers and their children.

Enacting everyday democratic pedagogies in a birth-five early years setting

The Australian Early Years’ Learning Framework aspires to put democratic participation at the centre of policy and practice by positioning children and families as able, and children as contributing citizens from birth. Examination of current pedagogical efforts to achieve this aspiration are needed to expand knowledge of the supports and challenges experienced in positioning early childhood education settings as democratic learning spaces. This paper contributes to this endeavour by exploring the participatory pedagogies exercised by adults and children to re-imagine mealtimes in an Australian birth-five setting. The research employed relevant aspects of Dewey’s experiential education theory, case study and multiple perspectives to provide a holistic view of participants’ various lived experiences. The paper critically examines elements within early childhood educators’ professional identities and discourses that enabled and constrained one setting’s reimagining and transformation of their micro-everyday practice of mealtime. Findings demonstrated how bringing multiple perspectives into dialogue was significant to participants’ journey in prioritising democracy in mealtime experiences. This research also highlights the importance of recognising the pedagogical role of the physical environment, and the leveraging of positional leadership.

Critical Reflection on Cultural Competence: The Teacher as an Autoethnographic Researcher

In this paper, I explore the importance of incorporating principles of social justice and cultural awareness in 21st century education. Specifically, I explore the utilization of autoethnographic research as a powerful tool for non-Indigenous teachers to enhance their cultural awareness. To illustrate this, I present a vignette featuring an Australian Indigenous child deeply connected to his culture to describe how a culturally insensitive school counsellor misdiagnosed him with a global developmental delay. In contrast, the child’s teachers strived to avoid cultural insensitivity and challenge institutional racism by assessing the child and taking into account local funds of knowledge. To enrich the understanding of cultural competence, I integrate Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) social ecological model, a global framework, with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The EYLF, developed based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, reinforces the importance of international children’s rights and may support non-Indigenous teachers’ understanding of Indigenous children. By combining these approaches, educators can foster a culturally aware and inclusive environment for their students.

Digital technologies and the early childhood sector: are we fostering digital capabilities and agency in young children?

Across Australia, early years learning frameworks recommend digital technologies be integrated into early years centres. Introduced in 2009, the Early Years Learning Framework, requires educators to foster children’s use of technologies for accessing information, investigating ideas, and representing their thinking. The National Quality Framework also encourages children to engage with digital technology for experimentation. Using a researcher created Digital Technology Activity Framework for early years centres, this study examined broad digital technology integration in a sample of Australian early years centres. Using desktop audits, interviews and observations, the study found that while digital technologies were widely embedded, there were significant opportunities evident for further promoting children’s agency with devices. These findings suggest that to support children’s achievement of learning outcomes with digital technologies, greater sector-wide professional learning and aligned resources in effective digital pedagogy and policy development would be valuable for both early years centre directors and educators.

Educators’ Construction of a Sense of Belonging in ECEC: An Australian Case Study

The involvement of refugee families in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a complex issue in many countries. In this paper, we explore how early childhood (EC) educators construct refugee families’ sense of belonging in two metropolitan and one regional EC setting in Victoria, Australia. We undertook a multiple case study, analyzing interview data. We implemented Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital and identity capital, drawing on the Provision Articles from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Australian Early Years Learning Framework 2.0. Our study revealed the tensions between creating a sense of belonging and recognizing the identity and cultural capital of refugee children and their families as they access ECEC programs. We conclude with suggestions for ways forward to navigate this space, including the need for greater awareness of research on the importance of a sense of belonging for refugee families in ECEC settings.

Bush kinders: enabling girls’ STEM identities in early childhood

ABSTRACT Research demonstrates that powerful factors are involved in growing young girls’ STEM understandings. The development of a girl’s STEM identity relies on interaction with significant adults/others and the availability of a positive STEM learning environment. Undertaking research into bush kinders across 2015–2020, our data highlighted the learning that was occurring for young children four to five years of age. The children’s play dynamic was facilitating girls’ STEM identities and enabling STEM learning. Applying ethnography to this longitudinal study, data includes researcher observations of children and educators, interviews with educators and educators’ noticing . Using vignettes that demonstrate the STEM disciplines the girls were experiencing, we consider the opportunities that exist for girls’ development of a STEM identity in this context in Australian early years’ education. We argue that Australian bush kinder settings in Australia allow young girls to develop STEM identities through social interactions and that bush kinders act as enablers of STEM learning.

Physical literacy & early childhood executive function and language development: Active Early Learning randomised controlled trial

Background: Executive function involves a number of cognitive processes that are integral to the self-regulation of behaviour and developing social and cognitive competence in young children. Physical activity is increasingly recognised as an important determinant of cognitive functioning among older populations but less is known about these relationships in early childhood. In younger populations, it has been suggested that interventions aiming to increase physical activity should focus on children’s physical literacy. Physical literacy can be defined as developing capabilities in the physical, psychological, cognitive and social domains that facilitate and promote an active lifestyle across the life course. The contribution of physical literacy programs to the healthy development of language and executive function during early childhood is yet to be fully investigated. In this randomised controlled trial, we examined the effect of a physical literacy curriculum, delivered in an early learning centre setting on child executive function and language development. Methods: 321 children aged 3-5 years from 16 early learning centres were randomly assigned to the intervention (8 centres; n=169 children) or control group (7 centres, n=152 children). The intervention group received 20 weeks of the physical literacy curriculum, while the control group received usual practice care. Executive function (inhibition [Go/NoGo]; visual spatial working memory [Mr Ant]; shifting [Card Sort]) and expressive vocabulary was assessed using the Early Years Tool Box. Linear mixed effects models were used to determine differences in groups, adjusting for clustering of children within centres. Results: Children receiving the intervention had greater improvements on measures of inhibition (β =1.97, p=.001) and expressive vocabulary (β=0.5, p=.033), compared to control group children. No significant differences were observed for visual-spatial working memory or shifting. Discussion: A physical literacy curriculum that aligns with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework and is fully integrated into early learning centre practices is beneficial in improving aspects of young children’s executive function and language development. These data support the case for greater investment in physical literacy professional development for educators working in early learning centres. Conflict of interest statement: My co-authors and I acknowledge that we have no conflict of interest of relevance to the submission of this abstract.

Designing a Model of Practice for Australian Teachers of Young School-age Children on the Autism Spectrum

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.

Field testing an Australian model of practice for teaching young school-age students on the autism spectrum

BackgroundInternationally, many mainstream teachers have identified that they lack the specialised knowledge and skills to adequately include and educate the increasing number of students on the autism spectrum in their classrooms. AimsWe investigated the experiences and perceptions of Australian mainstream teachers who field-tested a validated Model of Practice designed to support their daily work with young school-aged students on the spectrum. This new online resource comprised 29 foundational research-informed practices, each accompanied by a 2-page practice brief. Methods and proceduresA convergent parallel mixed-methods design used semi-structured interviews and surveys to gather data from a sample of teachers (n = 38) prior to and following an 8-week field-testing period. Differentiated levels of professional support to facilitate engagement with the model were provided, with teachers receiving either in-person support, online support, or no additional support. Outcomes and resultsA majority of teachers endorsed the practice model. Those who engaged with the model reported statistically significant increases in knowledge, confidence, and efficacy. Professional support facilitated teacher use of the model. No significant changes in practice use were found. Conclusions and implicationsThis field-testing provides preliminary evidence of the applicability of the practice model in Australian early years classrooms. These findings have wider implications for the ways in which professional development can be targeted to promote research-informed teaching practice. What this paper adds This novel practice-based resource shows promise for building the capacity of mainstream teachers in educating young school-age students on the autism spectrum in the Australian context. Outcomes from this field testing confirm the usefulness of focusing on foundational teaching practices rather than single, stand-alone interventions. In addition, this research has highlighted the benefit of professional support in bridging the research-to-practice gap in autism education.

Reading for pleasure: exploring reading culture in an Australian early years classroom

AbstractResearch indicates a powerful correlation between students' reading enjoyment, motivation and achievement. This Australian case study investigates how reading for pleasure (RfP) approaches are demonstrated in the teaching of reading in a Stage 1 (6‐year‐old to 7‐year‐old students) classroom. The methodology was designed to mirror aspects of Cremin's 2014 UK‐based study, Teachers As Readers. Engaging an interpretivist paradigm, the case was analysed through three distinct but intersecting lenses, knowledge, affect and material, to develop a rich and multifaceted insight into the social world of the classroom. The study found that while the teacher's pedagogic practices for teaching reading incorporated many indicators of a RfP approach, this stemmed from personal ideologies rather than explicit knowledge of a RfP pedagogical framework. Hence, while the study indicates the positive impacts of RfP approaches on this classroom's reading culture, the efficacy of this pedagogy could be potentially limited if an explicit understanding of the theoretical framework does not underpin teachers' actions.

Primary Teacher Attitudes towards Productive Struggle in Mathematics in Remote Learning versus Classroom-Based Settings

Given what is known about the importance of productive struggle for supporting student learning of mathematics at all levels, the current study sought to examine teacher attitudes towards student struggle when students learn mathematics in remote learning settings compared with classroom settings. Eighty-two Australian early years primary teachers involved in a professional learning initiative focused on teaching mathematics through sequences of challenging tasks completed a questionnaire inviting them to compare the two settings. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, we found that teachers were more positive about the value of student struggle in classroom-based settings compared with remote learning settings. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses revealed four themes capturing why teachers viewed efforts to support productive struggle in a remote learning setting as potentially problematic: absence of a teacher-facilitated, synchronous, learning environment; parents’ negative attitudes towards struggle when learning mathematics; lack of social connection and peer-to-peer collaboration; and difficulties accessing learning materials. Suggestions for mitigating some of these challenges in the future are put forward.

Understanding Early Childhood Science Education: Comparative Analysis of Australian and Finnish Curricula

This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities, teacher’s role and assessment. The curriculum analysis framework developed by Van den Akker (2003) was used as a methodological framework for the curricula analysis. Based on the theory-driven content analyses, findings show that both countries have several components of constructivist curriculum, but not always clearly focused on science education. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) integrates children’s science learning within their five specific learning outcomes, whereas the Finnish national core curriculum for early childhood education and care has no defined learning outcomes in general. The Finnish curriculum more clearly than EYLF encompasses science and environmental education as a learning domain, within which children participate in targeted scientific activities to gain procedural knowledge in specific environmental-related concepts. More focus should be turned to the teachers’ role and assessment, which are not determined in science context in both countries. This international comparative study calls for the need of a considered EC curriculum framework that more explicitly has science domains with specifically defined rationale, aims, content areas, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The implications lie in providing early childhood educators with tangible and theoretically solid curriculum framework and resources in order to foster scientific thinking in young children.

Beyond the preschool gate: teacher pedagogy in the Australian ‘bush kinder’

ABSTRACT Research into pedagogical approaches used in early years’ nature education, more specifically European and UK forest schools, remains according to Leather, ‘undertheorised.’ In a similar situation in Australia, the bush kindergarten programmes (referred to as ‘bush kinders’), have had limited research attention. Influenced by European and UK forest school approaches, bush kinders are a recent development in Australian early years nature education. We discuss an ethnographic study where teaching and learning in three bush kinder settings was observed, each with different pedagogical approaches. The paper reports one main finding, where a wide range of pedagogical approaches were observed across the different bush kinder sites. To theoretically frame these pedagogical approaches, our analysis builds on Edwards’ notion of play-based learning, along with a model of inquiry-based teaching proposed by Furtak et al. Using ethnographic methods we draw on fieldwork data and research literature to analyse bush kinder pedagogies. The paper contributes to the conceptualisation of pedagogy in early childhood nature and bush kinder programmes.

“You Know, I Could Trip and Fall Onto the Track!”: Inspiring Text Production

AbstractThe authors present the literacy pedagogical approach LAUNCH and reveal its influence on young learners as engineers of literacy learning through text production. Findings are reported from design‐based research in a case study of an Australian early years classroom. Using a qualitative orientation, data were generated from video and audio recordings, cogenerative dialogues, and artifacts. Data pertain to a 5‐year‐old boy, his teacher, and the first author in the capacity of coteacher and researcher. The authors draw attention to 11 literacy practices that afforded opportunities to give form to and express customary, everyday text production, such as drawing and writing, while introducing new, untried forms of producing text. Central to these literacy practices are pedagogic actions that conceptualize ideas about how teaching and learning text production modalities might occur in the early years of schooling.

Designing a Model of Practice for Australian Teachers of Young School-age Children on the Autism Spectrum

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.

The impact of a sustained oral language professional learning program on Australian early years’ teachers’ knowledge, practice and beliefs: a mixed-methods exploration

ABSTRACTTeachers in the early years of primary school play an important role in supporting students’ oral language skills; however, there is evidence to suggest many Australian teachers are not adequately prepared to provide systematic, evidence-based instruction in oral language and early literacy. The aim of this study was to describe the observed and self-perceived changes in knowledge, practice and beliefs of teachers who participated in a sustained oral language professional learning program. A second aim was to determine whether this development was adequately accounted for by current models of professionalism and professional development. Three case studies are presented, using data taken from a survey of teacher knowledge and the analysis of samples of classroom talk at three time points, and semi-structured interviews. These case studies illustrate that despite participating in the same sustained professional learning program, there was inconsistency in the teachers’ outcomes. Growth in knowledge was variable; and change in self-rated ability to provide instruction was influenced by observed student outcomes (which teachers attributed to change in their practice). In one case, professional growth was restricted by factors within the school environment.

Early childhood educators’ perceptions of the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Engaged professional learners

Educational change is dependent on the practices and perceptions of educators. Yet efforts to sustain teacher’s adoption and implementation of reform packages often deteriorate over time. Monitoring educators’ engagement across the reform process, and making adaptions to reflect key findings, is central to successful implementation. This cultural–historical study explored trends in early childhood educators’ perceptions of an Australian nation-wide educational reform, making recommendations based on the findings. Results from the Baseline Evaluations of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) represented the initiation phase, whilst an online questionnaire explored educators’ attitudes and concerns four years on. Data analysis included a thematic and content analysis where the dialects of everyday concepts and scientific concepts helped give meaning to the clusters found. Whilst findings show an overall positive orientation towards the EYLF, concerns are evident at both moments in time. Although this initially suggests educators have not progressed in their implementation of the framework, a theorisation of the results suggests educators are seeking effective means of transforming professional concepts of the EYLF into practice.

Intentional teaching: Can early-childhood educators create the conditions for children’s conceptual development when following a child-centred programme?

This study investigated the practice of two early-childhood educators and their interactions with 24 children (mean age 5.2 years) in an inner-suburban Australian preschool setting. The study specifically examined the nature of how educators ‘intentionally teach’ concepts to young children in a child-centred programme. Six hours of educator–child digital video observations and three hours of educator interviews were gathered and analysed using Kravtsova’s (2009) concept of ‘subject positioning’. The findings suggest that it was challenging to teach intentionally in a child-centred programme based on children’s interests. This research is the first phase of a larger study. It is argued that the tensions between educators’ beliefs about child learning and their role in relation to fostering children’s conceptual development in child-centred programmes could make it difficult for educators to implement intentional teaching as presented in the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009).