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1.
This paper outlines the increasing cultural diversity of Australia’s education settings and explicates the global education movement and the new Australian Early Years Learning Framework. It discusses the implication of these factors for early childhood education practice and early childhood teacher education. The key research question considered in this paper is what prior learnings do early childhood educators utilise to consider global education? Data are presented on a research project that explores the prior learning of pre‐service early childhood educators at a major Australian university. The paper shows that, unlike primary and secondary pre‐service teachers, most early childhood education pre‐service teachers have significant professional experiences in educational settings. These prior experiences have a significant impact on pre‐service early childhood educators’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes in the area of global education and align strongly with the global education curriculum movement and new national curriculum.  相似文献   

2.
This article reports a multiple-case study project into early childhood teachers’ thinking and reflection on their teaching interactions with children in three New Zealand early childhood education centres. Using stimulated-recall interviews, teaching teams viewed video-recorded episodes of their teaching and discussed their thinking and reflections, during and after the episodes. Key findings included teachers’ emphasis in their thinking and reflection on children in comparison to their teaching intentions, beliefs and practices. The article concludes by presenting a model for understanding New Zealand early childhood teachers’ thinking and reflections on teaching and learning and the implications for practice emerging from this research.  相似文献   

3.
Culturally, childhood is often understood as a time of innocence which can mean that issues such as ecological sustainability are considered too problematic for early childhood practice. By drawing on findings from a research project that focused on issues of ecological sustainability in early childhood centres in New Zealand from Western and indigenous perspectives, this article contributes a critical perspective of ecological sustainability as an educational issue in early childhood education (ECE). The article falls into two parts: the first section gives an overview of some of the conceptual and theoretical issues that underpin critical perspectives of childhood, and provides a context for current global ECE discourse, while the second section introduces the research project and discusses the intersections of ‘local’ and ‘global’ in light of teachers’ emerging ‘pedagogies of place’. The intent is to demonstrate that critical engagement with such complex global issues as ecological sustainability generates spaces for new understandings of how ECE can contribute to theory and practice of education for sustainability.  相似文献   

4.
This paper reports initial findings of a research project in Queensland, Australia that did not adopt recommended practices from listings established in other countries for early childhood intervention services. Instead, a contextual and participatory process served to determine a relevant listing of program quality indicators for a large, early intervention service conducted by the state Department of Education (Stage 1). Thirty-one indicators of program quality were identified for this particular service. To validate these indicators and to gather additional information about their implementation, a statewide survey was conducted (Stage 2). For each of the 31 indicators, parents and staff from within this service were asked to (a) indicate their level of acceptance, (b) report on current use, and (c) comment on barriers to implementation. Results provide strong support for the indicator listing and reveal high level of indicator acceptance accompanied by a lower level of indicator implementation. Lack of time and lack of staff were identified as the primary barriers to implementation across all indicators. The validated indicator listing for Early Special Education (Qld) services is provided.  相似文献   

5.
Child Care Choices is an example of new early childhood research based on a relationship between policy makers and researchers. It is also an example of large-scale longitudinal team-based research into early childhood in Australia. The ongoing study addresses the professional problem for practitioners and policy makers of the increasing use of multiple care settings and changes to care arrangements in the early years and their possible impacts on child development. The project will follow an initial sample of 693 families with a child aged from birth to three years over a three-year period. An ecological framework is used to include the influences on child development of characteristics of the children and their families, their city or country location, as well as their childcare history and current care arrangements. Development is measured in terms of children’s health, motor development, social and emotional development, language and communication as well as emerging literacy and numeracy. The article discusses the unique features of the project in Australian early childhood research, its history, preliminary findings, and the potential of this kind of large-scale, longitudinal team-based research conducted in partnership with policy makers to contribute to policy as well as to theoretical debate.  相似文献   

6.
The National Quality Standards (NQS) as part of the Australian National Quality Framework were developed in 2011 and included several references to the organisation of small and large groups within early childhood settings (ACECQA 2013). The NQS act in tandem with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR 2009) and are the basis by which early childhood centres are assessed for accreditation in Australia. This paper draws upon current research with early childhood educators as they struggle to understand the new concept of ‘intentional teachers’ within this new regime. There also appears to have been a dramatic shift in the understanding about how large and small groups operate within centres. As the accreditation process unfolds, some early childhood centres have been advised to abandon large or whole group work. At the core of the EYLF are the notions of ‘being, belonging, becoming’, locating young children as part of a community of learners within a democratic society. It therefore appears that tensions and contradictions are emerging between the fundamental principles of the EYLF as they are juxtaposed against the requirement of the NQS. Critical Pedagogy of Place provides a theoretical framework in which to interrogate the ways some early childhood educators interpret intentional teaching both in terms of the organisation of spaces in early childhood centres and the organisation of the children as they inhabit those spaces (Gruenewald 2008). This paper argues that the possible abandonment of large group experiences runs the risk of disconnecting children from their communities and the relationships they form as social participants. Furthermore, it is argued that whole group experiences are crucial elements that facilitate a child’s identity and active citizenry.  相似文献   

7.
Parent and family engagement has long been a significant element in early childhood (EC) education. Lack of family involvement can lead to a number of consequences in children’s physical and emotional development. However, attempts and strategies used by early learning centres and childcare centres to resolve this issue are often unsuccessful. Face-to-face interactions as the traditional way of communication are becoming inadequate due to parents and families’ busy schedules. Through interviews with 17 participants, including EC professionals and parents, from three childcare centres in Northern Tasmania, Australia, the project being reported in this paper explored the readiness of the two stakeholder groups to use social media tools to facilitate better communication, collaboration and family involvement. Findings of the research revealed an interest in adopting social media tools by both EC professionals and parents. Concerns were also expressed from a number of aspects, such as confidentiality and time constraints.  相似文献   

8.
ABSTRACT

New education reforms in Australia, and elsewhere in the world, are calling for degree-qualified early childhood teachers to work in prior to school contexts, including child care. Yet, emerging research indicates that the majority of early childhood graduates are averse to work in child care, with a career desire to work in other contexts – primary, kindergarten, preschool. This paper reports on a pilot study that focused on early childhood teacher preparation, with attention to child care professional experience. Interviews with early childhood teacher educators, including program coordinators, focused on the decision making processes about the child care professional experience. Discourse analysis located some of the competing and complex discursive considerations, illuminating the contingencies and tensions that face early childhood teacher educators. The imperatives on reflective thinking and decision making in complex early childhood teacher education landscapes are illuminated. These contingencies and tensions have implications for the workforce they are charged to prepare, as policy imperatives call for teachers prepared and willing to work in child care.  相似文献   

9.
This paper reports on child data generated in a pilot project of the ACCESS Study of Child and Family Services , an investigation of the degree to which child and family services meet user needs within local communities. Based on theoretical perspectives drawn from social capital theories, the pilot study was undertaken by a partnership of local early childhood services within the precinct of Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (Australia) and included two childcare centres, two kindergartens/ preschools, one playgroup and one primary school. Seventy-six children aged 3-8 years were asked, in informal conversations with their caregivers, to comment on their experiences in the service and to consider possible advice they might give to children coming into the service. Theoretical perspectives from the sociology of childhood are used to examine children's accounts of their lived experience in early childhood services.  相似文献   

10.
High-quality early childhood education is a vital experience for young children with and without disabilities. Social and communication experiences in the context of play represent a core curriculum that sets a foundation for later learning and participation. Using a new self-report instrument, this article describes data collected in a large-scale professional learning project in NSW, Australia, that aimed to support early childhood teachers, paraprofessionals and other personnel who directly work with young children, including individuals who present or are at risk of challenging behaviours. Using a case application model of remote and direct coaching support and intervention centred on the input of expert practitioners, the reports of participants were collected before and after a series of three sequential workshops with embedded action research processes for participants. The program was designed to increase social and communicative exchanges and reduce the likelihood of challenging behaviours, by providing a systematic and practical framework for the introduction of functional behavioural assessment and positive support planning. Respondents indicated significant improvements in knowledge and skills after the program, along with decreased concerns in some areas. The paper concludes by discussing potential areas for an expanded research agenda into the professional learning needs of personnel in this field and more broadly within early childhood support systems and services.  相似文献   

11.
This article outlines an innovative project conducted at Macquarie University, in order to instigate a change in the delivery of the Postgraduate Diploma in Auslan/English Interpreting. This is the first reported educational change project focusing on the training of sign language interpreters. The goal of the project was to research and develop a new curriculum, and delivery mode for the program so that it could be offered in external (distance) mode, and therefore made accessible to potential students from all over Australia. Action research was used to guide the process as it provided a framework for evaluation. The project demonstrates that interpreters can be trained effectively using a blended approach to distance education, and that action research can be used as an effective approach to the implementation of educational change in an emerging field.  相似文献   

12.
In this study, engineers and educators worked together to adapt and apply the ecological footprint (EF) methodology to an early learning centre in Brisbane, Australia. Results were analysed to determine how environmental impact can be reduced at the study site and more generally across early childhood settings. It was found that food, transport and energy consumption had the largest impact on the centre’s overall footprint. In transport and energy, early childhood centres can reduce their impact through infrastructure and cultural change, in association with changed curriculum strategies. Building design, the type of energy purchased and appliance usage can all be modified to reduce the energy footprint. The transport footprint can be reduced through more families using active and public transport, which can be encouraged by providing information, support and facilities and appropriate siting of new centres. Introducing the concept of ecological footprint in early childhood education may be an effective way to educate children, staff and parents on the links between the food they eat, land usage and environmental impact. This study responds directly to the call in this journal for research focused on early childhood education and for more to be made of interdisciplinary research opportunities.  相似文献   

13.
In 2007, Environmental Education Research dedicated a special issue to childhood and environmental education. This paper makes a case for ‘early childhood’ to also be in the discussions. Here, I am referring to early childhood as the before‐school years, focusing on educational settings such as childcare centres and kindergartens. This sector is one of the research ‘holes’ that Reid and Scott ask the environmental education community to have the ‘courage to discuss’. This paper draws on a survey of Australian and international research journals in environmental education and early childhood education seeking studies at their intersection. Few were found. Some studies explored young children’s relationships with nature (education in the environment). A smaller number discussed young children’s understandings of environmental topics (education about the environment). Hardly any centred on young children as agents of change (education for the environment). At a time when there is a growing literature showing that early investments in human capital offer substantial returns to individuals and communities and have a far‐reaching effect – and when early childhood educators are beginning to engage with sustainability – it is vital that our field responds. This paper calls for urgent action – especially for research – to address the gap.  相似文献   

14.
This paper draws on the comparative and qualitative data from a triple case study carried out in three semi‐rural early childhood education centres in Canada, India, and South Africa. The primary objective of this four year study was to provide in‐depth understanding of the ways in which policy, practice, and culture intersect in semi‐rural contexts. This article focuses on the organisation and use of materials in the preschool space as a means to examine the interplay between indigenous cultural norms as these relate to working with children and trends towards uniformity or globalisation of early childhood practice.  相似文献   

15.
This paper describes the pilot project (Project ASSIST) on early intervention of 40 disabled infants between the ages of 2 and 5 years. Its main objective was to look into the feasibility of integrating children with mild disabilities into mainstream preschool centres in Singapore. The intervention goals were related to the problems encountered by the children, their families and teachers. Professional staff such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech therapists and psychologists intervened through providing consultations to parents and teachers who were taught the intervention follow‐up. An evaluation conducted after 9 months of the program (a) showed high levels of peer and school personnel acceptance, (b) indicated that Project ASSIST was an important service to both children and their families, and (c) demonstrated the feasibility of integrating children with disabilities into mainstream preschool centres.  相似文献   

16.
There has been a growing focus in New Zealand on the early literacy learning of young children. This emphasis has challenged early childhood teachers to ensure there are appropriate literacy events within their programme. The aim of this study was to identify early childhood teachers' knowledge and beliefs about literacy learning and examine how these translated into literacy practices. Four early childhood settings were chosen—two sessional kindergartens and two full‐day early learning centres. Eight early childhood teachers from four different centres were interviewed. All teachers held a recognized early childhood qualification and were working within the framework of Te Whaariki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. Five children in each setting were observed using narrative observations. All teachers were committed to providing meaningful and purposeful literacy experiences within a play‐based programme. However, although teachers had created rich early literacy environments, there was some tendency toward formal skills‐based interactions. The children themselves created many opportunities for authentic and rich literacy events.  相似文献   

17.
Given the current climate of high levels of teacher attrition, it is critically important that we understand what keeps early career teachers in the profession. This paper reports early findings from a project addressing the question: ‘What conditions are conducive to promoting teacher resilience and retention in the first two years of teaching?’ The research aims to identify the internal strengths and external strategies that promote resilience in early career teachers. School leaders and first year teachers from 59 schools across two states in Australia contributed to in-depth, open-ended interviews in which they talked about the experiences of beginning teaching. From this data, narrative portraits were developed and emerging themes documented and analysed. A strong emerging theme is how relationships with principals influence teachers’ feelings of personal and professional well-being, with both negative and positive effects reported. This paper uses portraits of two early career teachers to examine this theme. The findings provide important insights for principals who wish to foster resilience in early career teachers.  相似文献   

18.
The National Statement on Technology Education will soon be released in Australia. The statement advocates adesign,make andappraise approach to technology education. The document includes Year One children and provides exemplars of curriculum activities for early childhood children. Although much curriculum development in technology education for primary and early childhood has taken place in the UK, little research has been conducted within the early childhood area in Australia. This paper describes a study which sought to investigate how thedesign,make andappraise approach could be implemented within early childhood using existing materials, procedures and teaching programmes. In particular, the pre-school programme was considered to see if the approach was suitable for young children, and if girls could be encouraged into this newly defined area of study. Specializations: early childhood science education, early childhood technology education.  相似文献   

19.
This paper reports on a cross-cultural research study of children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres. A total of 228 young children aged 4–5 years in seven child care centres in Hong Kong and in the Adelaide City of South Australia participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected via a mixed method approach. Result showed that dancing/moving was children’s most preferred musical activity in centres. Significant differences were found between children’s cultural contexts and their preferences for three activities: (1) Singing; (2) Listening; and (3) Playing instruments. Qualitative data further revealed the social phenomena of these two cultural contexts which influenced children’s preferences. Implications for the curriculum planning of early childhood music education arising from these findings are discussed.  相似文献   

20.
The purpose of this study conducted in 36 infant–toddler centres (Kinderkrippen) in the city of Munich in Bavaria/Germany was to explore structural characteristics of early child care and education and their effects on child care quality. Stepwise regressions and variance analysis (Manova) examined the relation between quality of care and structural characteristics such as group size, staff competence and preparation time. A multi‐respondent approach was employed, including self‐report questionnaires of educators (Erzieherinnen) as well as data on local working conditions collected from the directors of the centres. The findings of this study suggest that different sets of variables can be used to predict quality of education for under‐threes. The practitioners' reported quality of education was found to relate to higher competence (with regard to centre programme, documentation, teamwork and staff qualification), better orientation towards the children's needs and better working atmosphere. Furthermore there were multivariate effects of the availability of and networking with external specialists, preparation time, and grouping arrangements within the centre such as changing from a home‐group approach to an open‐group setting. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for research and the basic impact of education in early childhood.  相似文献   

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