This study explored strategies for enhancing Grade R mathematics learning by fostering a collaborative teacher–parent partnership through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach underpinned by Bricolage theory. Recognizing the foundational importance of early numeracy skills for later academic success, the study addressed persistent gaps in the quality of early mathematics education, particularly in under-resourced contexts. Teachers and parents were engaged as co-researchers to jointly design and implement low-cost, contextually relevant numeracy activities, drawing on locally available resources. Data from reflective journals, collaborative workshops, and participant interviews were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that participatory collaboration enhanced children’ mathematical confidence, promoted creative pedagogy, and strengthened home–school continuity. However, challenges such as initial role confusion and time constraints required ongoing negotiation and reflection. The study concludes that a Bricolage-informed participatory framework empowers communities to co-create sustainable learning innovations and that fostering authentic teacher–parent partnerships is crucial for advancing early mathematics learning. Recommendations are made for teacher training, school practice, educational policy, and future research.
In contemporary society, increasing rates of divorce and non-marital childbearing have resulted in more children growing up without a father residing in the same household. Research on non-resident fathers has disproportionately focused on child support compliance or visitation schedules, with limited attention to the important quality and dynamics of father-child relationships. This scoping review examines the literature to identify the factors and dynamics of interactions between non-resident fathers and their contributions to children’s (0–8) social-emotional development in early years. Overall, this review establishes limited research and a gap in understanding of the interactional dynamics between non-resident fathers and their children. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that the narrow focus on behavioural problems and non-resident fathers’ visitation frequency as a measure of children’s social-emotional development demands a more holistic lens that values children’s perspectives.
Professional language in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is not neutral; it functions as a political mechanism through which professional identity, responsibility, quality and safety are constructed and contested. This paper examines how political and media discourse shapes representations of the ECEC workforce in contemporary Australian debates about safety and workforce reform. Drawing on poststructural policy analysis, particularly Bacchi and Goodwin’s What’s the Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) framework, the study analyses a corpus of visible public texts including ministerial media releases, government communications and national news coverage relating to early childhood safety and workforce policy. The analysis identifies three recurring discursive patterns: the naming of educators as “childcare workers”, the framing of safeguarding through individual vigilance such as “spotting predators”, and the representation of temporary workforce funding as “pay rises”. These constructions individualise responsibility, displace systemic accountability and obscure the structural conditions required for sustainable and high-quality provision.
Physical literacy is a pillar of life-long physical activity participation. This study examined the psychometric properties of a virtual assessment protocol for multiple physical literacy sub-components among preschool-aged children (3-5 years). Baseline data were from the Canadian PLAYshop randomized controlled trial involving 130 participants aged 3-5 years and their parents. Children's fundamental movement skills (FMS), motivation, confidence, enjoyment, physical activity, and age were measured. Acceptable inter-rater reliability (10% of videos) for TGMD-3 skills (ICC = 0.88-0.97) and internal consistency for parental-reported children's motivation/enjoyment/confidence (alpha = 0.72) and just the confidence items (2 items; alpha = 0.66) but not for FMS (alpha = 0.51) was observed. Positive correlations of physical activity and age with specific FMS skills provided preliminary support for convergent validity. Overall, findings indicate initial support for the PLAYshop's virtual assessment protocol. However, FMS should not be combined into a total FMS score, and the self-reported children's enjoyment score should be interpreted with caution.
This paper reports on the first known study to utilise time-use diary (TUD) methodology to investigate the nature of Chinese educators' work. Employing a mixed-method research approach, the study used a TUD based on a taxonomy developed by Australian scholars (e.g. Harrison et al., 2023; Wong et al., 2015), along with interviews to gather participants' perspectives on the appropriateness of the TUD for the Chinese context. Seventeen participants who worked in a private long-day care centre completed the TUD during four one-hour blocks across their work day; of these, seven participants went on to complete interviews. The results provide insights into the daily work of Chinese educators, and demonstrate the diversity, intensity and complexity of their work. The study also found that TUD methodology and the Taxonomy are appropriate for the Chinese context, but may need some modifications. Implications are discussed for both policy makers and researchers.
This paper explores the methodology of portraiture as a participatory approach to research with young children. At its core, the study is rooted in the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), which affirms children's rights to express their views in matters affecting them and to have those views taken seriously. In particular, the research is framed using Lundy's (2007) model of voice, which provides a practical framework for realising Article 12 of the UNCRC. According to Lundy, meaningful participation by children requires four key elements: Space (children must be given the opportunity to express a view), Voice (they must be facilitated to express their views), Audience (those views must be listened to), and Influence (those views must be acted upon, where appropriate).
In Australia, preservice teachers are required to complete a capstone Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) to graduate. A TPA a nationally endorsed assessment, requires preservice teachers to demonstrate their practice (planning, teaching, assessing and evaluation) against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST - Graduate Level). To date, in most states including Queensland, this assessment is completed in a school and not a prior-to-school early childhood education and care (ECEC) setting. This fails to recognise the professional nature of ECEC teaching and is a barrier to increasing the number of qualified teachers in prior-to-school education. This paper shares insights from a pilot study that investigated the implementation of a TPA in kindergarten settings. Drawing on views and experiences of preservice early childhood teachers, supervising early childhood teachers, approved providers and university staff, we explore the benefits and challenges of implementing a TPA in ECEC settings.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) research has largely prioritised Western approaches, leaving gaps in understanding Indigenous practices. This mixed-methods study surveyed 310 early childhood teachers across Aotearoa New Zealand to examine how they support SEL, particularly through drawing on the richness of M & amacr;ori cultural values and approaches. Data were collected via Likert-scale items and open-ended questions, analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis and the He Awa Whiria framework. Findings reveal a movement toward bicultural SEL practices grounded in M & amacr;ori and Western knowledge streams. Teachers demonstrate this shift through tu & amacr;kana-t & emacr;ina relationships, p & umacr;r & amacr;kau (traditional narratives), and M & amacr;ori language to foster SEL. While confidence is still developing, teachers increasingly view M & amacr;ori approaches as fundamental rather than supplementary. These insights highlight teacher practices that support children's SEL and promote the bicultural vision of Te Wh & amacr;riki, providing encouragement for teachers and guidance for professional development that fosters culturally grounded SEL.
Early childhood teacher (ECT) shortages in Australia have prompted a government, employer, and higher education focus on upskilling pathways for diploma-qualified educators. Distinctions between ECT and diploma-qualified educator roles-and what each is expected to know and do-are, however, unclear. This paper reports on the first stage of a doctoral study investigating the efficacy of upskilling to build the supply and quality of Australia's ECT workforce. Thematic analysis of employer interviews (n = four) and industrial documents (n = eight)-including awards, enterprise agreements, and job descriptions-revealed distinct expectations of ECTs in professional knowledge, leadership, and responsibilities with families and communities. Employers noted that in practice, these distinctions vary with context, graduate preparedness, and ECTs' professional growth. Findings also revealed ambiguity and a discourse of equivalence that positions ECTs and diploma-qualified educators as interchangeable, risking devaluation of the ECT role. Implications for policy and service providers are discussed.
The transition to formal schooling is a critical milestone in a child's development. For Aboriginal children, early experiences are shaped by both cultural strengths and enduring impacts of colonisation. This study explored factors influencing Aboriginal families' transition-to-school experiences in an urban Western Australian community. Using a Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) approach, we combined Group Model Building (GMB) and yarning to engage 12 Aboriginal parents in mapping the complex factors shaping transition. A workshop co-facilitated by an Aboriginal community leader produced a causal loop diagram illustrating five domains of influence: practical barriers, social and cultural factors, relationships and communication, child wellbeing, and early developmental support. Parents identified challenges including food insecurity, cultural disconnection, communication issues with schools, and difficulty accessing assessments, alongside strengths including kinship networks and Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers. Findings demonstrate how GMB, adapted with yarning, can centre Aboriginal voices and guide co-designed, culturally responsive transition programs.
What does it mean to feel culturally safe within a teaching team? This article reports on an Australian Research Council (ARC) project aimed at strengthening anti-racist orientations and practices in ECE teaching teams in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. While the rich and diverse cultural contexts of children and families are outlined in curriculum and policy mandates, existing research in Australasia largely disregards teachers' cultural realities and relationships. Teachers and educators have an enormous influence on young children's emerging attitudes, and thus also on (re)shaping future orientations and behaviours towards diverse identities and racial injustices within Australasian communities and society. This article outlines some of the insights and nuances emerging in this project. Grounded in a feminist, poststructural approach it illustrates the critical importance of paying ongoing attention to diversities amongst teachers in their teaching teams, as a crucial factor in promoting more just treatments of diversities in ECE settings and wider communities.
In Australia, early childhood education and care (ECEC) has experienced substantial policy reform in the past 15 years with major shifts in qualification requirements, a national prescribed curriculum, and increasing focus on quality. Teams of early childhood educators are expected to collaboratively navigate these reforms while making decisions that lead to quality. This paper draws on a PhD study that examined how teams of educators in ECEC make curricular and pedagogical decisions within a complex policy landscape. Three key national policy documents that govern educators' work-Guide to the National Quality Framework (NQF), Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), and modern awards-were closely analysed to make visible the complexities of how team decision-making is conceptualised in policy. Findings contribute to the global political attention on ECEC and offers ways forward for educators, organisations, and governments to re-align the reform strategy and strengthen policy implementation, leading to quality outcomes for children.
There is mixed consensus on the long-term academic impacts of Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs on children's outcomes. While some studies show sustained benefits from preschool through to secondary school, others report that early gains, particularly in literacy, fadeout by grade 1. One explanation proposed in the literature is that this fadeout may result from ECE programs emphasis on constrained literacy skills over unconstrained literacy skills. This scoping review examined how the terms constrained and unconstrained literacy skills are defined, interpreted, and applied in early childhood education research, and the extent to which researchers find these concepts useful. Findings from 19 peer-reviewed and 22 grey literature articles revealed five main categories: benefits of ECE services, evaluation, family involvement, teacher perception, and skill development and assessment. The review illustrated inconsistent definitions and variable application of the constrained/unconstrained framework yet also highlighted its conceptual value for explaining different developmental trajectories in literacy skills. Overall, findings suggest that unconstrained literacy skills may fade out at a slower rate than constrained literacy skills, underscoring the need for ECE programs to adopt a balanced and comprehensive literacy approach that supports both types of skills.
While opportunities to learn about potential careers in early childhood are often limited to stereotypical role play contexts, a project undertaken in collaboration with three early childhood centres in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, demonstrated that early childhood settings can play an important role in supporting children to expand their understandings of potential careers in the World of Work [WoW], and help interrupt trajectories of disadvantage and unemployment. For children in this low socioeconomic area, families' ability to support their educational and career aspirations was sometimes found to be limited by unemployment and a lack of positive educational experiences. Intentional Teaching was identified as an important pedagogy to address children's lack of knowledge about potential careers and in particular, highlighted the rich potential for drawing attention to the WoW through children's play interests and incidental conversations.
Climate change exacerbates food insecurity, malnutrition, and health risks, hindering child development in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa. Nutrition education that is contextually relevant empowers caregivers with knowledge on nutrition literacy, food diversity, and hygiene, enabling informed decisions that support child well-being in environments adversely impacted by a changing climate. This article presents a qualitative case study of a facilitator-led nutrition education programme implemented in diverse South African communities. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, the programme is positioned as a mesosystem intervention that strengthens connections between home, health, and early learning environments. Participant feedback gathered through interactive workshops highlighted increased understanding of dietary diversity, regular health checks, and hygiene practices. Participants reported greater confidence and a willingness to share their learning within their communities. Findings suggest that culturally relevant, community-based nutrition education can reduce malnutrition, strengthen climate resilience, and empower primary caregivers as community change agents. The study demonstrates how everyday caregiving and education practices can serve as practical mechanisms for climate adaptation and sustainable child development.
Early childhood educators may screen for mild motor delay in 4-year-old children but require appropriate resources. This study developed and evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of an instructional resource designed for educators to screen mild motor delay. An explorative sequential mixed methods study was used to co-design an instructional resource through focus groups with early childhood educators, then pilot test and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the instructional resource using a survey. Two focus groups guided the development of the instructional resource, a website, and manual. Eighteen educators assessed 18 children using the resources. There was good concordance in scores between educators and physiotherapist (Bland-Altman: M diff = -0.5, limits = -3.5 to 2.5). Educators 'strongly agreed' or 'agreed' on the instructional resources' ethicality (90%), efficiency (75%), liked its use (75%), and believed it achieved its intended purpose (70%). These findings suggest that the instructional resource is feasible and acceptable.
This study was conducted to explore preschool teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and their self-efficacy in mathematics education across various factors and to determine the relationship between these two variables. The sample consists of 202 preschool teachers. Data were collected using the 'Preschool Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale regarding Mathematics' and the 'Preschool Teachers' Self-Efficacy Scale for Preschool Mathematics Education.' The results indicated that a majority of teachers had low or below-average levels of PCK in mathematics. When examining the levels of self-efficacy, teachers were identified to have high self-efficacy levels for both preparing and implementing mathematical activities. A positive but weak relationship was noted between the level of PCK in mathematics and self-efficacy levels for preparing and implementing mathematics activities. Considering the impact of mathematics education provided during early childhood on academic skills in later years, the importance of teachers' mathematics-related practices, their pedagogical content knowledge, self-efficacy becomes evident.
Diverse family structures and non-binary and transgender identities have become increasingly visible in Australia. Nonetheless, gender diversity and LGBT parented families are currently challenging topics in early child education and care (ECEC) despite their inclusion in the Early Years Learning Framework. This co-design study explored the current experiences of educators in ECEC services with respect to inclusion of LGBT families and children's gender diversity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ECEC educators from 17 services that were seeking training in diversity and inclusion of LGBT families. Reflexive thematic analysis generated themes relating to knowing queer people, the centrality of the boy in a dress, variations in the ways the topic is handled in ECEC programming (or not), concerns about community reactions (both LGBT and mainstream), and allyship. Findings suggest that work is needed to build educator capacity to have conversations with children, embed learning in programming, and work together with parents.
This policy commentary overviews how aspects of the evolving ECE policy environment in Aotearoa New Zealand impacts on child and teacher safety and wellbeing. Children’s wellbeing is conceptualised as interdependent on the wellbeing of those connected to them, including their teachers. Drawing on conceptual resources from Te Whāriki , including the concept of Mana Atua, the obligation to create policy decisions that uphold and do not diminish each child’s inherent mana frame the policy review. The commentary considers recent national research pointing to the damaging effects of for-profit private provision on teacher work conditions, pay and wellbeing. It goes onto examine recent political narratives and policy developments, including the review of ECE regulations, the funding system and the repeal of pay parity for some teachers. These developments are situated within the ongoing marketisation of the sector, questioning the blind commitment to marketisation as a provision strategy despite its damaging effects.
Ensuring child safety is paramount in early childhood education yet concerns persist regarding the preparedness of educators from accelerated Graduate Diploma programs in Australia. This study critically examines eleven such programs through qualitative content analysis to assess how child safety is integrated into the curricula. Findings revealed significant inconsistencies, an often-implicit treatment of safeguarding, over-reliance of professional placements for practicum, and limited leadership, trauma-informed practice, and mandatory reporting. These gaps raise serious questions about whether graduates are adequately equipped to fulfil their legal and ethical responsibilities. This paper advocates for urgent reforms in pre-service teacher education, arguing that child safety must be embedded as a core professional competency. Recommendations include mandating explicit curriculum content, implementing dedicated leadership training, and strengthening regulatory oversight. Addressing these systemic inconsistencies is essential to ensure that all early childhood educators are fully prepared to provide safe, ethical, and high-quality education across diverse early learning settings.
