Early Childhood Australia presents an essential resource for early childhood services—the ECA Box of provocations. The provocations contained in the box will provoke deeper thinking and reflection that drives improved quality, particularly in pedagogy and practice.

  • Written by early childhood thought leader and provocateur Anne Stonehouse AM
  • The provocations can be used with educators with all levels of formal qualifications and experience. There are many ways to use the provocations in a variety of settings.
  • Beautifully presented and made to last, these will be a popular resource in your service for many years to come.

ECA Box of Provocations for Early Childhood Educators by Anne Stonehouse are a collection that are intended to support critical reflection, discussion, debate and deeper thinking about teaching, learning and what it means to be a professional educator. Their use will result in a better learning experience for children, families and educators.

Educators’ work is complex and challenging. Ongoing opportunities for close examination of beliefs, values, understandings and practice are essential. This is what critical reflection is, and the aim is always to improve practice. Sometimes these opportunities are brief and informal, as educators think as they work creatively, talk to their colleagues and ask questions. At other times, they happen in team or staff meetings, or through more formal professional learning opportunities. Critical reflection leads to both validating some practices and improving others.

The provocations can be used with educators with all levels of formal qualifications and varying amounts of experience. They may work in any type of early education and care service, including centres, family day care, preschools and kindergartens, and outside school hours services. Educators can use the cards directly, and the collection can be used by directors, managers, educational leaders and other providers of professional learning for educators.

Each card includes questions to provoke discussion and debate. 

The ECA Box of provocations contains 100 cards organised under 10 themes:

  • Children’s agency and identity
  • Children’s behaviour and learning
  • Curriculum components
  • Documenting and assessing
  • Images of children
  • Relationships with families
  • Pedagogy
  • Planning the program
  • Being a professional educator
  • Being a critically reflective educator.

This product is available to purchase from the Early Childhood Australia Shop.

Provocations card example from the Box of provocations

Purchase your copy of the ECA Box of provocations today