In this issue of Every Child, our new editor Rowena Muir begins her role at the magazine and as a member of the ECA Publications Advisory Group with an important article on advocacy, one of the key themes of the issue.
ECA CEO Sam Page was invited by Reconciliation Australia to the Garma festival in North-East Arnhem Land in August this year as part of a delegation from the education sector. In ‘Garma 2023: Djambatj—Yolngu excellence’, she shares stories and photos of her trip and emphasises the festival’s importance in advocating for the Voice to Parliament Yes campaign. Winner of last year’s Barbara Creaser Young Advocate Award Emma Cross discusses her commitment to equity, equality and anti-racism in the early childhood sector.
There are several articles in this issue that will provoke sector professionals to reflect on their. Emily Richardson from the ACT’s Mawson Out of School Hours Care highlights the importance of getting children ‘out and about’ into the local community. Dr Melinda Miller from First Five Early Learning and Adele Amorsen of Goodstart Early Learning advocate for play-based literacy learning in the early years in an article based on their presentation at last year’s ECA National Conference. Speaking of the Conference, Marie Howard has written an important piece on networking at such events, assuring those who might be wary of ‘putting themselves out there’ that networking with those sharing a common interest and/or profession is easy and comfortable.
In our cover story, Dr Amelia Ruscoe from Edith Cowan University discusses how the voices of young children in their Foundation year informed her research on three priority areas in curriculum and policy documents in Western Australia. Important research undertaken by Heather Cheshire and Dr Bin Wu into the linkages between the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) and the National Quality Standard (NQS) and the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (EYLF V2.0) also appears in this issue.
Finally, feast your eyes on an article on bush kinder and nature play by Linda Price, an Early Childhood Teacher and Educational Leader from Kinglake Ranges Children’s Centre outside Melbourne.
We hope you enjoy the latest issue of Every Child magazine.
