Posts

A time to educate, not celebrate: 26 January

A time to educate, not celebrate: 26 January

The date 26 January holds a complex place in Australia’s history. While some celebrate it as Australia Day, this date also marks a day of mourning for First Nations people as the date the first British colonies landed, starting centuries of…
Supporting multilingualism: What parents think and what we should do as a community

Supporting multilingualism: What parents think and what we should do as a community

Due to increased global mobility and the unprecedented forces of globalisation, the world has become increasingly diverse. We are all witnesses to social, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in schools and early childhood services. Research…
Transitions to outside school hours care: Opportunities hiding in plain sight

Transitions to outside school hours care: Opportunities hiding in plain sight

In this article, Emily Greaves and Dr Jen Jackson from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) remind us that some transitions happen every day—like that from school to outside school hours care (OSHC). AERO and its partners…
Fostering connection through Skye’s Street Library

Fostering connection through Skye’s Street Library

Skye Children’s Cooperative (Skye) is an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service built on the homeland of the of the greater Kulin Nation. Opened in 1988, Skye has always operated as a community not-for-profit service with all profits…
Relationships matter

Relationships matter

I have worked in the early childhood profession for many years. First, as an educator in a variety of different settings and now as a university lecturer and researcher. I have always valued the importance of relationships with children and…
Neuroscience in early childhood: What do we know? What do we need to know, and how do we translate this knowledge to practice?

Neuroscience in early childhood: What do we know? What do we need to know, and how do we translate this knowledge to practice?

Neuroscience is not an overly familiar term or topic of conversation heard in our early childhood settings. Defined as the study of the structure and function of the human brain and nervous system, neuroscience has been a growing focus of research…
Play in the Home: Why it’s essential for early childhood development

Play in the Home: Why it’s essential for early childhood development

This article appeared in Every Child magazine Vol. 28, No.2, 2022  The home offers rich and authentic opportunities for play-based learning, Joanne Grimmond observes. Children’s formative experiences of play in the home lay the foundation…
Preparing children for 21st century success (part two)

Preparing children for 21st century success (part two)

In part two of this blog series, we ask Dr Laura Jana about preparing children for success in the 21st century and what her hopes are for her keynote address at the upcoming ECA National Conference in October. If you missed part one, you can…
Child Information Sharing: Promoting wellbeing and safety through collaboration

Child Information Sharing: Promoting wellbeing and safety through collaboration

Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is working to inform the Victorian early childhood education and care sector about the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS)—to promote the wellbeing and safety of children. This blog explains the CISS…
Language and learning in early learning settings

Language and learning in early learning settings

English is not the first language of many families in Australia, with 21% of Australians speaking a language other than English at home (ABS, 2017). Today, Australia is one of the top 10 countries in the world where the most languages are spoken…
What’s the ‘big ideas’?

What’s the ‘big ideas’?

How quality STEM education can be integrated into family day care through children’s everyday activities. Research shows that young children— including infants—are capable of learning mathematics and science concepts (Baroody, 2003).…
Agency is so much more than choice and voice

Agency is so much more than choice and voice

Agency is a concept that is familiar, but not always well understood in early childhood education and care (Burr & Degotardi, 2021). Whenever agency is made reference to in early childhood publications, the standard definition in the Glossary…