scholarly journals Inspiring Environmentally Responsible Preschool Children through the Implementation of the National Quality Framework: Uncovering what Lies between Theory and Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Pollock ◽  
Jane Warren ◽  
Peter Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
Quality Framework

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FOR environmental sustainability (ECEfES) has become significant in the early years, as highlighted by the inclusion of ECEfES in Australia's first and current National Quality Framework (NQF) for early childhood education and care (ECEC). This article reports on the major findings from a case study (Pollock, 2014), which aimed to uncover what lies between theory and practice, as ECEC educators attempt to support young children to become environmentally responsible, through the implementation of the NQF. This article discusses some of the findings from an analysis of the documents central to the NQF as well as semi-structured interviews with three university-qualified educators. Thematic analysis revealed that although challenging educators in some respects, the introduction of the NQF has enhanced their sustainability practices. This has emphasised the importance of listening to the voices of young children, a ‘whole of settings' approach, and engaging in reflection.

scholarly journals Editorial: e-Learning and knowledge management in the early years: Where are we and where should we go

2009 ◽  
pp. 245-250
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Media

E-learning and knowledge management are increasingly accepted as established practices in the field of early childhood education. Living in the age of Web 2.0, young children can learn through experience, application, and conversation in community, physically or virtually, with peers, parents, teachers, and other adults, beyond the classroom and across the media. These concepts are of growing interest in communities of practice and knowledge networks. Although most early childhood educators recognize and practice some kinds of e-learning, most have yet to master the basic theory and practice of knowledge management. What does e-learning mean for young children? How do we apply knowledge management in early childhood setting? These questions are of great importance and a special collection such as this issue will be beneficial to take stock of the ongoing practices as well as to explore future directions in the field. This issue will combine knowledge management and e-learning with early childhood education to provide a valuable arena for the discussion and dissemination of this topic and related studies.

Spaces for Gender Equity in Australian Early Childhood Education in/Between Discourses of Human Capital and Feminism

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheralyn Campbell ◽  
Kylie Smith ◽  
Kate Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Relations Of Power ◽  
Regime Of Truth

IN THIS ARTICLE WE use feminist post-structuralist concepts of discourse and relations of power to question how a neoliberal regime of truth in Australian early childhood education impacts educators currently working for gender equity with children, prior to their entry to schooling. We show how this regime of truth is endorsed and transferred in and by key documents of the Australian National Quality Framework (NQF) including the National Quality Standard (NQS) and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) in which discourses of universal rights, individual freedom and choice, and human capital dominate approaches to inclusion and diversity that govern gender equity work (ACECQA, 2011, 2017a, 2017b; DEEWR, 2009; NSW Education, 2016). Our article addresses how some educators use their understandings of feminism to negotiate spaces for gender equity work within the theoretical, political and ethical tensions arising in/between discourses that constitute this neoliberal regime of truth.

Educator licensure overlap in the early grades: Why it occurs, why it matters, and what to do about it

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17
Author(s):  
R. Clarke Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Appropriate Practices ◽  
Educational Importance

In the United States, 48 states have recognized the educational importance of the early years by awarding stand-alone early childhood education (ECE) licenses that require specialized training in teaching young children. Yet, at the same time, teachers with elementary education (ELED) licenses are allowed to teach kindergarten in 34 states and 1st through 3 rd grade in more than 45 states. This means that teachers may be licensed to teach young children without receiving specialized early childhood training. R. Clarke Fowler explores the extent of the licensure overlap, the reasons for it, and the effects it has on early childhood education. He recommends moving toward a preK-3 license that requires teachers to learn developmentally appropriate practices for the education of young children.

‘Belonging’ in Australian early childhood education and care curriculum and quality assurance: Opportunities and risks

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Linda Harrison ◽  
Karen Letsch ◽  
Benjamin Sylvester Bradley ◽  
Matthew Stapleton
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Care Services ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Education And Care

This article considers opportunities and risks arising from the prominence of the belonging motif in Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework and, more implicitly, in the National Quality Standard, against which the quality of the early childhood education and care services is assessed. A vignette constructed from case study data generated in the babies’ room in an early childhood centre in an Aboriginal community in rural Queensland is used to illuminate some of these opportunities and risks.

scholarly journals Conducting Research in Early Childhood Education: A Review of Guy Roberts-Holmes’ Doing Your Early Years Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Technical College ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
College Level ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Conducting Research

Research should be an important component of courses at the college level. Doing Your Early Years Research Project by Guy Roberts-Holmes provides the theory and practice for technical college and undergraduate students to conduct qualitative research in the field of early childhood education. It truly is a step-by-step guide that helps students create a topic that is both personally and professionally meaningful, teaches them how to review the literature, collect data, make meaning of the data, and create the final research project. Researchers will finish this book and project knowing they made a positive difference in children’s lives.

Employers’ perspectives of how well prepared early childhood teacher graduates are to work in early childhood education and care services

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-227
Author(s):  
Wendy Boyd ◽  
Sandie Wong ◽  
Marianne Fenech ◽  
Linda Mahony ◽  
Jane Warren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Education And Care

With an unprecedented number of children in early childhood education and care in Australia, demand for early childhood teachers is increasing. This demand is in the context of recognition of the importance of the early years and increasing requirements for more highly qualified early childhood teachers under the National Quality Framework. Increasingly, evidence shows the value-added difference of university-qualified teachers to child outcomes. Within Australia there are multiple ways to become an early childhood teacher. Three common approaches are a 4-year teaching degree to teach children aged birth to 5 years, children aged birth to 8 years, or children aged birth to 12 years. There is, however, no evidence of how effective these degree programmes are. This paper presents the perspectives of 19 employers of early childhood teachers in New South Wales regarding how well prepared early childhood teacher graduates are to work in the early childhood sector in Australia. Although participants noted the strengths of new graduate early childhood teachers, they also identified several areas in which they were less well prepared to teach in the early years.

Play-based Learning and Intentional Teaching: Forever Different?

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Curriculum Innovation ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Children's Learning

PLAY-BASED LEARNING IS a cornerstone of early childhood education provision. Play provides opportunities for young children to explore ideas, experiment with materials and express new understandings. Play can be solitary, quiet and reflective. Play can also be social, active and engaging. While play is commonly understood as the basis for learning in early childhood education, this is not always the situation in all settings. Cultural variations in learning and play suggest that social interactions and observational learning also create powerful pedagogical learning environments for young children. International and national research highlights the value of sustained and reflective interactions between children and educators in promoting children's learning. Increasingly, the notion of quality in play-based pedagogy invites educators to integrate traditional beliefs about play with new insights into the role of social interactions, modelling and relationships in young children's learning. Overseas, the movement towards quality play-based pedagogy reflects debate and policy initiatives captured by the notion of intentional teaching. In Australia, the Early Years Learning Framework makes explicit reference to intentional teaching. Intentional teaching arguably engages educators and children in shared thinking and problem solving to build the learning outcomes of young children. However, the pedagogical relationship between play-based learning and intentional teaching remains difficult to conceptualise. This is because the value placed on the exploratory potential of play-based learning can appear to be at odds with the role of intentional teaching in promoting knowledge development. This paper reaches beyond binary constructs of play and intentional teaching, and invites consideration of a new Pedagogical Play-framework for inspiring pedagogical and curriculum innovation in the early years. This paper was a keynote address at the 2016 Early Childhood Australia National Conference addressing the theme Inspire-be inspired to reach beyond quality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document