What is creativity and why is it so important to support children’s creative thinking? For such a common topic, creativity is difficult to define. In an early childhood setting, creativity is often linked to art—painting and drawing and so on. However, creativity is also an important part of developing children’s problem solving and innovative thinking. […]
In 2002, the Secretary General of the United Nations commissioned the UN Millennium Project ‘to develop a concrete action plan for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting billions of people.’ The 8 Millennium Development Goals were established in 2000, covering a range of […]
University of New England For over a decade we have talked about the care–education dichotomy as being false and irrelevant given that care is considered to be a part of education, not separate from it. A generation of early childhood professionals have grown up in services where care is seen as part of education. As […]
The Recognise campaign has been in the media this week with much attention on Indigenous leaders at Kirribilli House meeting with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. They were there to discuss proposed amendments to the Australian Constitution through a Referendum that would recognise Indigenous Australians — the nation’s first peoples. For those of […]
Every three years data is collected on children’s development in their first year of school. This is called the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). This year a new data collection is taking place, providing an up-to-date snapshot of children’s progress against five key areas, or domains, of child development: physical health and wellbeing social competence […]
On 31 March 2015, Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, and Early Childhood Australia’s CEO, Sam Page, will jointly launch a statement of intent on supporting young children’s rights. This collaboratively developed document provides all professionals and services working with young children with a framework to be a clear and credible voice advocating in […]
“The report calls for a simpler system. It calls for a more targeted system, particularly for middle- to lower income families, because that is where the commission has identified the area where we can have the biggest influence on that kitchen table conversation on the economics of child care and the affordability of child care. […]
“During World War II, when men like my grandfather went off to war, having women like my grandmother in the workforce was a national security priority — so this country provided universal childcare. In today’s economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, we need affordable, high-quality childcare […]
Early childhood quotes of the month from Parliament and the press. “I know that when Scott Morrison announces this policy some time in the first half of 2015 it will deliver on what we promised to do, which was to stop the upward pressure on prices, introduce more options in home-based care and to recognise that for […]
Early Childhood Quotes of the month from Parliament and the press. “Thousands of families use both formal and informal in-home care options everyday and that number continues to grow because the current formal regulated childcare system just isn’t meeting their needs. If certain states and territories have concerns about the impacts of regulating in-home care, […]
