The future of Australia rests on early education. Early Childhood Australia’s (ECA) National President, Christine Legg talks about children’s early development and why Australia needs to invest in and support a high-quality early childhood education system. If you imagine a child’s brain as a five-drawer filing cabinet, research indicates that the majority of those drawers […]
Creativity and innovation are fundamental to early childhood education. Educators are required to be creative in their daily practices of building relationships with children, families and each other. They constantly need to apply innovative solutions to challenging problems. And they gain diverse perspectives through critical inquiry. Creativity, diversity and innovation have sustained me throughout my rich […]
Professor Adrian Piccoli shares his experience sending his children to early childhood education and care, this piece is an extract from his recently published book ‘12 ways your child can get the best out of school’. Professor Piccoli will be a keynote presenter at ECA’s 2019 AJEC Symposium. You can purchase the book here on our website and […]
‘Sometimes you just give, give, give and there’s nothing else to give’— Early childhood teacher As part of Catherine Jones’ PhD study, she interviewed educators and asked them to provide monthly reflective journal entries on the topic of workplace wellbeing. These educators described what workplace wellbeing meant to them and also highlighted the ways in […]
As Australians rally together to support communities affected by bushfire, this year’s Australia Day feels marked by the compassion, heroism and generosity of the Australian spirit as we come together to mourn great losses and begin to heal. This sense of loss is not new to Australia Day and as we reflect on what it […]
What does sustainability mean to you? Is there one right way to think about sustainability? The term sustainability has increasingly become part of everyday language e.g. sustainable investments, sustainable growth, sustainable harvesting, and, from a global environmental perspective, sustainability has various meanings. For some, sustainability might mean conserving resources to keep the Earth and humans […]
Early brain stimulation promotes social and other skills in young children. Mothers and fathers tend to offer different sorts of interactions writes JENNIFER STGEORGE drawing on research into the nature of play to explore five evidence-based ways parents and early years educators can foster exploration and playfulness. More than 1 million new neural connections are […]
I bumped into a colleague last week: ‘Are you going to the AJEC Research Symposium in February next year again?’ she asked me. ‘Yes, for sure. I just heard our abstracts were accepted …’ I answered. ‘Oh yeah? I was thinking of going’, she replied, ‘but is it any good?’ In short, yes it is. […]
Not all families are seeking advice, support or education from early childhood educators. What happens to partnership with families when we view early childhood relationships through different lenses? As early childhood students graduate and early career educators review their first year in the sector, Fay Hadley and Elizabeth Rouse explore this timely question and the […]
