The 2021-22 budget includes funding for 15 hours per week of free preschool education for all children in the year before school. Although in his budget speech, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said there would be $2 billion for preschools, the budget papers specify: ‘the government will provide $1.6 billion over four years from 2021-22 (and $589.0 million […]
Starting formal schooling is a significant life event for children and families. In 2021 schools will be receiving young children who have had significant life events in their year prior to school and as a result are likely to be a cohort unlike any other that teachers or schools have encountered before. Schools will need […]
Some children have started returning to education settings in some parts of Australia. The word ‘transition’ is being used in the COVID-19 context—but what do we already know about transitions and can this knowledge help support children, families, educators and communities at this time? Successful transitions Transitions aren’t one-off or sudden events. They happen over […]
Everyone has experienced a change one way or another in 2020. PAM LINKE shares her perspective on change for children, the impact of the unknown and what we can do as adults to support their feelings. Pam is also the author of an ECA publication, Managing change: Everyday learning about babies, toddlers and preschoolers—a helpful […]
Though there are still 13 Indigenous languages spoken by children around Australia, they are slowly fading as older generations pass on. Queensland educator, JULIE LEE DAVIDSON takes us through the importance of preserving Indigenous languages and suggests ways to incorporate them into early childhood curriculums. Exploring ways for children to learn Indigenous languages helps build awareness of different identities […]
Why are so many young children disengaged from learning? How do we know if children are, or are not, engaged in learning? GILLIAN KIRK and MARIANNE KNAUS explore this through research and share findings from a case study examining classroom interactions. Gillian and Marianne interviewed teachers and asked children to draw how they felt about being […]
School readiness—what’s the problem with it? and how can this commonly used phrase be disrupted? DR KATHRYN HOPPS delves into these questions and shares tips for educators to implement in their services. Continuing the conversation that Maree Aldwinkle began in her post on The Spoke, I’d like to further explore the problem with school readiness. […]
It can be hard to keep up with new ideas and early childhood developments during the year, so to help you catch up or for inspiration to start the year on a strong footing, we’ve put together a list of ECA’s top reads from across the last year (2019). It’s a mix of favourites and […]
Protecting children’s right to play Play is a vital avenue for learning and development in young children. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is consulting with early childhood experts to find out how to stop it from diminishing. If you were asked to explain why play is important for children, what would you say? ECA recently asked […]
The problem with ‘school readiness.’ ‘School readiness’—many find it controversial. MAREE ALDWINCKLE explores this concept and shares her experience as an early childhood teacher and academic. How can we use better terms and activities to describe children preparing for their transition to school? This question has never been more relevant as Australian children slip behind […]
