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 mistreatment and displacement for Aboriginal people. In early childhood education this day presents an […]
Parents and other caregivers typically modify their speech when they talk to babies and young children. They use simple sentences and special words, like “nana” for banana. They also speak slowly, use a higher pitch, and exaggerate the ups and downs of the “tune” of their speech. In many languages, caregivers also exaggerate their vowels in a […]
Dean Parkin is from the Quandamooka peoples of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) in Queensland. Dean was closely involved in the process that resulted in the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart and continues to advocate for constitutional and structural reform as Director of From the Heart. Image: From the Heart Dean will be a key […]
In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week (27 May–3 June) and in celebration of the 2022 theme ‘Be Brave. Make Change’, we reached out to Aboriginal artist and early childhood professional, Emma Stenhouse to share part of her journey, experiences and wisdom. Emma describes herself as Indigenous artisan, Ngarrindjeri woman, artist, weaver, printmaker, designer […]
Kings Creek Station, Northern Territory, Australia – Aug 21, 2019: close up of a Australian Aboriginal bush painting art. Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Experience tour in Australian outback Employees across Early Childhood Australia (ECA) have been involved in National Reconciliation Week projects connected to ECA’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Our group has developed a survey for early […]
Image by David Foster. Courtesy of Australian Geographic, 2016. ECA recently had a conversation with two members of the ECA Reconciliation Action Group, Jo Goodwin and Adam Duncan, to talk about Australia Day and the ongoing work undertaken to help children and early childhood educators understand the many complexities around 26 January. ECA: Jo and […]
When we take authentic steps to embed Indigenous perspectives into our teaching practices, we invite children to construct their own relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges. For educators, this opens a world of opportunities within their professional teaching practices, by examining themes such as art, craft, literature, music, food, sustainability, animals and environments. […]
Storytelling exists as a vital aspect of every culture and has existed in every corner of the world which people call home. Stories exist to inform, explore and hypothesise as well as to entertain and amuse. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used stories as their main way of sharing their worldview and understandings […]
With the widespread acceptance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land comes the simple proposition that we must change the date—the 26th of January is not an inclusive day of celebration for all Australians. And yet the controversy rages. There are many different views around the date of […]
The power of Stan Grant as a storyteller and journalist was palpable in the Four Corners episode ‘I Can’t Breath’ that aired on ABC TV last night (13 July 2020). The program explores an Australian perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement and why this is a critical moment in history. It was 25 May […]
