Last week I attended the launch of a NSW Government initiative to provide a visual guide to existing National Quality Standard (NQS) ratings. The graphic, to be displayed at the entrance to early childhood education and care services from January 2020, would reflect the existing rating of each service; information that is already public and […]
Two important papers about Australia’s First Nations children were released in the same week in February. Both have implications for young children in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The joint ECA and SNAICC—Voice for our Children position paper reflects both organisations’ commitment to ensuring that First Nations children get equal opportunities in Australia and […]
PROFESSOR JOCE NUTTALL shares key findings from her research ahead of her presentation at the 2019 AJEC Research Symposium in Melbourne. What is the role of the educational leader in an early childhood service? What kinds of professional learning and support do educational leaders need? And how do we know if educational leaders are making a difference for […]
‘Children have taught me the most important lessons about advocacy’ says DR CINDY BLACKSTOCK. They are ‘experts in love and fairness’ yet ‘we often view children in ways that reduce their dignity and development’. Dr Blackstock, an international keynote speaker at the 2018 ECA National Conference in Sydney (19–22 September), spoke with ECA about moral courage and […]
Why is guidance on young children and digital technology needed now? As a Discussion Paper is released—Towards a Statement on young children and digital technology—co-chairs of ECA’s Digital Policy Group (DPG), Professor Susan Edwards and Professor Leon Straker, address this question and reveal some of the findings from work so far. You may have heard or […]
This article was first published in Every Child, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2016. For more information, click here. In 1948, the international community, through the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, affirmed that each and every one of us should have access to a number of fundamental human rights. Decades later they agreed that children, by […]
Ireland has just become the latest country to make preschool programs available to all three year olds. There is a clear move internationally towards delivery of two years of preschool, with early education being understood as a critical investment in human capital. Who offers preschool to three year olds? Many European countries, including France, Germany […]
In 2008, Queensland had the worst enrolment rates in early childhood education, in the year before full-time schooling, in Australia. Only 29 per cent of children were enrolled for at least one hour per week (Deloitte, 2014, p. 19). As a result of targets set under the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early […]
A lesson on seeing something through the eyes of another. I had travelled past the Celtic Country sign many times as I returned from TAFE residential in Armidale. I had looked at the sign with interest; it is spectacular as it stands proudly on massive stone pillars on the rise of a hill as you enter […]
We should all care about the findings of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Childcare and Early Childhood Learning, recently delivered to the Federal Government, because it affects our future prosperity as a nation. This is a once in a generation opportunity to future-proof Australia against entrenched welfare dependency, inequality and lack of opportunity amongst a […]
