Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

AUSTRALIA HAS WITNESSED A continual increase in maternal employment over the past two decades, which places focus on both supply of childcare ¹ and a demand for high-quality care. This study examined childcare preferences regarding the return to paid work of 124 Australian women who were expecting their first child. In contrast with most studies that have retrospective designs, the design of this study presents the perspectives of women prior to the birth of their first child—that is, before they have made a final decision about child care. This study found that the majority (78 per cent) of the women intended to re-commence work within the 12 months after the birth of their child. There were two factors that were the most salient features in their decision making—the quality of care and the personal satisfaction of engaging in paid work. The findings suggest that family-friendly employment practices and access to secure, high-quality child care are key to women's secure participation in the paid workforce.

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‘Childcare’ in this article refers to care in a formal childcare setting. ‘Child care’ refers to care for the child.

DEVELOPING POSITIVE SOCIAL and emotional growth and development in young children has always been a fundamental priority of early childhood practitioners. However, with an increasing economic and political focus on the foundational early childhood years, there has been a global push for the measurement of outcomes in early childhood education. This paper reports the findings of a major literature review to examine the assessment of social and emotional competence and wellbeing in young children. The review was conducted by a team at Edith Cowan University as part of a project funded by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training. It describes a number of issues about assessment dominating the early childhood literature. The paper then reports on the complexities of examining a domain that is socially and culturally constructed and where meaning belongs to the individual rather than to the person assessing the individual's behaviours.

The transition into formal early learning settings, such as preschool and child care, represents a significant milestone for children and families. This paper explores the perspectives of 25 indigenous parents and family members and two caregivers reflecting on the transition of the indigenous children from their home to an early childhood development program in a large urban centre in western Canada. Our findings suggest that the transition experiences begin well before indigenous children and families join a program. There are factors that facilitate their participation, such as costs, transportation and location. How these parents negotiate their transition is impacted by their historical experiences with schooling and the place of culture and language in supporting their children and families. Early learning programs need to understand the social, cultural and historical realities that shape the transition experience for indigenous children and families.

THIS ARTICLE REPORTS ON THE school-readiness perspectives of Prep teachers and school administrators at one primary school in southern Queensland, Australia. For the study, data were collected through qualitative interviews to determine the extent to which, and exactly how, the educators' definitions were linked to the characteristics of the children, their families and caregivers, and the schools and communities. The results provide rich data that reveal the complex and broad definition of school readiness that has been embraced by the professionals at this school. This definition is aligned with the definition promoted by the current literature on school readiness. Interviewees communicated details about the roles and responsibilities of families, teachers, schools and communities when it came to supporting children's school readiness.

IN THE CONTEXT OF LIMITED DISCUSSION on what globalisation means for families, this paper aims to foster discussion by exploring the cultural implications of globalisation for parenting in immigrant families. It argues that in a global context, the parenting practices of immigrant families are likely to be hybridised as they try to adapt to the cultural differences in parenting in their host country. The cultural perspectives of globalisation and cultural integration, and the published literature on immigrant parenting, are used in support of this discussion. The notion of hybridised parenting emerges with important consequences for children's development and early childhood practices.

Can we teach them wrong from right?

Can we help them see the light?

Using books I'm glad to say,

May teach the moral of the day.

We should teach them in the home,

We should teach them where they roam.

We can teach them in the school,

Where they'll learn the golden rule.

THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES PARANTAL and childcare staff perceptions of quality across alternative childcare governance structures in Australia. A total of 21 childcare staff currently working within both ‘non-profit’ and ‘for-profit’ long day care centres were interviewed. In addition, 20 interviews with parents of children attending community-based, independent-private and corporate chain centres were conducted. Significant differences between the quality perceptions of parent and staff cohorts were found. In addition, inter-group differences were also observed. The results tentatively suggest that both parents and staff attach importance to both structural (regulated and flexible) and procedural elements of childcare service delivery—although parental age and caregiver experience appear to moderate the levels of importance assigned to identified quality dimensions.

THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES YOUNG children's understanding of death. Research on this topic among preschool children is limited, especially in the context of Chinese culture. A total of 26 young children aged five to six years, drawn from two classes at a preschool in Hong Kong, participated in the study. In documenting children's views on death, this study contributes to an understanding of death education in a preschool context, and explores possible ways of helping children to cope with the associated emotions. Through the use of open-ended measures, the children were asked to describe their experiences and views related to death. The children's conceptions could be grouped into four themes:

1. causality

2. emotional reaction

3. death-related sociocultural practices

4. character status.

Finally, the various factors that contribute to children's understanding of death and use of coping strategies are discussed.