Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

This paper details the research design of a multidisciplinary, multi-method, collaborative research project investigating health communication from the experiences of the early childhood education (ECE) sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rapidly evolving pandemic, the ECE sector was instantly tasked with expanding their required health practices to prevent the spread of infection. It was evident that the sector needed a system to communicate health advice in a timely, consistent and effective manner. Founded on a partnership model based on ‘knowledge brokering’ theory, this project demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary research team collaborating with stakeholder organisations to investigate how COVID-19 health information traversed through complexities of organisational layers and diverse communities of families and staff. Detailing our data collection and analysis protocols, we conclude by outlining how our innovative research design is generating actionable and impactful recommendations for both the ECE and health sectors.

Theory strengthens the methodological and interpretive stance of a research study and is most fruitful when theoretical understandings are shared within collaborative research teams. This paper describes an approach to engaging productively with a theory, specifically the theory of practice architectures. Such engagement enabled the use of the theory for data gathering and analysis within an Australian mixed-methods research study – Exemplary Early Childhood Educators at Work. Within the study, the theory offered a substantive lens for exploring exemplary educator practices and the organisational arrangements within early childhood education (ECE) sites that made those practices possible. The ‘unpacking’ of the theory of practice architectures led to the development of a suite of resource materials. This paper acts as an invitation to interact with and think on a practice theory and provides insight into the positive transformation of educational practices for the benefit of individuals and society.

Early childhood pedagogical practice in primary schools is often challenged by academic demands, debate about best practice and ongoing change through new policy initiatives. This paper reports an investigation of how early childhood pedagogical leaders assist early years teachers in schools to embrace change and embed early childhood pedagogy. Framed within a constructivist epistemology, this paper reports on findings from three case studies drawn from a larger mixed-methods study from Perth, Western Australia. Data collected through shadowing pedagogical leaders, undertaking contextual interviews and analysing school documents revealed that pedagogical change was promoted, encouraged and sustained through a number of strategies. These included utilising early childhood champions, developing relational trust with staff, establishing communities of practice and empowering teachers as decision-makers. This paper highlights the critical role early childhood pedagogical leadership can play in recognising the professional capability of early childhood teachers to drive ongoing improvement in school contexts.

The NOURISH:ECE project explored the role of maternal and child health nurses (MCHNs) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) through the design and pilot of professional learning (PL) regarding responsive feeding practices. Eight focus groups were conducted in Queensland (MCHNs, n = 20; educators, n = 29) to explore attitudes regarding partnerships, PL, and feeding practices. Subsequently, a PL module was developed - incorporating videos, group discussion and reflection - and delivered to 64 educators by a MCHN. Educator practices were compared pre- and post-PL. The proportion of meals at which an educator was observed to use responsive feeding practices increased (praise for eating healthy foods, 11.3%–29.2%), but educators were observed pressuring children to eat more often (19.9%–40.1%). NOURISH:ECE provided promising preliminary results regarding PL. However, adequate resourcing and workforce issues in both sectors are barriers to developing effective partnerships across education and health.

Recent research suggests there is a lacking presence of assessment and its role in informing intentional teaching in the practice of play-based pedagogy. Formative assessment can be effectively embedded in pedagogy when practitioners are geared with practical tools that can be implemented within naturalistic settings. In recent times, there has been growing recognition of the importance of mathematics learning in early childhood education as foundational for later learning. This newly developed assessment – the Numeracy and Mathematics Block-Based Assessment (NUMBBA) – aims to embed formative assessment practice within multiple pedagogies for play and learning. The results from the qualitative component of a larger mixed-methods study examined how this validated tool was used by 16 early childhood educators. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed shifts in educators’ knowledge of mathematics, perceptions of children’s abilities, attitudes towards mathematics and assessment, and approaches to intentional mathematical pedagogy and practice

In this article, we present a dynamic systems theoretical and methodological approach to investigating joint attention in early childhood (EC) centres. Joint attention, defined as a social interaction in which child and caregiver share a common focus of attention, is an important interactive context for collaborative learning. We overview the principles of dynamics systems theory and explain how these principles conceptualise joint attention as emerging from synchronised, ‘in-the-moment’ interactions between child and educator. Drawing on data from a project investigating the dynamic nature of joint attention in infant EC rooms, state space grids (SSGs) are then presented as a research tool that graphically captures and represents the mutually influencing contributions of educator, infant and the environment. We conclude by considering other ways to use SSG analysis to provide a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of educator child interactions in EC settings.