Three Australian Government commissioned reports from 2011-2017 convey a longstanding child development theory-practice gap in early childhood education. This study explores what informs mentors' discussions of theories of child development with early career preschool teachers. Grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, themes relate to…

Background: Early childhood teachers (ECTs) play a significant role in equipping children with oral language and emergent literacy skills ahead of school entry. They are well positioned to play a vital role in ensuring preschool children receive a high-quality preschool curriculum to prepare them for later literacy learning. Aims: The purpose of…

This open access book follows the development of the Building Resilience in Teacher Education (BRiTE) project across Australia and internationally. Drawing on the success of this project and the related research collaborations that have since emerged, it highlights the importance of cultivating resilience at various stages of teachers' careers.…

This paper explores the interconnectedness between Australian teachers' literacy practices and their pedagogic identity during the global pandemic. In doing so, the paper presents pedagogic identity as a dynamic, ever-evolving construct involving teachers and their teaching environment. Findings are reported from a case study of early years and…

This study reports on an early career Year 2 teacher's reflections of enacting specifically structured resource materials and her practice change when participating in a mathematics professional learning project. A qualitative case study was designed to examine the reflections of a teacher's pre-service and in-service teaching experiences. Data…

Pre-service teachers in Australian Initial Teacher Education programmes gain classroom experience through supervised, formally assessed professional experience placements and internships. This in-situ experience is recognized as important in the development of professional identities, knowledge and skills. However, many pre-service teachers lament…

This paper examines the outcomes of a 4-year implementation of a mathematics program (Representations, oral language and engagement in Mathematics: RoleM) for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students' learning of mathematics across the first 4 years of primary school (Foundation--Year 3). It specifically aims to determine how…

Teachers need to know a great deal, in many areas and in multiple ways. Teacher knowledge is a complex tapestry, and teachers must successfully weave the multiple threads. In this article, I present a conceptualisation of teacher knowledge that provides a framework for describing the complexity of teacher knowledge. The framework describes three…

This study explored the lived experiences of 20 Australian early childhood preservice teachers while on practical experience placement and examined the factors that informed their pedagogical experiences when working across both prior-to-school and school settings. Transcripts from interviews were analysed using grounded theory-informed…

In most majority countries, early childhood educators' work occurs in a context increasingly dominated by neoliberal logic. A large body of literature emphasises that neoliberalism flourishes in society by fuelling mutual distrust and competition among people to pursue individual performance and material gain. This system has crept into education…

National education reform agendas are increasingly prevalent in school systems around the world. Whilst we have a substantial body of research exploring the ways in which schools manage change agendas, there is less discussion of the impacts these agendas may have on beginning teachers and their retention in the profession. Here I report on a…

Pre-service teacher education programs play an important role in the development of beginning teacher' self-efficacy and identity. Research suggests that this development is influenced by the "apprenticeship of learning". However, there remains limited research about the self-efficacy beliefs and identity construction of beginning…

The arts are a key developmental area in early childhood education. Subsequently, it is important that generalist teachers know how to teach suitable arts knowledge and skills. As a teacher educator, the responsibility of this falls within the author's teaching. It is her job to teach future teachers suitable arts knowledge and skills. This…

This paper reports the findings of an Australia-wide survey conducted as part of a national teacher education research project that explored the preparation of teachers to teach literacy and numeracy in Australian schools (Louden, Rohl, Gore, Greaves, McIntosh, Wright, Siemon & House, 2005). The project included various phases of inquiry,…

This document presents the proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of this conference is "Navigating Currents and Charting Directions." The theme reminds us that, although we are constantly pushed to account for the quality and impact of our research, we…