This study explored educators' perspectives on the role the physical and sensory Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) environment plays in supporting children's social and emotional development. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, in August 2022, at two ECEC sites in Victoria, Australia. Data were thematically analysed and key…

Playwork is a recognised profession in the United Kingdom (UK) and is currently a growing area of interest internationally. However, debates about the nature and purpose of playwork have raged in the playwork field since the profession was invented in the early adventure playgrounds. This study is the first to capture data about what the now…

Young children in many parts of the world are spending more time in formal education and care settings. As children have the right to be heard on matters that affect them, their views about the early childhood environments they inhabit, need to be included in the process of placemaking. Early childhood environments have the potential to shape a…

A high prevalence of maltreatment, abuse, neglect and the onset of subsequent trauma has been well-documented among both young people with disability and young people residing in foster and kinship care. However, no uniform policies or guidelines currently exist for the delivery of trauma-informed models of care to build the capacity of foster and…

There are some studies indicating that parents make a significant contribution to children's conceptual learning through play, whereas very few studies have been done to identify parents' pedagogical positioning in children's imaginative play for supporting their learning and development. This paper is seeking how Indian-Australian immigrant…

Parents have the option of enrolling their children in the first stage of early childhood education (from 0 to 3 years of age). However, not all parents decide to do so, waiting until the second stage of early childhood education to enrol them in the education system (from 3 to 5 years of age), or even until compulsory education when their…

This paper presents data from interviews undertaken with teachers and parents of children who attend Australian bush kinders (kindergartens). The bush kinder approach is a recent adaptation of the European and UK forest school approaches, one that continues to gain momentum as increasingly teachers and parents come to understand the benefits…

The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Movement Environment Rating Scale (MOVERS), using data from 13 early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Test-retest reliability was calculated using ICCs, percentage agreement and weighted Kappa. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha. To…

Background: The rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has transformed the Australian funding landscape for individuals with disability and their families. This study examined whether the profiles of autistic children and their families accessing an early intervention (EI) setting have changed following its introduction.…

The emotional aspects of children's social relations have generally been marginalised in social science discourse. Children, who participated in the Australian segment of the Children's Understandings of Well-being (CUWB) project used various media to 'voice' the importance for their well-being of emotional relatedness with family, friends,…

Research Findings: This study aims to extend our knowledge regarding contributions of educator--child interactions to child language outcomes by examining the extent to which specific dimensions of the CLASS observational tool of educator-child interactions are associated with child language abilities, utilizing data from an Australian…

Family outcomes of early intervention (EI) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have received limited research attention to date. This study explored potential predictors of family outcomes and EI perceived helpfulness on the Family Outcomes Survey--Revised, utilizing an adapted double ABCX framework. Participants were 97 mothers of children aged 4…

The Reggio Emilia approach is identified as a resource and inspiration in the field of early childhood education. The term 'Reggio Inspired' refers to all Reggio Emilia approach-based practices outside of Reggio Emilia, Italy. This paper presents a comprehensive study of Reggio Inspired empirical research. Results from an integrative review of the…

Contemporary educational policies both at international and national levels acknowledge the educational rights of all children and their inclusion in mainstream educational practices. Like other children at risk, children with disabilities have opportunities to access mainstream education but their participation is not always realised in practice.…

This research aimed to explore the conversations between Aboriginal children and their educators in early childhood contexts. The research particularly focused on the relevance of these conversations for developing children's identity. Participants were Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and educators, who participated in conversations in…