Objective: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is at the heart of preschool education. Although there are many SEL programmes to guide early childhood teachers' practice, seldom has empathy been a focus for teaching or assessment. Method: This study examined methods to teach empathy in the early years and investigated skills that promote its…

In spite of advances in recognising that girls and boys, and women and men, do not have to be bounded by traditional roles, gender stereotypes persist in education and beyond. Children and youth are affected by gender stereotypes from the early ages, with parental, school, teacher and peer factors influencing the way students internalise their…

The benefits of active music participation and training for cognitive development have been evidenced in multiple studies, with this link leveraged in music therapy approaches with clinical populations. Although music, rhythm, and movement activities are widely integrated into children's play and early education, few studies have systematically…

ECEC-based physical activity (PA) interventions have reported modest changes; however, those that are underpinned by theory seem to report more favorable outcomes. To date, no ECEC-based PA interventions have been underpinned by professional development-focused theories, despite professional development being a consistent component in such…

This study designed and evaluated the efficacy of a manualised programme for children in mainstream school with delays in narrative discourse. Efficacy was evaluated using a Phase 1 non-randomised single-subject across multiple-baselines design. The programme was delivered by a speech pathologist with 11 mainstream children aged 5;0-5;11 years, in…

Analysis of previous research has indicated that restricting the amount of equipment available may be a practical strategy to facilitate peer interaction in childcare, but a disadvantage is a possible increase in aggressive behaviour. An alternative approach is manipulating the variety of activities while holding the quantity and type of equipment…

The educational inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging, due to behavioural issues. Scant research has been conducted to investigate behavioural interventions for students with ASD in the Chinese context. Since special education in China varies greatly from that in western countries such as Australia,…

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) commonly present with oral language weaknesses which disrupt the development of literacy and impede related academic progress. While there is evidence to support the delivery of manualised Tier 2 interventions with this population, little is known about the effects of Tier 1 interventions. A…

Supporting parent-child relationships is vital for children's social and emotional development, future health and well-being. As children now spend significant amounts of time attending early childhood education and care settings, it is opportune that interventions be designed for educators to promote and nurture parent-child relationships. The…

Research Findings: Young children develop numeracy competencies during interactions with more knowledgeable others. Such interactions typically occur in the home numeracy environment (HNE). In this study a nonintensive intervention procedure was developed to improve both the HNE and numerical competencies. All parents of 113 Australian children…

A broad range of initiatives including early intervention programmes have been implemented in Australia to assist disadvantaged and at-risk Indigenous parents and children. This qualitative exemplar case study details the perspectives of caregivers and service providers of one such early learning intervention programme situated within the remote…

This exploratory study investigated young children's beliefs and opinions about computers by actively involving children in the research project. Fifty two children, four to six years old, were asked a set of questions about their favourite activities and their opinions on computer use before and after a seven month computer intervention…

There are no known biomedical or genetic markers to identify which infants with galactosaemia (GAL) are most at risk of poor language skill development, yet pre-linguistic communicative "red flag" behaviours are recognised as early identifiers of heightened vulnerability to impaired language development. We report on pre-linguistic…

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was used to investigate the effects of two forms of shared reading on children's language and literacy skills. Parents of 80 children in the preparatory year of school participated in an eight-week home reading intervention. Families were assigned to one of three groups: dialogic reading (DR), dialogic…

Governments, schools and communities throughout Australia are working to improve school attendance among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students using strategies such as incentive programs, improvement to literacy and numeracy skills, school-family partnerships, transport to school, attendance monitoring, ensuring that school is a welcoming…