Play is a central discourse in policy and practice pertaining to young children's learning, development and well-being in many countries around the world. Dominant ways of understanding and advocating for play often construct universalising notions of children and childhood, overlooking that play is always-already culturally situated and…

In this article, we endeavour to think spatially about the texture of infants' everyday lives and their ways of 'doing' belonging in the babies' room in an Australian early childhood education and care centre. Drawing on data from a large, multiple case-study project, and on theorisations of space that reject Euclidean notions of space as empty,…

There is growing evidence that coaching early childhood educators leads to higher quality teaching practices and improved child learning outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of Australian evidence on the impact that coaching in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams in early childhood education and care settings has on teacher effectiveness and…

Using the controversial image of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi as its provocation, this paper reflects upon the ethics of images used in teaching in a time of high-volume image circulation via social media, as well as a time when debates about content and trigger warnings are starting to gain more traction in the Australian tertiary sector. It…

This paper investigates the relationship between non-parental care and toddlers' behavioral outcomes using data from Australia. In particular, we explore heterogeneity in the relationship using the unique data on quality attributes: carer/child ratio, share of qualified staff, and expert ratings. The results suggest that full-time non-parental…

The introduction of "Belonging, Being and Becoming: the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia" (EYLF) offers the potential for a change in collective thinking about the social and emotional capabilities of infants and toddlers. Classical theories of young children's development have held that infants and toddlers are egocentric in…

Prospective questionnaire data from a longitudinal population sample on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), developmental delay, specific language impairment, or typical development (TD), were collected at ages eight, 12 and 24 months, via the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale Developmental Profile (CSBS)--Infant Toddler…

The prevalence of behavioral inhibition in toddlers was examined in five cultures. Participants in this study included 110 Australian, 108 Canadian, 151 Chinese, 104 Italian, and 113 South Korean toddlers and their mothers who were observed during a structured observational laboratory session. Matched procedures were used in each country, with…

This essay describes and analyzes economic rationalism, instrumental, and enrichment approaches to early care and education policy in the United States and abroad. The author proposes that differences in infant-toddler care and other services among nations can stem from differences in the way that societies define the basic rights of their…

This paper presents encouraging results concerning speech perception, speech production, and language evaluation for an initial group of five children implanted with cochlear implants under the age of three years at the Children's Cochlear Implant Centre in Sydney, Australia. Preoperative assessment procedures and postoperative management are…