Supported Playgroups in Schools (SPinS) are a new initiative in the Australian early childhood education landscape. SPinS are playgroups hosted by a playgroup coordinator co-located on a local school site. Research has identified positive benefits of playgroup participation for children and families. However, little is known about the potential…

This report presents the findings from the third wave of a longitudinal study to investigate perceptions of administrative burden among providers of children's education and care services. The study reveals a number of positive findings including consistently high levels of support for the National Quality Framework (NQF) and a significant decline…

This article reports on outcomes of an Australian pilot school-based early intervention program called Got It! (Getting On Track In Time!). Findings contribute to evidence for the effectiveness of interventions for children with early-onset conduct problems. The Got It! program incorporates universal and targeted components for children ages five…

This report is the second installment (Wave II) of the longitudinal study examining the perceptions and experiences of services under the National Quality Framework (NQF) with respect to their level of regulatory burden. The Wave II perception survey was conducted in February and March 2014. The findings in this report are divided into two themes:…

The National Quality Framework (NQF) was introduced to improve the quality of Australia's early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services. One goal of the NQF was to reduce unnecessary compliance burden on children's education and care services through a jointly-governed system of regulation, replacing overlapping…

There is growing evidence that high-quality non-parental child care can contribute to children's learning, development and successful transition to school. Research examining the quality of child care and the effect on children's development is not well documented outside the USA. We used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to…

Australian "Play School" is a children's television programme developed in collaboration with early childhood educators. It is screened free to air across Australia. Two hundred and twenty-four adult carers of young children aged 1-8 years completed an online survey via a link on the "Play School" website. The survey addressed…

Childcare workers play a significant role in the learning and development of children in their care. This has major implications for the training of workers. Under new reforms of the childcare industry, the Australian government now requires all workers to obtain qualifications from a vocational education and training provider (e.g. Technical and…

Surveyed day-care workers on effects of accreditation. Most respondents agreed that accreditation ensures high-quality care but they found the process difficult, mainly due to time constraints. Work conditions had not changed for half; half did not agree with the staff-child ratio; and three-quarters were not satisfied with their awards and wanted…

Examined family day care providers' views on training. Found that some providers view family day care as a professional service requiring training and providing a career path, whereas others view their services as an extension of their own home duties and oppose formalization of family day care through training. However, pay and status concerns…

As part of a larger project begun three years after the adoption of the Australian Early Childhood Association (AECA) Code of Ethics, this study sought practitioners' views about formal enforcement of a code of ethics for early childhood personnel. Questionnaires were sent to directors of 200 early childhood services in New South Wales; about 225…

Reviews findings of studies investigating the perceptions of child care coordinators in Victoria (Australia) about leadership attributes and skills related to effective leadership of early childhood centers. Finds a general and common understanding of leadership characteristics, roles, and responsibilities, with few differences in perception…

This study examined the needs of beginning early childhood teachers in their first year of work in primary schools, kindergartens, or child care centers in Australia. The study surveyed teachers in 1988, 1989, and 1990; this paper discusses the results from the 1990 survey. Subjects were 31 teachers who responded to a questionnaire that concerned…

Staff members working in early childhood services have enormous potential to influence young children's developing attitudes toward cultural diversity and gender equity. This issue of the Australian Early Childhood Association Research in Practice Series focuses on how early childhood staff can work productively through the challenges of achieving…