Early Childhood Education in Australia
- LAST REVIEWED: 01 July 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 May 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0069
- LAST REVIEWED: 01 July 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 May 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0069
Introduction
This entry brings together selected works on early childhood education from Australia. It seeks to provide an overview of leading articles, books, and chapters written by Australian scholars who have contributed significantly to the field of early childhood education. The topics covered in this overview represent the standard material that would be expected and looked for by those interested in early childhood education. The bibliography includes noteworthy textbooks used in Australia for supporting undergraduate education, as well as the major Australian-produced journals that are drawn upon by the field. The major theories that inform the profession are examined, alongside leading research on professional learning at both the in-service and undergraduate level.
General Overviews
Early childhood education in Australia covers the period from birth to eight years. An overview of strategic planning for Australia in education and care can be downloaded for free through Council of Australian Governments 2009. The Commonwealth of Australia has invested heavily in streamlining the regulation of care and education services within Australia through the introduction of a new quality assurance process and a national curriculum framework, while also undertaking workforce planning so that all preschools and long-day-care settings have university-degree-qualified staff. Important studies for the field include Edwards, et al. 2008 and Wilks, et al. 2008. Sumsion, et al. 2009 was critical for the development of a new national curriculum. Grieshaber and Ryan 2006 and Ryan and Grieshaber 2005 advocate for a range of post-structuralist theories for learning, including cultural-historical theory. New theories of child development and pedagogical practice support the conceptual shift that the field is currently facing in Australia, as outlined in Fleer 2010, Grieshaber and Ryan 2006, and Ryan and Grieshaber 2005. Important to the implementation of the national strategy is the learning and development of Indigenous children, as shown in Giugni and Mundine 2012.
Council of Australian Governments. 2009. Investing in the Early Years: A National Early Childhood Development Strategy. Canberra: Council of Australian Governments.
This important government document outlines the national strategy for early childhood education and development for Australia. See the Policy Agenda for a full overview, and the DEEWR Early Childhood Development Strategy page for a brief outline.
Edwards, Susan, Marilyn Fleer, and Joce Nuttall. 2008. A research paper to inform the development of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Melbourne: Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
A foundational document for framing curriculum in Australia, designed to feed into the development of the first national Early Years Learning Framework.
Fleer, Marilyn. 2010. Early learning and development: Cultural-historical concepts in play. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
This book examines play and child development from a cultural-historical/sociocultural perspective. New concepts in early childhood pedagogy and child development are presented.
Giugni, Miriam, and Kerry Mundine, eds. 2012. Talkin’ up and speakin’ out: Aboriginal and multicultural voices in early childhood. Mt. Victoria, Australia: Pademelon.
This important book brings together many Indigenous voices regarding inclusivity and diversity as central to the early childhood curriculum. Social justice is discussed explicitly.
Grieshaber, Susan, and Sharon Ryan. 2006. Beyond certainties: Postmodern perspectives, research, and education of young children. In Handbook of research on the education of young children. 2d ed. Edited by Bernard Spodek and Olivia N. Saracho, 533–554. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
In drawing upon postmodern theories, this chapter gives an excellent overview of the central concepts informing early childhood education in Australia.
Ryan, Sharon, and Susan J. Grieshaber, eds. 2005. Practical transformations and transformational practices: Globalization, postmodernism, and early childhood education. Advances in Early Education and Day Care 14. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
This edited book goes beyond a critique of developmental theory and puts forward postmodern ideas for transforming early childhood education. A central theme is the concept of enacting pedagogies, where the authors seek to attune readers to contemporary situations and practices that shape the lives of young children.
Sumsion, Jennifer, Sally Barnes, Sandra Cheeseman, Linda Harrison, Anne Kennedy, and Anne Stonehouse. 2009. Insider perspectives on developing Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 34.4: 4–13.
This seminal paper outlines the political and policy context that brought about the development and release of the first national early childhood curriculum for Australia. Principles and decision points are given.
Wilks, Anne, Berenice Nyland, Barbara Chancellor, and Susan Elliot. 2008. Analysis of curriculum/learning frameworks for the early years (birth to age 8). Melbourne: Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority.
A foundational document for giving context for curriculum development in Australia, designed to support the development of the first national Early Years Learning Framework.
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Article
- Academic Achievement
- Academic Audit for Universities
- Academic Freedom and Tenure in the United States
- Action Research in Education
- Adjuncts in Higher Education in the United States
- Administrator Preparation
- Adolescence
- Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses
- African American Racial Identity and Learning
- Alternative Certification Programs for Educators
- Alternative Schools
- American Indian Education
- Art Education
- Assessing School Leader Effectiveness
- Assessment, Behavioral
- Assessment, Educational
- Assessment in Early Childhood Education
- Athletics, College
- Beginning-Teacher Induction
- Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
- Blended Learning
- Bullying
- Case Study in Education Research
- Changing Professional and Academic Identities
- Character Education
- Children’s and Young Adult Literature
- Children's Beliefs about Intelligence
- Children's Rights in Early Childhood Education
- Classroom Management
- College Admissions in the United States
- Community Relations
- Comparative Education
- Computer-Based Testing
- Counseling in Schools
- Creativity
- Critical Race Theory
- Crossborder and Transnational Higher Education
- Culturally Responsive Leadership
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
- Culturally Responsive Teacher Education in the United Stat...
- Curriculum Design
- Data Collection in Educational Research
- Data-driven Decision Making in the United States
- Deaf Education
- Desegregation and Integration
- Development, Moral
- Digital Age Teacher, The
- Disabilities
- Distance Learning
- Distributed Leadership
- Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark
- Early Childhood Education and Development in Mexico
- Early Childhood Education in Australia
- Early Childhood Education in China
- Early Childhood Education in Europe
- Early Childhood Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Early Childhood Education in Sweden
- Early Childhood Education Pedagogy
- Early Childhood Education Policy
- Early Childhood Education, The Arts in
- Early Childhood Mathematics
- Early Childhood Teacher Education
- Early Childhood Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Years Professionalism and Professionalization Polici...
- Economics of Education
- Education For Children with Autism
- Education Leadership, Empirical Perspectives in
- Education Reform and School Change
- Educational Statistics for Longitudinal Research
- Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
- Epistemic Beliefs
- Ethics and Education
- Ethics of Teaching
- Ethnic Studies
- Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention
- Family and Community Partnerships in Education
- Family Day Care
- Federal Government Programs and Issues
- Finance, Education
- Financial Aid
- Formative Assessment
- Gender and Achievement
- Gifted Education
- Global Mindedness and Global Citizenship Education
- Global University Rankings
- Governance, Education
- Grounded Theory
- Higher Education and Globalization
- Higher Education and the Developing World
- Higher Education Governance
- Higher Education in China
- Higher Education in the United States, Historical Evolutio...
- Higher Education, International Issues in
- Higher Education Policy
- Higher Education Research
- Higher Education Student Assessment
- High-stakes Testing
- History of Education in the United States
- Homeschooling
- Inclusive Education
- Indigenous Education in a Global Context
- Inservice Teacher Education
- Integrating Art across the Curriculum
- Intelligence
- Intensive Interventions for Children and Adolescents with ...
- Intersectionality and Education
- Knowledge Development in Early Childhood
- Leadership Development, Coaching and Feedback for
- Leadership Training
- Learning Difficulties
- Learning, Lifelong
- Learning, Multimedia
- Legal Matters and Education Law
- LGBT Youth in Schools
- Linguistic Diversity
- Linguistically Inclusive Pedagogy
- Literacy
- Literacy Development and Language Acquisition
- Literacy, Multiple Documents
- Literature Reviews
- Mathematics Instruction and Interventions for Students wit...
- Mathematics Teacher Education
- Measurement in Education in the United States
- Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis in Education
- Methodologies for Conducting Education Research
- Mindfulness, Learning, and Education
- Mixed Methods Research
- Motivation
- Multivariate Research Methodology
- Museums, Education, and Curriculum
- Music Education
- Narrative Research in Education
- Note-Taking
- Numeracy Education
- Online Education
- Pedagogy of Teacher Education, A
- Performance Objectives and Measurement
- Performance-based Research Assessment in Higher Education
- Performance-based Research Funding
- Phenomenology in Educational Research
- Philosophy of Education
- Physical Education
- Play
- Policy
- Politics of Education
- Portable Technology for Special Education
- Pre-Service Teacher Education
- Problem Solving
- Professional Development
- Professional Learning Communities
- Program Evaluation
- Programs and Services for Students with Emotional or Behav...
- Psychology Learning and Teaching
- Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of English Language ...
- Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques
- Qualitative Research Design
- Quantitative Research Designs in Educational Research
- Race and Affirmative Action in Higher Education
- Reading Education
- Refugee and New Immigrant Learners
- Religion in Elementary and Secondary Education in the Unit...
- Researcher Development and Skills Training within the Cont...
- Response to Intervention
- Restorative Practices
- School Accreditation
- School Choice
- School Culture
- School Improvement through Inclusive Education
- School Reform
- Schools, Private and Independent
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
- Science Education
- Secondary to Postsecondary Transition Issues
- Self-Regulated Learning
- Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
- Service-Learning
- Severe Disabilities
- Single Salary Schedule
- Single-sex Education
- Single-Subject Research Design
- Social Context of Education
- Social Justice
- Social Network Analysis
- Social Pedagogy
- Social Science and Education Research
- Social Studies Education
- Sociology of Education
- Statistical Assumptions
- Student Assignment Policy
- Student Engagement in Tertiary Education
- Student Participation
- Student Voice in Teacher Development
- Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness
- Teacher Preparation
- Teacher Training and Development
- Teacher Unions and Associations
- Teaching Critical Thinking
- Technology Education in Early Childhood
- Technology, Educational
- The Bologna Process
- The Regulation of Standards in Higher Education
- Theories of Educational Leadership
- Tracking and Detracking
- Transitions in Early Childhood Education
- University Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in the Unite...
- Using Ethnography in Educational Research
- Value of Higher Education for Students and Other Stakehold...
- Vocational and Technical Education
- Women's and Gender Studies