Early years

In today’s Q&A we catch up with Dr Dan Cloney – a Senior Research Fellow in the Education Policy and Practice Program and a Member of the Centre for Global Education Monitoring at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) – to discuss early years transitions, assessment and learning progressions.

Leading improvement in literacy teaching and learning, written by Associate Professor Robyn Cox supports teachers and school leaders in their understanding of the intricacies of teaching literacy and the best ways to improve practices. In this exclusive excerpt from the book, Cox discusses the importance of oral language learning in the early years.

Quality improvement in early childhood education and care (ECEC) starts with robust data collection. But how data is analysed and utilised in education is crucial to achieving meaningful improvement through evidence-based practice. In this article, we outline 5 further readings which explore data and improvement in Australian ECEC settings, and offer strategies for effective and informed teaching.

Developing children’s reading skills as they start primary school can often mean meeting children at a range of different levels. In this article, we speak with Dr Lexie Scherer who explains how the reader-response method can help teachers find that special ‘hook’ that can open a child up to the wonders of reading.

‘Best literacy practices in specialist schools look very different to best practice in regular classrooms.’ New research published in the Australian Journal of Education explores the different observational tools needed to understand effective literacy environments in specialist schools.

‘When you’re in a bush kinder, there are no gendered materials. Everything that’s there is for anybody to play with.’ Recent findings from a Deakin University study reveal that bush kinders can build children’s early confidence and skill development in STEM, especially for young girls.

Results from the 2021 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) collection cycle show that of all early childhood developmental domains, children’s language and cognitive skills have seen the most significant shift. Find out more in today’s infographic.

Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! is the theme for NAIDOC Week 2022. Here, we take you through some of the NAIDOC Week resources for educators to use in the classroom. We also talk to Nerae Preece from Badger Creek Primary School, and Connor Russell from Newtown State School, about what their schools are doing for NAIDOC Week.

When we think of transitions in education, often what comes to mind are the ‘macro’ transitions from home to early childhood settings, and then into school and beyond. But just as important are the everyday ‘micro’ transitions between spaces, activities and people. Here, we speak with Dr Loraine Fordham about why these transitions are important, and tips for educators to handle them sensitively.

A recent study has analysed the experience of over 3000 children aged four and five attending preschool in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children's achievement in prime learning areas, as well as their overall development, during September 2020 and July 2021, were compared to national pre-pandemic averages recorded in the 2018/19 school year.