Our research

Sheila Degotardi (MQ), Mridula Sharma (MQ), Naomi Sweller (MQ), Emilia Djonov (MQ), Fiona Zheng (MQ), Sarah Jacobson (MQ), Natalie Brand (MQ)

ToddlerTaLK

Funded by the NSW Department of Education, this ARC leveraging strategic grant extends the scope of MQ TaLK by capturing the development trajectories of learning-oriented language of 24 toddlers, aged 2.5-3.5 years. Toddlers are observed five times across this period to detect when specific talk functions emerge and the learning contexts that support their use. The project will develop professional resources to support educator to identify and support the development of your children’s learning-oriented talk.

Linda Harrison (MQ), Sandie Wong (MQ), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Sheila Degotardi (MQ), Belinda Davis (MQ), Kate Williams (QUT), Sheena Elwick (CSU), Peter Humburg (UNSW), Magdalena Janus (McMaster University)

Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL)

ORICL is a new tool co-developed with professionals, policy-makers and providers, and trialled in long day care and family day care services to support infant-toddler educators to: Observe, Reflect, and Improve the quality of individual Children’s Learning experiences. ORICL is unique in supporting individualised observation and reflection on children’s experiences. For more information see: www.oricl.org.

Margaret Somerville (WSU), Sarah Powell (MQ), Tessa McGavock (WSU)

Planetary literacies: Young children’s response to bushfire recovery

In 2019-2020, Australia experienced catastrophic bushfires, which destroyed wildlife, bushland, homes, and lives. This project was developed in response to the impact of these bushfires and as a way for young children, aged 0-5 years, to make sense of the devastation they had experienced personally or via the media. There has been no prior research about young children’s learning, curriculum, or pedagogies for bushfire recovery. This project engaged children in emergent, collaborative, co-constructed, and creative learning experiences.

Rebekah Grace (WSU), Amy Wright (Sydney Uni), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ), Stacey Blythe (WSU) and Fay Hadley (MQ)

Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care

This study heeds the call for rigorous research to inform practice and policy in Out of Home Care provisioning for CALD children in Australia, the need for which is widely recognised. The proposed project will be utilising the conceptual frameworks of Bioecological theory, Ecocultural theory and social constructionism to explore the associations between the individual child, family, organisational and cultural factors that interact to shape the environments in which children grow and develop. It directly addresses the support needs of non-Indigenous CALD children, a largely invisible population within the Australian research literature, deliberately seeking to capture and understand the complex interplay between personal characteristics and environmental factors that are all part of cultural identity formation.

Fannie Khng (NIE Singapore), Beth O'Brien (NTU Singapore), Ee Lynn Ng (NIE Singapore), Kenneth Poon, He Sun (NIE Singapore), Michael Chia (NIE, Singapore), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Kerry Lee (EduHK)

SKIP-UP

A follow up of the Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP), SKIP-UP follows the kindergarten cohort as they enter middle childhood. The objective is to examine how children’s cognitive, physical, and social-emotional functioning in middle childhood may be influenced by early and concurrent (i.e., middle childhood) predictors, paying particular attention to potential moderators within the child or the child’s environment—such as child environmental sensitivity, intervening activities/experiences, and classroom climate—that may influence outcomes.

Alfredo Bautista (HKU), Kerry Lee (HKU), S. K. Leung (HKU), T. S. C. Siu, (EduHK), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Kate Williams (QUT)

Rhythm and movement for self-regulation

Using a cluster Randomized Controlled Trial intervention design with kindergartens serving children from low socio-economic status, we will investigate:
1) the effectiveness of the online training program on teachers’ ability to implement RAMSR, as measured by self-reports and expert observers;
2) the factors associated with different levels of implementation fidelity;
3) the impact of RAMSR, as implemented by teachers, on Kindergarten K1 children’s self-regulation immediately after the intervention and six months later.

Sheila Degotardi (MQ), Garry Falloon (MQ), Helen Hu (MQ), Chuanmei Dong (MQ)

The EYLF in China

This commissioned project examines how Chinese EC educators understand and approach the learning potential of play and how it intersects with the concept of intentional teaching. Interview and observational data is tracking changes in their understandings over time before and during professional learning and mentoring support.

Fay Hadley (MQ), Rebecca Andrews (MQ), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ), Iain Hay (MQ), Catherine Jones (MQ), Linda Harrison (MQ)

Mentoring and Coaching Program for Early Childhood Teachers

This course enabled experienced early childhood teachers (with at least 5 years experience) to become capable mentors to new early childhood teachers in early childhood settings. Mentors were taught to examine and understand how to put into practice mentoring as a leadership strategy framed by the theory of Community of Practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

Rebecca Andrews (MQ), Fay Hadley (MQ), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ), Iain Hay (MQ), Leanne Holt (MQ)

Aboriginal and Early Childhood Scholarship Holders Mentoring Program

This mentoring program supported scholars enrolled in early childhood teacher education courses in NSW who had been awarded a scholarship by the NSW Department of Education’s Early Childhood Education Scholarship programs. The program grouped experience Early childhood teachers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mentors and scholarship holder mentees into small and large communities of practice.

Linda Harrison (MQ), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Belinda Davis (MQ), Sandie Wong (MQ), Sheena Elwick (CSU)

Preschool Assessment Study: Review of Formative Assessment Assessment Practices in Early Childhood Settings and Development of Video Resources to Support Professional Learning

Commissioned by the NSW Dept of Education, this 3-stage project comprised: a literature review of formative assessment tools used in early childhood education (ECE) settings for children aged 3- to 5-years;  stakeholder consultations and data collection with ECE providers, teachers and educators who were directly involved in the selection, use, and interpretation of formative assessment tools and practices; and the development of resource material (video, interviews, images) to communicate and promote formative assessment practices in through professional learning for teachers and educators.

Linda Harrison (MQ), Belinda Davis (MQ), Sheila Degotardi (MQ), Fay Hadley (MQ), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ), Catherine Jones (MQ), Sandie Wong (MQ), Loraine Fordham (MQ),

Early Childhood Education Participation of Children from Low-SES Backgrounds

Commissioned by the NSW Dept of Education, this project designed and evaluated the impact and effectiveness of a non-fee intervention to improve the participation of preschool-aged children and families in early childhood education (ECE). The intervention aimed to increase educators' knowledge about how best to support families through a professional learning program combined with support for practical resources. The intervention was evaluated in 19 centres and schools using a quasi-experimental design and mix of data collection methods.

Rebecca Andrews (MQ)

Emotive Reminiscing Project

Engaging in quality conversations has important benefits for children’s immediate and later social competence and language skills. Given the important role for educators in scaffolding the socio-emotional development of young children, this project aims to determine if engagement in quality conversations will enhance developmental outcomes for children and tests a professional development program for educators.

Sarah Powell (MQ)

Creative Arts learning online: Preservice EC teacher experiences during COVID-19

The project explores preservice teachers’ experience/s of completing a Creative Arts unit online and seeks to identify and theorise about effective methods and learning design/s for improving practice in the online delivery of Creative Arts. The COVID-19 crisis forced teacher educators to rethink effective practice for online learning, including effective ways to address diverse learning needs, and support EC preservice teachers to be creative, flexible, and resilient in their future teaching.

Sandie Wong (MQ), Tamara Cumming (MQ), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Laura McFarland (UoM), Alexander Macquarrie (GU)

The Early Childhood Educator Wellbeing Project (ECEWP) consists of multiple projects.

The ECEWP takes a holistic approach to examining the psychological and physiological aspects of EC educators’ wellbeing within the context of their work environments, and the broader socio-cultural-political environment.
Through our research we are investigating:
* educators’ psychological wellbeing through a range of psychometric assessments
* educators’ physiological wellbeing through health screening; biometric measures of height, weight, flexibility and blood pressure; cortisol measures; and cardio-respiratory activity and physical effort using wearable technology
* the impact of organisational and social factors on educators’ wellbeing
* the impact of educators’ wellbeing on their work with children.

Linda Harrison (MQ), Sandie Wong (MQ), Megan Gibson (QUT), Tamara Cumming (MQ), Frances Press (Manchester Metropolitan University), Sharon Ryan (Rutgers University)

Exemplary Early Childhood Educators at Work (ECEC@W)

This ARC Linkage Project draws upon a unique alliance of university researchers, employers, unions and professional development agencies to investigate and shed light on the complexity of the work of early childhood educators. Informed by the Theory of Practice Architectures, it aims to build an empirical evidence base through a dual focus on the nature of educators’ work
and the context within which they work. The project aims to identify the work, skills and knowledge of exemplary EC educators in each of the three mandated qualification levels: Certificate III, Diploma, and Degree, and investigate and document the organisational,
professional and relational dimensions evident in high quality childcare centres and preschools with educators whose work is considered exemplary.

Fay Hadley (MQ), Linda Harrison (MQ), Susan Irvine (QUT), Lennie Bablett (ECU), Jennifer Cartmel (GU), Francis Bobognie Harris (QUT)

2021 National Quality Framework, Approved Learning Frameworks Update

Contracted by ACECQA, this project aims to ensure the ongoing currency and relevance of our two Approved Learning Frameworks (EYLF and MTOP), for children and young people, families and communities, teachers and educators. This includes gathering diverse perspectives to identify potential areas for updating and improving these frameworks. This project has two stages of public consultation, to develop recommendations for updates, and a piloting stage to test these recommended updates with practitioners.

Sheila Degotardi (MQ), Sandie Wong (MQ), Rebecca Bull (MQ), Janaki Amin (MQ), Linda Harrison (MQ), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ), Yvonne Zurynski (MQ), Fay Hadley (MQ), Maria Dahm (ANU), Michael Donovan (MQ), Lauren Sadow (MQ)

Harnessing the health communication potential of the early childhood sector

The Medical Research Futures Fund project is capitalising on learning derived from the experience of the early childhood education (ECE) sector during the COVID-19 crisis, to develop a Best Practice Model of health communication to be used whenever population-level health information needs to be communicated rapidly, accurately, and effectively to families of young children and their educators.  Data has been generated by health communication document analysis, a national survey of educators and families, elite interviews of executive in peak organisations, and case studies of diverse ECEC services.

Sandie Wong (MQ)

The Goodstart Research Fellowship

Reporting to the National Manager Research and serving as an integral member of the Goodstart Leadership Team, The Goodstart Research Fellow position assists Goodstart meet the challenge of translating multi-disciplinary evidence into best practice in early learning and care. The role is responsible for translating research into improved policy and practice across the Goodstart network of centres.

Linda Harrison (MQ), Sue Irvine (QUT), Fay Hadley (MQ), Rebecca Andrews (MQ), Lennie Barblett (ECU), Belinda Davis (MQ), Maria Hatzigianni (UoM), Philip Li (MQ), Geraldine Mulhearn (CSU), Manjula Waniganayake (MQ)

Quality Improvement Research Project

Commissioned by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), this three-phase study investigated the characteristics and internal processes of quality improvement in Australian long day care centres. The study focused on services that had improved their rating from Working Towards NQS to Meeting NQS or Exceeding NQS using quantitative analysis, qualitative document analyses, and case study interviews. Findings place emphasis on the need for leadership at all levels of service delivery and ECEC policy.