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This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative research project conducted in 2017 that explored practitioners' experiences and perceptions of the provision of play pedagogies in contemporary Western Australian early childhood education contexts. Interviews were conducted with four play-based learning teachers and an open-ended survey was completed by 40 early childhood educators who were members of the audience at a Western Australia conference in 2017. The study participants discussed beliefs and values pertaining to quality play-based learning and tensions associated with the diminishing role of play in the early years of schooling and its impact on young children. They also highlighted several enablers and barriers that influence and shape current early childhood education practice. The findings of this study provide further evidence for the issues identified in recent Early Childhood Australia (Western Australia) discussion papers and in other research surrounding play-based learning in the current social-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on findings from four case studies, as part of a large-scale study undertaken to evaluate the KindiLink initiative across Western Australia in remote, regional and metropolitan communities. KindiLink is an educator-led playgroup initiative in public school sites in Western Australia targeted at Aboriginal children and their families. KindiLink aims included the cultivation of Aboriginal families' and children's developing sense of belonging and engagement at their local primary school. A constructivist paradigm was used to describe the subjective experiences of individuals, which was important to ascertain if the aims of KindiLink had been met. To complement the meaning-making of the experience, qualitative data were collected via detailed studies of four KindiLink sites to capture similarities and differences of the settings and gain depth of experience through the voices of the participants. The study found KindiLink successfully connected Aboriginal children and families to schools and built a sense of belonging and productive relationships between families, staff, school and the community in a culturally safe space. Furthermore, KindiLink developed the capacity and confidence of parents as their children's first teachers and supported the home learning environment. The Aboriginal Indigenous education officer in each programme was critical to the engagement of Aboriginal families and acknowledgement of cultural aspects important to children's growing cultural identities. The relationships built between KindiLink staff and families, and between families, were important for children's and their families' growing sense of belonging to the school, which assisted participation at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mandated early childhood framework in Australia requires educators working in early childhood services to attend to children's spirituality. Also, one of the five outcomes in this framework tasks educators with promoting children's connectedness with and contribution to the world, including natural environments. In this paper I present findings from a qualitative investigation to determine educators' understandings and practices around promoting young children's spirituality in the context of religious childcare centres in Western Australia aligned with a focus on nature engagement. A social constructivist theoretical perspective with a phenomenological and interpretivist paradigm framed the research. Interview and observational data were collected and analysed through interpretative phenomenological analysis revealing that educators were able to articulate the connection between spirituality and engagement with nature in childhood. However, in practice, educators rarely offered opportunities for children to experience nature. Recommendations include the provision of professional development in the area of children's spirituality and its connection with nature along with the creation of guidelines on pedagogical practices that afford children opportunities to engage with their spirituality through nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing positive social and emotional growth and development in young children has always been a fundamental priority of early childhood practitioners. However, with an increasing economic and political focus on the foundational early childhood years, there has been a global push for the measurement of outcomes in early childhood education. This paper reports the findings of a major literature review to examine the assessment of social and emotional competence and wellbeing in young children. The review was conducted by a team at Edith Cowan University as part of a project funded by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training. It describes a number of issues about assessment dominating the early childhood literature. The paper then reports on the complexities of examining a domain that is socially and culturally constructed and where meaning belongs to the individual rather than to the person assessing the individual's behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER REPORTS OUTCOMES for Early Childhood (EC) students after engagement in an Education for Sustainability (EfS) program. The research was conducted at an independent school located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. Three student-driven EfS projects, on issues of concern to young children, are examined. These projects are located at the school and in the nearby wetlands: biological survey, reed planting and turtle nest-watch. Findings indicated that participation in EfS projects was an effective, meaningful approach to achieving potent, enjoyable, hands-on action in real-life local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]