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ABSTRACTThe Children’s Engagement Behaviour Frameworkwas developed to describe young children’s engagement with science exhibits and how their behaviour is related to learning about the exhibits. The Frameworkwas synthesised from frameworks in research literature related to family learning and the nature of play. It describes three categories of epistemic behaviour and two categories of ludic play behaviour. Field-testing in a playgroup environment where young children engaged with science exhibits revealed that its five categories effectively captured the range of engagement behaviours children displayed. The Frameworkwas used to code video-recordings of 20 children in five further playgroups, categorising 89 child-exhibit interactions lasting at least 30 s. The inter-coder agreement was 93% and differences were easily resolved. The highest level of epistemic behaviour was recorded at each exhibit and 29 instances of ludic behaviour occurred. Children were interviewed using stills from their video-recording to stimulate discussion about exhibits. Epistemic behaviour was strongly related to learning about how the exhibit worked but ludic behaviour had no relationship with such learning. This research has demonstrated the relationship between observable epistemic behaviour and learning and provided a Frameworkfor research into the engagement behaviour of young children. Practical applications of the Frameworkarediscussed.

YOUNG CHILDREN'S RIGHTS, power and agency in research are dependent on adult agendas that are enmeshed throughout every research project. This paper presents a Rights-Based Research Ethics and Participation Planning Framework that defines and unpacks the components of a rights-based approach to early childhood research. This new framework supports researchers to plan projects that uphold children's rights, shift the balance of power towards the child, and provide opportunities for children to exercise voice and agency. The Planning Framework provides guidance from project conceptualisation to implementation through a three-stage process focusing on ethical foundations, practical design considerations and implementation of rights-based research. The first stage of this Planning Framework relates to the overall research design, the researcher's perspective of children's capacities and the child's perspective of the research culture. The second stage highlights key considerations for designing research that supports children's rights and agency. The third stage discusses implementation and the range of participation levels accessible to young children in research. The paper concludes with insight into how the Planning Framework can be used as a step-by-step process, and insight into the link between appropriately communicated information and young children's rights, power and agency within research participation.

THIS PAPER SUMMARISES THEreporting of early childhood (EC) research practices through a meta-analysis of 10 scholarly international EC education journals. The analysis included 506 peer-reviewed primary research articles published between 2009 and 2012 (inclusive) involving young children between the ages of birth and eight years. These were reviewed for child statuswithin research, researcher perspectiveof children involved in research and respectful researchculture within EC research. This review provides a broad picture of how young children are currently being involved in research and whether an ideological shift towards more participatory approaches is filtering through to EC research practice. The results indicated that for child status, 96.6 per cent of articles positioned young children in traditional roles as non-participant objectsof research (64.6 per cent) and semi-participant subjects(32.0 per cent). Only 3.4 per cent of studies positioned children in inclusive, participatory roles as social actors(3.0 per cent) and co-researchers(0.4 per cent). Similarly, for researcher perspective, 70.2 per cent of articles were identified as research conducted on children, with the remaining 29.8 per cent as research withor bychildren. In terms of research culture, 89.7 per cent of articles were non-respectfulby focusing on what children could do for the research, rather than valuing the children themselves. These results highlight a gap between rights-based EC research literature and the way in which research is being reported with young children. A new Rights-based Research Accountability Framework is presented to assist researchers in understanding how well their research upholds children's rights principles and what areas need to be addressed to transition towards more inclusive approaches.

The case for integrating generic skills in university accounting programmes is well documented in the literature, but the implementation of strategies designed to teach generic skills in the context of accounting courses has posed ongoing challenges for academics and course administrators. The imperative for generic skills in accounting programmes derives from an economic view of the role of universities, reflecting the views of government and employers who perceive graduates as economic assets to business and the economy. It is argued that the role of universities extends beyond the economic imperative to encompass a greater social and cultural role. This paper traces the historical evolution of the generic skills discourse with an emphasis on accounting and places it in the broader context of the social and economic roles of universities in an era of transformation in the sector. The generic skills discourse, however, transcends disciplinary boundaries and international borders. The new knowledge economy, emerging as a result of technological advancement, needs graduates across disciplines with flexible mindsets and transferable skill sets, capable of innovating and adapting to a dynamic work environment. Consequently, universities must develop the transferable, generic skills required by graduates to advance their careers and contribute to economic innovation and social development. The generic skills debate must, therefore, be addressed from a systemic perspective, reaching beyond national and disciplinary borders. The lessons learned from the generic skills debate in accounting have wider interdisciplinary application for university policy-makers and educators facing the challenges of a new era in higher education.

THIS PAPER PRESENTS Acomprehensive review of reporting practices of research ethics in 10 scholarly international early childhood education journals. Peer-reviewed primary research articles published between 2009 and 2012 (inclusive) were reviewed for reported parent consent, child consent and institutional ethics approval. Of the 506 articles identified as relevant, 49 per cent reported parent consent (with a range across journals from 23–66 per cent), 19 per cent reported child consent (9–40 per cent) and 16 per cent reported institutional ethics approval (6–23 per cent). Only 24 per cent of articles specified the type of parent consent, while only 11 per cent of articles specified the type of child consent. These results highlight considerable under-reporting of ethical procedures in early childhood education research journals, and in those who do report there is a lack of detail. The potential benefits of increased reporting of ethics are discussed in relation to the Rights of the Child movement and journal editorial and author guidelines.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLEis to describe two case studies of classroom-based teaching interventions, conducted by final-year pre-service teachers, which were successful in assisting young children with autism engage in and learn literacy through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The 10-day interventions were carried out as part of a two-year Master of Teaching course at an Australian university, and were designed to identify specific learning needs in young children, and then implement targeted interventions. The two cases described here show how ICTs were successfully used to create multimodal texts to support the literacy learning and engagement of young children with autism. The first case involved an intervention that employed two iPad apps—which were not intended specifically for children with autism—to support the literacy learning and engagement of a five-year-old. The second case involved the use of Microsoft PowerPoint on a laptop to develop multimodal non-fiction texts to improve an eight-year-old's attitude to, and engagement with, reading. Each intervention was found to be effective in improving the participating child's literacy achievement and engagement. Each used multisensory and student-centred approaches that acknowledged the children's strengths and interests, with ICTs being used to transform teaching and learning tasks. This article illustrates the successful drawing together of pre-service teachers' technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), as well as their knowledge of the children concerned, to devise evidence-based interventions using ICTs to assist young children with autism to engage in, and learn, literacy.

CHILDREN HAVE IMMENSE CURIOSITY, a thirst for knowledge and a questioning attitude. They are innate scientists. The challenge for early childhood educators is to fuel this curiosity through the provision of appropriate learning experiences and an engaging environment within early learning centres. This paper presents a detailed case study of how a preservice teacher implemented forensic science as a form of scientific inquiry, in a preschool classroom for four-year-old children. Using the theme of We're going on a (forensic) bear hunt!, a series of integrated and engaging experiences was delivered that allowed the children to solve the class mystery of who left behind the (bear) footprints. This paper describes the concept, process and skills of scientific inquiry, outlines the basic principle of forensic science, provides a detailed description of the children's learning experiences, and interprets these experiences in relation to developing children's scientific inquiry skills: exploring and predicting, observing and recording, using equipment, using observation as evidence, and representing and communicating. It also illustrates how young children can readily engage in inquiry-based learning; educators, however, must provide the opportunities and support to stimulate this learning. In summary, the paper argues that a complex topic such as forensic science can be successfully implemented with young children, highlighting the competence of these children.