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This paper describes the findings of research into children's interactions with educators who were of the same or different culture from that of the children. The research investigated the effect of cultural context on the children's communication and the quality of their interactions in one mainstream early childhood setting. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators were videorecorded interacting with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in an early childhood education and care setting. The interactions between the children and their educators were categorised according to whether the culture of the educator matched that of the child (cultural match), or not (cultural non-match). The interactions were transcribed and the children's communication analysed across a variety of linguistic measures. Results indicated that the children's communication with their educators differed in qualitative but not quantitative measures in response to cultural match. These findings support the need for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MUCH OF WHAT IS WRITTEN about digital technologies in preschool contexts focuses on young children's acquisition of skills rather than their meaning-making during use of technologies. In this paper, we consider how the viewing of a YouTube video was used by a teacher and children to produce shared understandings about it. Conversation analysis of talk and interaction during the viewing of the video establishes some of the ways that individual accounts of events were produced for others and then endorsed as shared understandings. The analysis establishes how adults and children made use of verbal and embodied actions during interactions to produce shared understandings of the YouTube video, the events it recorded and written commentary about those events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, NO PREVIOUS literature review has focused specifically on the effectiveness of transition programs that target collaboration between primary school and pre-school teachers, parents and children. Hence, in this paper we sought to review the literature on this topic. The findings of published studies to date reveal that, internationally, the value of teacher collaboration across the early years of schooling has been recognised, with research acknowledging the benefits of creating meaningful relationships between the teaching professionals, the children they teach, and their parents. However, further research is needed both globally and within Australia to evaluate the effect that programs promoting collaboration between teachers and families can have on facilitating the transition to primary school for all preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INCREASINGLY, EARLY CHILDHOOD PRACTITIONERS are faced with children who present with significant levels of oppositional and defiant behaviour. The management of this behaviour is often difficult and stressful. Efforts to minimise disruptive behaviour and to encourage more prosocial behaviour have very much revolved around the teaching of appropriate behaviour and the acknowledgement and reward of it when it occurs. More and more schools are using approaches like School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) to achieve a better positive acknowledgement to correction balance in teacher-child interactions. Just how successful schools are in this respect and with particular reference to interactions with children who display oppositional and defiant behaviours was the subject of two exploratory investigations, results of which are reported in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]