Search

Demographic data, such as highest level of education attained, are often assumed to be relatively free from measurement error. As part of an evaluation of an early childhood parenting intervention, 654 parents reported their highest level of education via telephone interview at baseline and self-directed questionnaire at follow-up 5.7 years later. At follow-up, 14% reported a lower level of education compared to baseline, indicating measurement error in one of the data collections. Comparison with data collected by an external agency for a subsample of participants (n = 261) 3.2 years after baseline indicated error in both the baseline and follow-up data. Probable causes of error included respondent and interviewer confusion regarding the names of post-school qualifications and item construction incorrectly implying linear pathways through education. We make recommendations around question construction and data collection methods for reducing measurement error in self-reported educational attainment.

Participant attrition is a significant challenge for longitudinal studies, particularly those involving disadvantaged populations. We attempted to re-engage n = 990 families in a five-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial of an early childhood parenting intervention. Tracing was attempted for n = 90/990 (9.1%) uncontactable participants. Evidence for the identification of a matching Facebook profile was classified as strong, moderate or weak. A private message was sent to those with strong evidence (n = 63/90, 70.0%), of which 32 responded, 22 agreed to participate and 19 provided data. Compared to participants engaged using traditional methods, those re-engaged through Facebook were more likely at initial recruitment to have a younger child (p =.02), to be a single parent (p =.04), less educated (p

This research examined longitudinal profiles for parental involvement in shared reading with children from age 2 to 6 years. Associations of the profiles with sociodemographics were explored, as well as associations with children’s achievement in Year 3 at school. Data were drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children for 3,836 children in the Baby Cohort. Three longitudinal profiles were identified: (1) high-stable involvement, (2) medium-stable involvement, and (3) low-increasing involvement. Profile membership was distinguished by: child Indigenous status and non-English language at home, family socioeconomic position, number of siblings at home, and child’s early self-regulation. Membership in the low-increasing involvement group was associated with the likelihood of not attaining Australian minimum standards for reading, writing, and numeracy. Membership in the medium-stable involvement group was associated with the likelihood of not attaining minimum standards for reading.

This study examined the socio-demographic factors associated with trajectories of parental involvement in shared book reading and other home activities for children aged 2–6 years. The study uses data from 3836 families participating in Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Latent growth curve models were estimated to describe associations between trajectories of parental involvement, socio-demographic factors, and children’s learning outcomes. Higher levels of parental involvement at 2 years were associated with better learning outcomes at 6 years. On average, the frequency of parental involvement in home learning activities decreased over time. Family socio-economic disadvantage and being a male child were associated with lower levels of parental involvement at age 2 years, and more rapid decreases in parental involvement in home activities over time. Continued attention is needed to identify effective strategies that can address inequalities in children’s home learning opportunities before children begin school.

This article documents the longitudinal and reciprocal relations among behavioral sleep problems and emotional and attentional self-regulation in a population sample of 4,109 children participating in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)-Infant Cohort. Maternal reports of children's sleep problems and self-regulation were collected at five time-points from infancy to 8-9 years of age. Longitudinal structural equation modeling supported a developmental cascade model in which sleep problems have a persistent negative effect on emotional regulation, which in turn contributes to ongoing sleep problems and poorer attentional regulation in children over time. Findings suggest that sleep behaviors are a key target for interventions that aim to improve children's self-regulatory capacities.

This article builds on our ongoing work in conceptualising an ‘evaluative stance’ framework to assist in understanding how leaders in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) make decisions about the selection of professional development options for themselves and their staff. It introduces the notion that evaluative mindsets can be considered in terms of attitudes towards decision-making that are based on personal epistemologies. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, it explores the mindsets of six experienced leaders in two long-established ECEC organisations in Australia with respect to their decision-making about professional development. The article concludes with a consideration of the potential utility of the framework and the coding template used in this exploratory study.

Unprecedented policy attention to early childhood education internationally has highlighted the crucial need for a skilled early years workforce. Consequently, professional development of early years educators has become a global policy imperative. At the same time, many maintain that professional development research has reached an impasse. In this paper, we offer a new approach to addressing this impasse. In contrast to calls for a redesign of comparative studies of professional development programs, or for the refinement of researcher-constructed professional development evaluation frameworks, we argue the need to cultivate what we refer to as an ‘evaluative stance’ amongst all involved in making decisions about professional development in the early years – from senior bureaucrats with responsibilities for funding professional development programs to individual educators with choices about which professional development opportunities to take up. Drawing on three bodies of literature -- evaluation capacity building, personal epistemology, and co-production -- that, for the most part, have been overlooked with respect to early years professional learning this paper proposes a conceptual framework to explain why cultivating an evaluative stance in professional development decision-making has rich possibilities for systemic, sustainable, and transformative change in early years education.

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was used to investigate the effects of two forms of shared reading on children's language and literacy skills. Parents of 80 children in the preparatory year of school participated in an eight-week home reading intervention. Families were assigned to one of three groups: dialogic reading (DR), dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing (DR + PR), or an attention-matched control group. Analyses of change from pre- to post-intervention showed significant effects for the DR and DP+PR groups compared to the control group on three of the six emergent literacy measures: expressive language, rhyme, and concepts about print. At three-month follow-up assessment, the two intervention groups maintained significantly better performance on the measure of concepts about print only. These findings illustrate the potential of a brief home-based intervention for promoting children's emergent literacy.

While there has been extensive research exploring quality in childcare programs for children older than three years, less attention has been directed to the nature of infants’ experiences in centre‐based childcare programs. In this study, six childcare workers and six centre directors located in centre‐based childcare programs in metropolitan Australia were interviewed about their beliefs about quality care and training for infants. In each of the participating centres, the infant programs were also observed using an observational measure that focused on the nature of adult–infant interactions. Both centre directors and childcare workers expressed beliefs that quality in infant care was related to affective dimensions (e.g. care, love, attention) and programming for infants’ learning and development. They also expressed views that infant care training should have a strong practical focus to provide the necessary knowledge and skills for interacting with infants. Only centre directors discussed beliefs abo...

The progress of a nationally representative sample of 3632 children was followed from early childhood through to primary school, using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The aim was to examine the predictive effects of different aspects of communicative ability, and of early vs. sustained identification of speech and language impairment, on children's achievement and adjustment at school. Four indicators identified speech and language impairment: parent-rated expressive language concern; parent-rated receptive language concern; use of speech-language pathology services; below average scores on the adapted Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III. School outcomes were assessed by teachers' ratings of language/literacy ability, numeracy/mathematical thinking and approaches to learning. Comparison of group differences, using ANOVA, provided clear evidence that children who were identified as having speech and language impairment in their early childhood years did not perform as well a...

This paper describes an analysis of interview transcripts for 77 first- and second-year students enrolled in a vocational education course for child-care work. The purpose was to identify their conceptions of learning. All six categories of conceptions, as identified originally by Marton et al. (1993), were found. However, more than 50% of the conceptions were at level A (increasing knowledge). This category was richer and more differentiated than found in other research and had a practical, applied focus. The participants did not generally situate their learning in a formal context based on reading theoretical material. This finding provides a new perspective on conceptions of learning. The results are compared with research in vocational, informal, workplace and teacher learning. The conceptions of learning held by the child-care students could present a challenge for lecturers in the vocational programme who expect that students will underpin practical skills with theoretical knowledge. It is less like...

Over the last decade, research related to personal epistemological beliefs has offered insight into how to promote effective teaching and learning across educational settings. Personal epistemological beliefs reflect an individual's views about what knowledge is, how knowledge is gained, and the degree of certainty with which knowledge can be held. However, there has been no research that specifically investigates the relationship between such epistemological beliefs and early childhood practice. This paper draws together current research findings on epistemological beliefs and tertiary learning to provide a conceptual framework which can be used in early childhood teacher education programs to provide a basis for investigating early childhood teachers' understanding about their own learning and how they use this knowledge in their practice.

SUMMARY In the present study, the personal epistemological beliefs of group leaders in toddler child care programmes are investigated. Epistemological beliefs are beliefs about knowing and learning. It is considered that the quality of these beliefs is influenced by educational experiences. In this study, such beliefs are assumed to be mediating factors in the nature and quality of child care practice. Six caregivers in toddler programmes (children aged 18 months to 3 years) in Australia were videoed within their programmes and subsequently asked to describe their personal epistemological beliefs as well as their beliefs about how children learn. In the interviews, excerpts from the video were presented and the caregivers asked to reflect on their practices. The interview data for each caregiver were analysed to ascertain the nature of the personal epistemological beliefs and the nature of beliefs about children's learning. The manner in which caregivers' reflective responses about their practices observe...

One important structural indicator of child care quality identified consistently from research is the educational qualifications and competency of the caregiver. In this focussed qualitative study of 6 caregivers in toddler programs (children aged 18 months to 3 years), caregivers' beliefs about knowing and learning and their conceptions of good caregiving were explored. The caregivers were videoed within their programs and subsequently asked to describe their epistemological beliefs (about knowing and learning) and conceptions of caregiving during stimulated recall interviews. Two of the caregivers described relativistic epistemological beliefs. In contrast, the remaining four caregivers held multiplistic and mixed epistemological beliefs and lacked the same degree of reflectivity in their responses as the two caregivers with relativistic belief systems. Furthermore, the caregivers with relativistic epistemological beliefs held sophisticated conceptions of caregiving which integrated ideas and made more ...

Infant caregivers in centre-based child care were videotaped as they interacted with the children during routine and non-routine activities. During a subsequent interview, the video provided a stimulus for discussion and reflection on practices. Caregivers were also asked to write about their beliefs on good practice in caring for infants. Transcripts of the interviews and the written statements were then analysed for evidence of nave and informed beliefs about caregiving. Most caregivers held nave beliefs and only one caregiver had an informed understanding of professional practice with infants. The usefulness of the analytical framework used in this research is discussed as a means for understanding caregiving practices. It has important implications for approaches to initial professional education of early childhood teachers and for professional development programmes.

Many researchers have examined the serious consequences that spouse abuse may have on battered women's physical and psychological health. Considerably less attention has been given to the effects on children of witnessing domestic violence. This article reports an empirical study which examined the effects of witnessing domestic violence on the psycho-social adjustment of 54 young children aged three to six years. The children's adjustment was examined using the Child Behaviour Checklist and 42 percent of the children exhibited behavioural problems in the clinical range on this measure. Significant correlations were found between the children's adjustment and the amount of verbal aggression and domestic violence in the home prior to parental separation. The implications of the research for social work and family violence policy and practice are also discussed.