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The notion of language learners as informed consumers developed by Cohen and White (2008) takes up the issue of how best to develop the knowledge, skills and awareness of language learners given the infinite variety of language learning opportunities. The informed consumer approach focused not only on developing awareness of both formal and informal learning environments, but also on enhancing the ability to critically appraise those opportunities and to optimise language learning within them. In this article we trace how the notion of language learners as informed consumers has been drawn on in innovative studies of technology-mediated language learning; a common focus of those studies has been on ways of fostering awareness of the potential of particular technology-mediated learning environments and the relevant knowledge and skills which would support the active and effective use of those environments. We show how strands of the informed consumer approach have been used to investigate expertise and affordances in electronic dictionary use (Levy & Steel, 2015) and the trajectories of distance learners of Chinese (Tasker, 2010). In the latter part of the article we consider the experiences and reflections of learners of Arabic in a study abroad context in Jordan as part of Project Perseverance; findings from that project open up new dimensions of what it means to be an informed consumer of language instruction in relation to specific situational and cultural norms and constraints. To conclude the article identifies not only the distinctive contribution of the informed consumer approach but also how it sheds light on the ways in which individuals seek out and curate personally meaningful sites for language learning within their life worlds.

The cognitive, educational and economic benefits of learning a second language have been well documented in the literature. This paper reports findings on perspectives of 13 stakeholders on the benefits of a case study about teaching Vietnamese to preschoolers in a regional early childhood context in Tasmania, Australia in 2017. Using a thematic approach in analysing 13 semi-structured interviews, five main themes on the benefits of the programme for the children identified were language development, cultural and global awareness, numeracy enhancement, reading engagement, and personal development. The results showed that participating educators and parents all had positive attitudes towards the early Vietnamese language programme, believed that there were many benefits and expressed a desire for its continuity. These findings suggest that there is a need and desire for second language education in early childhood in the Tasmanian context. Therefore, policy makers, educators and researchers should provide preschools access to learning and teaching resources of a language of their choice to benefit children's overall development and learning in early childhood, adolescence and beyond.

This article contributes to the global conversation about generating a "vision" in early childhood education and care policy by reporting on an investigation of influences on politicians' policy decisions in early childhood education and care in Australia. This article is inspired by the provocations of social and political theorists who question the status quo and how society might be imagined, using policy as a potential method by which to achieve better futures. Guided by this broad agenda, this article reports on an empirical study that sought (1) politician participants' visions for early childhood education and care policy and (2) early childhood sector representatives' views on how visionary policy might be generated and, conversely, their perceptions of how visionary policy comes to be impeded. In Australia, an apparent impediment to achieving visionary policy is the perceived fragmentation of the early childhood education and care sector, a policy problem regularly raised in early childhood education and care literature globally and reflected in the findings of the study reported here. Following the work of Sara Ahmed, the authors question the cultural politics of characterizing the early childhood education and care sector as fragmented and how this description might also be inscribed on the surfaces of individual and collective bodies as a totalizing and disciplining strategy. The practice of "agonism" is proposed as a potentially generative conceptual tool for examining the material effects of being characterized as "fragmented," and for reconfiguring political and public spaces.

The "National Quality Framework" (NQF) has been heralded by the Australian Government as a significant reform that will raise the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) across the country. Drawing on Foucault's (1991) conceptualisation of governmentality this article critically analyses the NQF. From this analysis we conclude that while overall, children in ECEC settings across Australia will be somewhat better off, the NQF nonetheless falls well short of its intended outcomes. Sumsion's (2006) conceptual framework for political activism in the ECEC sector is used to propose one way forward for early childhood advocates and activists to work for policy reform that may more effectively meet the Government's goal of giving children the best possible start in life. Central to our proposal is what we believe is currently lacking in early childhood policy: a bold, innovative vision for children's right to a high-quality early education. (Contains 2 tables.)

The article reports on a study investigating influences on Australian politicians' decision making for early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy. The astronomical concept of dark matter is utilised as a metaphor for considering normalising, and therefore frequently difficult to detect and disrupt, influences implicated in politicians' decision making for ECEC policy. The concept of dark matter connects with and extends Foucauldian conceptualisations of knowledge, power and discourse. The paper argues that maternalist discourses continue to shape the policy landscape for ECEC, though these are largely unacknowledged. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 2 notes.)

Guided by feminist research principles, the study reported in this article contributes to the growing research dialogue on early childhood teachers' experiences with, and perceptions of, the impact of regulatory requirements on their teaching and on their perceptions of themselves as professionals. Specifically, three teachers from metropolitan Sydney (Australia) offered insights into their experiences working under the state of New South Wales (NSW) Children's Services Regulation 2004 ("the Regulation"), a mandatory Regulation applicable to all children's services in NSW. Three early childhood teachers participated in research conversations and a visual/textual enquiry process, which involved teachers collecting, developing and constructing seven panels using photography, artefacts, text and visual art media, to represent their "sense of place" in their work environment in light of the impact of the Regulation. Themes emerging from the data were identified and considered in light of the regulatory intent for children's services, and possible unintended adverse consequences for teachers. The themes include regulatory tension, mistrust, surveillance, sacrifice, resistance, compliance, relationships, interpretation and ambiguity, and the stifling of an educational focus. The findings suggest that early childhood teachers may operate behind a metaphorical regulatory "fence", which contributes to their perceptions of safety but impinges on their professional freedom, integrity and passion for teaching. (Contains 8 figures.)