Science education in early childhood : a snapshot of Australian settings

In Australia, reform is occurring in the area of early childhood. It is in this time of reform, that a research project was instigated which studied the amount of science being undertaken in early childhood settings as well as how it was implemented. This highlighted some interesting differences across settings. This presentation will describe case studies of four pre-school settings and some of the activities undertaken by the children - both as part of the formal program and through incidental play. It will consider these through a socio-cultural framework, noting how teachers used their understandings of play and play theory, to enhance children’s understandings.

Empowerment in early childhood intervention : perspectives of parents of children with disabilities

There have been various changes to the manner in which early intervention services for children with disabilities have been provided in recent decades. One of the most significant paradigm shifts that has accoured pertains to a change in the level of family involvement in early intervention, so that families are now required to be equal partners with professionals in the service provision process. It is now policy in Victoria that early intervention services follow a family-centred model of practice. Services adopting this model aim to empower parents, so that they may have impact on their lives, and the lives of their family members, both during and beyond the years of direct service participation. Much of what is known about empowerment to date is based on theory, author opinion, and research that is largely survey-based. There has been little interview-based research, particulary involving parents of children with disabilities, as well as little Australian research conducted regarding empowerment. To the researcher's knowledge, there has been no interview-based research that specifically asked parents of children with disabilities about their perspectives on empowerment and disempowerment. Parents of children with disabilities are not invited to contribute their opinions in services and research. Empowerment is an individual concept and this research provided parents with an opportunity to express their views on this topic. Parent's perspectives on empowerment are vital for service providers who aim to follow the intervention model required by policy. This research, which was guided by the principles of ecological theory and critical theory, involved to individual semi-structured interviews with 37 Victorian families of children with disabilities. Twenty-one of these families had children currently participating in early intervention services, and 16 families had children of mid-primary school age, who had previously participated in early intervention experiences; the factors that they believe influence empowerment and disempowerment; and helpful and unhelpful experiences with early intervention staff and other people in their lives. Data were analysed primarily inductively, in the context of grounded theory. Responses from the two groups of parents were then compared, as were different emergent themes according to helpfulness and empowerment. The nature of enduring empowerment, one of the key objectives of early childhood intervention, was also considered. From the analysis of data, several themes emerged as influential in the empowerment process for both groups of parents including: information, education and knowledge; meeting and talking with other families of children with disabilities; decision-making and choice; having confidence; participation, involvement and input; meeting or addressing families' practical needs; and having a child with a disability. The results of this research provide valuable information for parents, professionals, agencies, organisations, and the wider community, regarding how families can be supported more effectively and how power can be more equitably balanced.

State of play in early childhood teacher training in Victoria

The study explores the varying changes in emphasis on play within early childhood teacher training. Differing interpretations as to the importance of play are identified as well as the factors impacting on the future of a play-based curriculum.

Reducing obesity in early childhood : results from romp & chomp, an Australian community-wide intervention program

Background: There is growing evidence that community-based interventions can reduce childhood obesity in older children.
Objective: We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Romp & Chomp intervention in reducing obesity and promoting healthy eating and active play in children aged 0–5 y.
Design: Romp & Chomp was a community-wide, multisetting, multistrategy intervention conducted in Australia from 2004 to 2008. The intervention occurred in a large regional city (Geelong) with a target group of 12,000 children and focused on community capacity building and environmental (political, sociocultural, and physical) changes to increase healthy eating and active play in early-childhood care and educational settings. The evaluation was repeat cross-sectional with a quasiexperimental design and comparison sample. Main outcome measures were body mass index (BMI), standardized BMI (zBMI; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 reference charts), and prevalence of overweight/obesity and obesity-related behaviors in children aged 2 and 3.5 y.
Results: After the intervention there was a significantly lower mean weight, BMI, and zBMI in the 3.5-y-old subsample and a significantly lower prevalence of overweight/obesity in both the 2- and 3.5-y-old subsamples (by 2.5 and 3.4 percentage points, respectively) than in the comparison sample (a difference of 0.7 percentage points; P < 0.05) compared with baseline values. Intervention child-behavioral data showed a significantly lower intake of packaged snacks (by 0.23 serving), fruit juice (0.52 serving), and cordial (0.43 serving) than that in the comparison sample (all P < 0.05).
Conclusion: A community-wide multisetting, multistrategy intervention in early-childhood settings can reduce childhood obesity and improve young children's diets. This trial was registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry at anzctr.org.au as ACTRN12607000374460.

Assessment of mathematical development in early childhood : some views of preschool practitioners in regional and rural Australia

As part of the project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice directors, teachers, and assistants in prior-to-school settings from regional and rural eastern Australia were interviewed to ascertain their beliefs and practices concerning early childhood mathematics. This paper reports the responses to  uestions about their assessment of children’s mathematical activity and development. The practitioners provided examples of both incidental and planned assessment activities, the different forms these took, methods of recording, and how the results were used.

How early childhood practitioners view young children's mathematical thinking

Interviews were held with 64 professionals in childcare centres. This paper reports on their responses to 3 questions seeking their perceptions of mathematical thinking in very young children. Generally, the interviewees were found to have a good sense of mathematical concepts relevant to babies and toddlers, and they cited evidence of young children’s mathematical development. It is concluded that this practical knowledge would provide a strong foundation for further professional development.

Should early childhood be a priority period for obesity prevention?

This thesis explored a range of issues relating to overweight and obesity in children aged 0 to 5 years in Victoria, Australia. Key findings included relatively low prevalence and decreasing trends of overweight and obesity, and strong existing support for health behaviours in kindergartens and child care services.

A pathway to enhancing professionalism: building a bridge between TAFE and university early childhood qualifications

It has been argued that a key strategy to improve developmental and educational outcomes for young children is to increase the number of childcare staff with early childhood university degrees (Saracho & Spodek, 2007). In order to upgrade the qualifications of staff, a number of Australian universities provide pathways that enable graduates of early childhood diploma programs to complete a degree. Several impediments, including institutional structures and individual contextual and personal factors, may affect these pathways. Although a range of organisations offer diploma programs, TAFE (Tertiary and Further Education) is a major provider. The aim of the present study was to investigate student transition between early childhood programs in TAFE and university. The research drew on several data sources, including a survey of the perceptions of students at various points of undertaking the transition. The current credit arrangement for TAFE Diploma graduates was found to be satisfactory; however, gaps were identified between the TAFE and university teaching and learning arrangements with regard to curriculum structures, teaching styles and assessment. Graduates of both programs considered that the completion of both awards would have a positive effect on their careers.

Music, in early childhood education : teachers' levels of confidence and happiness

This paper presents the results of a study which investigates early childhood teachers’ levels of confi dence
and happiness in conducting music activities with young children. A sample of 284 in-service and preservice
early childhood teachers in Hong Kong participated in the study. Two new research instruments
entitled Teachers Music Confi dence Scale (TMCS) and Teachers Happiness Scale (THS) were designed for
data collection to answer the research questions. Results showed that early childhood teachers have the
highest and the lowest level of confi dence in singing and composing/improvising respectively. In-service
teachers showed higher confi dence and happiness levels in conducting several musical activities with
young children than pre-service teachers. There was also a statistically signifi cant relationship between
these two variables. Implications for engagement in music are discussed in the paper.