Children's early years are critical for development and many children access out-of-home care during this time. Services offering high-quality childcare afford an opportunity to impact positively on children's development, including acquisition of communication skills. A strong, responsive relationship between child and carer is important in…

Focused conversation is an approach used to lead group inquiry into topics of concern or interest. Four levels of questions guide participants through objective, reflective, interpretive and decisional levels of conversation. Over the past several years focused conversation was adopted in Australia to facilitate National Quality Framework related…

A survey of 104 individuals of non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESBs) living in South Australia nursing homes and personal care homes and staff of 75 institution housing NESB residents is reported. The study's objectives was to determine the culturally-based needs of the residents and the provision of culturally appropriate services to them. The…

An Attendant Care Pilot Project, administered by the Home Care Service of New South Wales, Australia, and providing attendant care for 24 permanently severely physically disabled adults for 2 years, was evaluated. The patients were medically stable and intellectually capable of managing their own affairs; all had impairments which required…

This paper reports on a study which focused on surveying children and young people (aged 4 to 17) regarding their experiences of childhood, schooling, family, and community. Participants focused on the importance of their connections to fellow children and young people, their families, and their educators. They identified ways for adults to care…

Alongside unprecedented shifts in health care, and widespread lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an almost immediate shift towards digitally supported remote delivery in higher education. This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of 15 teaching academics from five universities in Victoria, Australia during…

In Australia, emphasis in early childhood education policy is placed on the importance of the role of the family as a child's first educator, and finding effective ways to raise the effectiveness of parents in supporting children's learning, development and well-being. International studies demonstrate that the home learning environment (HLE)…