This paper reports on a study in which educators from four early childhood centres used metaphor to discuss their provision of high-quality early childhood education. Qualitative mining of focus group data confirmed 'quality' to be complex, multi-dimensional and value-laden. Findings contribute to understandings of quality in early childhood…

This article provides an overview of the Education Meets Play study that will investigate early childhood educators' use of play-based learning, now mandatory under the "National Quality Standard". By building on what can be gleaned about educators' approaches to play-based learning prior to the implementation of the "Early Years…

Quality in early childhood development was barely mentioned in government policy four decades ago. But this has changed. Using discourses and gazes as analytical tools, and by examining the recent past (1972-2009), this article traces how and why "quality" has become a key component of the current Council of Australian Governments'…

A growing body of literature argues that integrated services, where a range of professionals including early childhood professionals work together in teams, offer a potentially highly effective strategy for providing families with access to a range of services in a seamless "joined-up" way. Some have cautioned, however, that early…

In July 2009, the Council of Australian Governments approved for immediate implementation, "Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia" (EYLF), Australia's first national framework for guiding curriculum and pedagogy in all early childhood settings. In this article, several core members of the…