This article reports on preliminary findings from a 2008 survey and telephone interviews with 27 directors of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services located in regional and rural districts of the Australian state of New South Wales. Data from the study suggests that some areas of safety education--most notably road/traffic safety and…

Many myths occur regarding the inherent abilities young Indigenous students possess when they enter a Western school environment. One such myth in early numeracy is Indigenous students' innate ability to instantly recognise the number of objects in a small group without counting them; that is, their ability to subitise. Willis (2000) reports that…

This article is concerned with the under-representation of Indigenous workers in mainstream childcare services and the associated problem of the under-representation of Indigenous children in such services. Specifically, it focuses on workforce issues that serve as barriers to both attracting and/or retaining Indigenous staff. The research methods…

The Australian Government has recently committed to the development of an integrated system of assuring national quality standards for Australian childcare and preschool services (Australian Government, 2008). This article addresses two fundamental issues relating to the development of an integrated system as it applies to Indigenous children's…

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…

Physical activity habits are established in early childhood. Increasing a child's fundamental movement skill confidence and competence may result in a trajectory of increased physical activity and a lower risk of becoming overweight. The evidence upon which the promotion of physical activity in early childhood settings is based is tenuous. This…

This article reports on findings from a qualitative research project (Overton, 2006) that highlighted a lack of empowerment experienced by, with and for eight early childhood teachers working in Tasmanian schools. The study investigated how change affects teachers, and focused on the theme of power as experienced by these teachers. The study noted…

Developing successful schooling sites in multiracial regional town contexts can often be quite challenging. This paper examines the work done in one such pre-schooling context in a medium-sized regional town where racial and ethnic tensions are high and where many families struggle with social/emotional/economic challenges. This pre-school setting…

Since 2002, Queensland state schools have been required to document a "whole school literacy plan" built around eight essential aspects. This document is to be reviewed annually and updated to reflect the current community profile and the school's literacy curriculum (Education Queensland, 2006). This research project investigated the different…