Researchers of early childhood educators' practice have noted the usefulness of applying various conceptual and methodological resources to create accounts of complexity. This article contributes to an under-researched area, providing evidence of multi-tasking and task rotation as aspects of the complexity of early childhood educators' practice.…

There is a growing consensus in early childhood education and care (ECEC) that intentional teaching is pivotal for deep level learning, especially when teaching scientific concepts. However, intentional teaching alone does not always account for how educators communicate their intentions with children. To bridge this gap, we explore the…

The advancement of inclusive education policies worldwide has given greater weight to social justice practices in educational settings. However, inclusion in preschools has received less attention from researchers. This article examines a 4-year-old child's participation in a mainstream preschool in Australia from a cultural-historical…

This article describes the professional development program, Baby Playspace Learning (BPL), and evaluates its capacity to build close relationships between educators, parents, their infants and infant peers during the morning transitions in ECEC settings. Using a pre-post design, video recordings of 20 (10 pre and 10 post) morning transitions were…

This paper examines compassionate pedagogies in relation to an emotionally intense experience in a long day-care centre. Video observations were made of international preservice teachers undertaking an infant-toddler professional experience in Australia. The study is informed by Vygotsky's cultural-historical concept of emotional experience…

Partnerships are one of the key practice principles guiding the practice of early years teachers in Australia, and are explicitly noted in the policy frameworks. However, teachers working with children in hospital face many complexities in establishing and maintaining partnerships with families when facing serious, and at times, life-threatening…

Critical reflection on practice is a hallmark of professionalism in early childhood education. In the Australian context, reflection is highlighted as a principle in the national curriculum framework. This paper focuses on the professional learning of early childhood educators by drawing on a pedagogy of discomfort, an approach that aims to…

Recent early childhood education and care (ECEC) reforms across the globe are placing greater emphasis on the intentionality of educators' pedagogy. In Australia, a National Quality Agenda (NQA) has significantly reformed ECEC through the country's first national learning framework, which demands educators take a more intentional (active) role in…

This paper focuses on collaboration between Australian preschool and primary school teachers co-located on same sites, with a view to understanding and strengthening collaboration for supporting continuity of practice across preschool and primary school settings. Based on findings from a narrative inquiry study framed by Freire's notion of…

Sleep and rest provision in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is commonly enacted as a routine -- a standard time-period during which children are required to lie down even if they do not sleep. Yet contemporary ECEC policies emphasise "responsive" pedagogical practice that includes children in decision-making and respects each…

This study examined infant educators' beliefs about infant language development in the context of early childhood classrooms. Participants were 59 educators who were employed to work directly with under-two-year-old children. Educators were interviewed to determine their understandings of infant language development and Grounded Theory qualitative…

This article focuses on Inspector Lydia Longmore and 29 infant mistresses who were leading South Australian infant schools in the interwar year era. During 1926/1927 Longmore and each infant mistress in the state school system were interviewed by a journalist about her career path and current role, and profiles of their work featured week by week…

It has been seven years since the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) was introduced in Australia and four years since the National Quality Standard (NQS) was implemented. To gain insight into how educators are understanding practice in the Australian early childhood and care context, the study draws on a praxeological frame where educators have…

Intercultural competence among educators has long been recognised as important, especially in contexts characterised by growing and shifting cultural diversity such as Australia. However, the capacity to be interculturally competent has only recently been enshrined in teacher standards in Australia, and research into this field among early…

Early childhood practice has often been described as complex in both policy documents and research literature; however, less attention has been given to exploring the nature and consequences of complexity in early childhood practice. At a time of intense policy attention in many national contexts, there is the potential for closing down, as well…