IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, EARLY childhood educators have been asking whose agenda does early childhood knowledge serve and for what purpose? This has come to the forefront of debate as play as a pedagogical tool is disappearing from programs for four- and five-year-old children in favour of early academics through a pushdown curriculum. Such a trend was confirmed from research conducted with 200 Western Australian early years educators (mainly teachers) to discuss their most concerning early childhood pedagogical issue. This paper describes the educators' most significant concern, which was the erosion of play-based learning and the tension about the use of play as a legitimate pedagogical tool in early years programs. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about current moves in early childhood education. The knowledge shared by educators has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years and impacts on children, educators, parents and schools, and in particular, early childhood pedagogy.

Governments and their policy decisions inevitably influence the pedagogical practices of teachers. There have been considerable curriculum changes and national reforms in Australia with the implementation of two very different national curricula documents in the early childhood sector in the last decade. The political landscape in Western Australia is even more complex with the mandating of the National Quality Standard (NQS) in all public schools from Kindergarten to Year two. The introduction of the NQS has impacted on the teaching and learning in the early years of school, and in particular, the inclusion of play-based teaching strategies. The tensions that arise from the juxtaposition of these mandated documents is significant to teachers in Years 1 and 2 who in past years have been used to a more didactic and structured approach to early learning. The researchers in this study have sought to explore relevant and current issues impacting on junior primary teachers’ pedagogy and practice in relation to the use of play to engage children in learning. Using qualitative methodology, a case study design was chosen and included semi-formal interviews as well as data collected at teacher collaborative meetings. The research identified the necessary supports required for implementing play in the early years of school as well as the challenges experienced by the teachers.

THE INTEGRATION OF MINDSET THEORY into classrooms can assist children in optimising academic achievement, increasing their agency for learning. The development of a growth mindset allows children to exercise autonomy over their learning, helping them to develop positive lifelong learning habits for the twenty-first century. This paper explores early childhood teachers’ perspectives of mindset and the role of a growth mindset in developing children's agency for learning. Despite increasing research in this field, little is known about the perspectives that early childhood teachers have of mindset. This paper reports on the data from a study that describes teachers’ perspectives towards fostering a growth mindset in children in the early years of school. Ninety-five Western Australian early childhood teachers from Kindergarten to Year 2 completed a survey that examined their perspectives of growth mindset. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about what teachers believe about mindset, and their ability to implement it. The information shared by teachers has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years.

DESPITE A GROWING BODY of research that demonstrates young children have the capacity to learn mathematical concepts, early childhood educators are still strongly influenced by dated ideas that mathematics education should be delayed until formal schooling. Such attitudes are contributing to Australia's poor rating of young children's mathematics skills as compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Negative perceptions about mathematics as well as a lack of knowledge of curriculum content and pedagogy are major factors limiting mathematics experiences in the early years. This project employed a multi-site case study approach to investigate the teaching of mathematics in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres and the impact of a professional development intervention on the type and frequency of mathematics experiences for children before starting formal schooling.

Reflective practice plays a significant role in effective teaching. However, for pre-service teachers (PSTs), it can be a difficult process to not only think reflectively but to understand its importance in their teaching practice. This research focused on the development of a framework for written reflective practice embedded within professional experience (PEx) units. In tutorials, PSTs were provided with video technology to film themselves performing teaching tasks. A reflective framework provided a structure to assist in reflecting on the teaching task. Dialogical teaching and coaching by tutors as well as peer discussion scaffolded the reflective process. At the end of the semester, PSTs and tutors were invited to complete a survey on the reflective processes they had used. This paper focuses on the development of the reflective framework and the feedback received on the use of the framework as a reflective tool. The findings reveal that the PSTs and most tutors found the format useful in structuring reflective practice. The framework and its repeated use over time has potential to build professional knowledge and skills and sustain ongoing reflective practice into the PSTs professional careers.

Early childhood pedagogical practice in primary schools is often challenged by academic demands, debate about best practice and ongoing change through new policy initiatives. This paper reports an investigation of how early childhood pedagogical leaders assist early years teachers in schools to embrace change and embed early childhood pedagogy. Framed within a constructivist epistemology, this paper reports on findings from three case studies drawn from a larger mixed-methods study from Perth, Western Australia. Data collected through shadowing pedagogical leaders, undertaking contextual interviews and analysing school documents revealed that pedagogical change was promoted, encouraged and sustained through a number of strategies. These included utilising early childhood champions, developing relational trust with staff, establishing communities of practice and empowering teachers as decision-makers. This paper highlights the critical role early childhood pedagogical leadership can play in recognising the professional capability of early childhood teachers to drive ongoing improvement in school contexts.