THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY was to explore how connections between families, communities and educators can be facilitated in teacher education courses through the use of playgroups. Barriers to building relationships, as well as the perceived benefits of these relationships to families and pre-service teachers, were also explored. Participants were involved in weekly university-based community playgroups. Focus group interviews were conducted and the constant comparative method was used to analyse interview transcripts. Themes of ‘Constraints’ and ‘Enablers’ emerged from pre-service teachers' transcripts, indicating that they were initially uncomfortable with community and family involvement but eventually made connections as to why this was important. The theme of ‘positive relationship building’ emerged from parents' transcripts, indicating that they saw building relationships with families and communities as an important role of early childhood educators. Implications for the importance of authentic learning situations for fostering these relationships in teacher education courses are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine how children from across the world draw themselves talking and to apply an interdisciplinary analysis to understand children's perspectives to improve delivery of services. Method: Participants were 200 children from 24 countries who submitted a drawing of themselves talking to someone using the Early Childhood Voices Drawing Protocol. Drawings were uploaded to Charles Sturt University's Children Draw Talking Global Online Gallery. The participants were 2–12 years old ( M = 6.13) and spoke 23 languages, and 28.5% of caregivers reported concerns about their children's talking. A 16-member interdisciplinary research team analyzed the drawings using descriptive, developmental, focal point, meaning-making, and systemic functional linguistics transitivity analysis frameworks. Results: Children could draw themselves talking. The participants' age and ability to draw a human figure were strongly correlated. Most participants reported they felt happy about talking and drew themselves talking to one or more conversational partners, with focal points that included body parts and facial expressions, talking and listening, proximity to others, relationships and connections, and positivity and vibrancy. The cultural–historical meaning-making analysis identified 10 themes: relationships, places, actions, natural elements, human-made elements, cultural experiences, logical thinking, emotion, imagination, and concepts. The systemic functional linguistics transitivity analysis identified 71 processes, 134 participants, and 48 circumstances indicating richness in the children's depictions of talking. Conclusions: Children across the world can use drawing to communicate who they talk to (e.g., friends, family, animals, professionals), when and where they talk (e.g., outside, at home), what they talk about (e.g., toys, animals, friends, family), and how they feel about talking (e.g., happy). These insights promote understanding of children's communication and inform how children's insights can be included in assessment and intervention.

Global early childhood education workforce shortages have highlighted the importance of recruitment and retention. The development of effective leadership has not been a retention policy focus even though effective leadership has been identified as an important driver for improving working conditions and supporting educator retention. The aim of this research was to investigate what factors affect retention focussing on retention challenges for leaders in an under researched context. Participants were 34 early childhood educators in the Northern Territory of Australia. A constructivist grounded theory methodology framed the research and the data analysis, and a constant comparative method was used to generate categories. The lack of learning on leadership, coupled with competing priorities, were identified as critical factors that contribute to increased attrition. However, informal mentoring was found to support both the positional and emerging leaders, increasing the probability of their retention regardless of their access to leadership development.

The retention of educators is foundational to the provision of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC), yet the sector continues to face significant workforce challenges. This study explores how organisational climate and leadership influence collaborative practice and, in turn, educator retention. Using a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach, data were collected through focus groups and interviews with 34 educators across diverse service types in the Northern Territory, Australia. In accordance with CGT, analysis revealed two core categories—‘struggle’ and ‘hope’—reflecting the impact of workplace relationships on collaborative practice. In ECEC settings where communication was limited and psychological safety was lacking, participants described resistant behaviours and horizontal violence, which contributed to educator stress and attrition. Conversely, environments that fostered open communication, reflective practice, and trusting relationships enabled collaborative practice that supported educator wellbeing and retention. The findings suggest that intentional leadership and an organisational climate that embodies ‘care’ are essential for cultivating collaboration, enhancing job satisfaction, and improving workforce stability. This paper proposes that ‘building connection builds retention,’ highlighting the importance of relational and reflective practices in sustaining the ECEC workforce.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a global agenda for achieving a sustainable future for people and the planet to inform decision and policy making at all levels. Children should have a significant voice in shaping the world they will inherit; indeed, SDG 17 is focussed on partnership for the goals. The aim of the present study was to investigate which SDGs are depicted in children's drawings of themselves talking to provide researchers and policy makers insights into their perceptions about, and solutions for, the SDGs. The Children Draw Talking Global Online Gallery ( https://www.csu.edu.au/research/childrens-voices-centre/research/childrens-voices ) included 200 drawings from children from 24 countries. Children aged 2–12 years responded to the online prompt ‘draw yourself talking’ and submitted their drawing and explanation. A 15-member interdisciplinary research team analysed the drawings to determine their alignment with the seventeen SDGs. Most of the 200 drawings ( n = 191, 95.5%) could be coded with at least one SDG. Overall, there were 359 representations of SDGs coded across the data set of 200 drawings. Many children included green public spaces and housing (SDG 11), education (SDG 4), and decision-making (SDG 16) while others portrayed reducing inequality (SDG 10) and addressing poverty (SDG 1). This research demonstrated that children may be implicitly aware of factors related to the Sustainable Development Goals across their lives and provides an exemplar of how children's voices could be included using arts-based methods.