ECA Podcast Series

In this podcast, Early Childhood Specialist Zoë outlines information to support and encourage language development for your child. This information has been taken from the Hanen Centre, SPARK training and book, It Takes Two to Talk: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Language Delays.

Trauma-informed practice is vital when supporting children and families who have experienced vulnerability. In this episode, we will be taking a close look at how educators can become more confident with using trauma-informed practice.

For our final episode in this series, Associate Professor Kate Highfield and Dr Fiona Scott will share their top tips and practical ways to support families in a digital age. The episode will outline the importance of parent engagement, ongoing conversations, setting expectations and making technology work for your family.

In this episode, we will explore what digital literacy is and why it is important to develop good digital literacy from an early age. Technology itself is continuously evolving and change can be frightening but there are some key skills that children need so they can navigate that world however it may shift. Join Associate Professor Kate Highfield in conversation with Dr Fiona Scott as they explore how literacy has changed in this digital age and what parents need to know to help build children’s literacy.

In this series of the ECA Podcast, Partnering with parents in the early years – Tech and Media join Associate Professor Kate Highfield and Dr Fiona Scott, as they discuss current research and explore practical strategies to help build children’s digital literacy and support healthy digital engagement. With a focus on supporting parents and carers, this podcast is ideal for parents, carers and educators who are partnering with families in this space.

In this very special episode of the ECA podcast, we talk with Thomas Mayo, a signatory of and advocate for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Thomas discusses the importance of voting ‘Yes’ in the upcoming referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution—a position ECA wholeheartedly supports. He also explains why we owe it to our children, who understand the importance of the Voice, to vote ‘Yes’.

In this final episode of Talking Pedagogies we will be exploring the last pedagogical landing – Play. In 2022, ECA launched the draft Statement on Play and it is hoped that it will assist educators and teachers to articulate the power of play – something we know we have at times struggled with over the years. This episode will examine the idea that perhaps it is the place of play in the context of our other pedagogical landings, rather than play itself that makes it distinctly Australian.

In this episode, we will be exploring our sixth and second last landing – Teaching and Assessment for Learning. This is an area that we tend to avoid yet, it is a tidal wave coming at us. We will unpack why this is an opportunity rather than a sacrifice and how it can support the notion of knowing about where children are at in their learning journey.

In this episode we will be exploring our fifth landing – Relationships with Children, Families and Community. We will unpack what makes this commitment uniquely Australian and how relationships with families and communities cultivate active citizenship and are central to outcomes for children.

In this episode, we will be exploring our third landing – Nature Pedagogy. Ever since we began our unique Australian Pedagogies conversation last year, this seems to have become more and more fundamental to practising early childhood pedagogy in Australia – so much so that most of us take it for granted.

In this episode we will be exploring the second landing – Inclusion, with a foundation in post-modern perspectives. These are the challenges to privileged ways of constructing knowledge and invite us to critically reflect on how our theories and actions can advantage some while disadvantages others.

In this episode, we will explore our first (and arguably) our most important landing, First Nation’s Perspectives or as we know it in the updated Early Years Learning Framework – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing. Any attempt to define Australian early childhood pedagogy must rightly begin with a profound and systemic recognition that teaching and learning has been taking place on these lands since humans first made this wide brown land their home.

Join Dr Sandra Cheeseman and Catharine Hydon in the first episode of the ECA Podcast, Talking Pedagogies where they will revisit the question Is there a unique Australian Pedagogy? They will recap the seven pedagogical landings that were shared by teachers and educators based on what they saw as unique to our country and people.

What are inclusion support professionals? What role do they play in early childhood education and care context? This final episode of the series will look at the vital role inclusion support professionals play in supporting early childhood services and communities.

Educators can use many resources and tools to support educators in developing solid and inclusive practices. In this episode, we will discuss how educators can ensure they are utilising their available resources and tools.

Our communities are vital to inclusion. In this episode, we will be looking at ways early childhood professionals can build partnerships with their communities by engaging in inclusive practice.

Co-regulation is critical for supporting young children. What is co-regulation, and how can educators use this to support children feeling a strong sense of belonging? In this episode, we will discuss how educators can use co-regulation as a practical strategy to promote inclusion with the children they are working with.

Educators understand the importance of play within an early childhood context, but what about play and inclusion? In this episode, we will look at ways early childhood professionals can use play and play materials to promote inclusion.

Within Australia 24.8 per cent of the population speak a language other than English at home. This, consequently, often creates a communication barrier within early learning contexts for children, families and teams, including the way relationships are established. What methods can be put in place to remove this barrier and foster positive and respectful relationships within our learning communities?

In this episode, we will answer the question, what does it mean to make ethical decisions in our everyday

practice, and how does this support an inclusive approach? Through discussions and reflections from lived

experience, educators will be invited to consider what ethics and inclusion means to them.

We all know there is increasing pressure on early childhood educators to ensure they are looking after

their health and wellbeing and those of the children in their care. How has the high demand in the early

childhood sector impacted our understanding of inclusive practice? What practical strategies can we use

to ensure we are working together to continue to be inclusive within our everyday practice and how we

develop relationships?

In this episode, we will look closely at how exclusion impacts families, educators and children accessing

and engaging in early childhood education and care services.

This first episode will examine what inclusion in the early childhood context means. We will consider some of the most common barriers preventing inclusion in early childhood education and care.

Throughout this series, we have covered a number of different topics.  In this episode Adam and Jo will discuss how diversity, closing the gap, trauma-informed practice, amplifying the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, this year's NRW theme Be Brave. Make Change can be contextualized and used in everyday practice.

This episode will look at what it means to Be Brave.  Make Change in the context of early childhood education and care settings.  Everyone is on their own journey of reconciliation, this year's National Reconciliation Week theme provides us with the perfect opportunity to move forward in our reconciliation journey by reflecting on our own biases, addressing racism, and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation.

This episode will look at the significant role early childhood professionals play in uplifting cultural leaders.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children play a significant and critical role in the future of reconciliation in Australia. Educators play a vital role in providing them with opportunities to be a part of a community of learners that supports and fosters their ability to share their perspectives of their own culture and identity through curriculum, co-design, advocacy, and play.

This episode will unpack the ongoing impact trauma has had and continues to have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, families and children.  Over the past few years, there has been a greater awareness regarding understanding trauma-informed practice, and how it can be used to support the development and complex behaviours in infants and young children.  Adam and Jo will discuss the importance of understanding the connection between trauma-informed practice, creating culturally safe environments and social and emotional wellbeing in early childhood settings.

Today, we will closely look at what Closing the Gap is and its relevance within the early childhood education and care context.  Outcomes three and four of the Closing the Gap initiative identify the importance of the early years and the significance of quality early childhood education and care in reaching Closing the Gap targets.  To implement these effectively, we need to recognise the myths and misconceptions associated with Closing the Gap.  In this episode, Adam and Jo aim to dispel some of these myths by discussing how educators can use the initiative to ensure each child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.