Dr Jen Jackson, Program Director at AERO, explains how simple and effective it is to integrate science into ECEC practice, debunking several myths about the science of early childhood pedagogy along the way.

Gabrielle Sinclair, CEO of the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority, provides insight into 'what works' for continuous quality improvement in early childhood education and care.

Our experiences in the early years shape the developing brain. To improve children’s access to quality early childhood education and care, AERO will generate high-quality evidence, make high-quality evidence accessible and enhance the use of evidence across the ECEC sector.

Findings from the Australian Education Research Organisation’s (AERO’s) recent survey help us to understand how early childhood teachers, early childhood directors, school teachers and school leaders use evidence in their work.

Our national survey has found that schools and services often have cultures of sharing and discussing evidence, but less support exists for practitioners to actively change their practice based on evidence.  

AERO has partnered with the National Outside School Hours Services Alliance (NOSHSA) to support continuity of learning and development for school-aged children as they move between out of school hours care (OSHC) services and school.

Evidence-based intentional teaching can help educators and teachers progress and support children’s learning. It is also important for educators and teachers to incorporate the intentionality of children and their families into their planning for children’s learning.

Building on family engagement practice guides for early childhood, primary, secondary school levels, AERO has released a new suite of promising approaches audit tools, family engagement implementation checklists and case studies.

Australia needs high quality evidence in early years education that can guide policy and practice decisions and help to improve children’s outcomes and life trajectories.

Children’s transitions from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to school can have lasting effects on their learning and development.

AERO’s ‘science of learning and development’ project will support teachers and educators to incorporate knowledge about how brains and bodies develop into their practice, beginning with early childhood education and care (ECEC) services.

Early childhood educators already use evidence in their practice. Jen Jackson, Early Childhood Program Director, Centre for Policy Development, and Associate Professor of Education Policy at the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, explores evidence use in early childhood education and care.

AERO recommends several resources to help education professionals better understand what the research says and how to make decisions about its rigour and relevance.