Thriving educators, Thriving kids
Our team has a long track record of studying the Early years workforce based in the knowledge that high-quality ECEC is based on well trained and well educators. We are particularly interested in the growing number of children who have disabilities or who are neurodiverse, aiming to examine required supports. For the workforce
Exploring Work Readiness Capability Among Vocational Education and Training Educators and Students Supporting Young Children with Disability
Australia’s disability and early childhood sectors are undergoing significant reform, creating new expectations for the VET workforce supporting children aged 0–8 years with disability and/or developmental delay and their families. However, there is limited evidence regarding the knowledge, skills, capabilities and professional attitudes required for work readiness across contemporary VET pathways. Our research study will investigate these capability requirements through a staged, participatory design involving four stakeholder groups: TAFE educators; TAFE students and recent graduates; employers and service providers; and parents/carers, lived-experience partners and advocates. Perspectives will be gathered and integrated across surveys, role-based focus groups, interviews and co-design activities, enabling stakeholder experiences to inform both capability development and learning resource design. Participants who express interest through the survey may be invited to subsequent stages. Findings will inform a mapped capability framework and a suite of universally accessible Learning Episodes translating developmental, brain and neuro-informed knowledge into practical VET learning. A separate final usability-testing stage with a fresh sample of educators and students/recent graduates will assess the resources’ clarity, accessibility, relevance and usability, informing refinement and implementation guidance. This project is funded by a TAFE Qld Centres of Excellence Grant.
The experiences and wellbeing of immigrant ECEC educators
Australia’s workforce strategy for the next decade includes in its proposals for retention the attraction of overseas educators. The number of ECEC educators from overseas has increased significantly. Our work is examining their experiences of training pathways, motivations for working in ECEC and experiences of being an ECEC educator in Australia.
