Education versus care for infants and toddlers: the Australian early childhood challenge

ABSTRACT

This commentary contributes to addressing a worldwide challenge by examining how the education versus care debate has unfolded in Australia, with a particular focus on infant-toddler programs, where the educational aspect is less well understood and appreciated. It offers a unique perspective by bringing together aspects of the debate that are frequently written about in isolation. Specifically, the commentary opens with an overview of the history of the education and care divide in Australia and then examines how more recent political agendas and regulatory and qualification requirements have sustained this divide, shaping the perceptions and status of those working in the sector. Drawing on historians, Australian policy, empirical studies of the perspective of educators and parents, and evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we argue that to bridge the divide, care needs to be understood as underpinning all aspects of the education of infants and toddlers.

KEYWORDS:

• Infants
• toddlers
• childcare
• care
• education
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tracy Redman

Tracy Redman has been in the early childhood sector for over three decades. As an early childhood teacher, sixteen of those years were spent as the owner and teaching director of a long day care centre. She has also taught students studying for their certificate III and diploma and continues to teach bachelor's degree level in early childhood. Having graduated with three master's degrees, Tracy is now a PhD candidate researching how the language interactions of infant and toddler educators can be enhanced through a targeted professional development programme based on the training model of Practitioner Enquiry.

Linda J. Harrison

Linda J. Harrison is a Professorial Research Fellow in the School of Education, Macquarie University and Adjunct Professor of Early Childhood, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Her research focuses on children's experiences of early education and care; child socio-emotional, cognitive and speech-language development; educators’ pedagogical practices; and the policies and processes within early childhood education and care services that underpin and support the provision of high quality programmes. Linda is known for her contributions to Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and to the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Recent publications include Child Development and Learning: The Theoretical, Practical and Planning Guide, an OUP textbook for teacher education students, and articles in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, and the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood.

Emilia Djonov

Emilia Djonov is Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood at the School of Education, Macquarie University, Australia. Her expertise lies in educational linguistics, early language and literacy learning, multimodal and critical discourse analysis, and social semiotics. She has conducted research on multimodal communication, teaching and learning in various formal and informal education contexts (e.g. early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, primary schools, homes, and public libraries), co-edited two scholarly books, and published in journals such as Text & Talk, TESOL Quarterly, Children's Literature in Education, Critical Discourse Studies, Social Semiotics and Visual Communication. Emilia is currently collaborating on a longitudinal study examining the role of early childhood centres in infants’ and toddlers’ development of learning-oriented, or academic, language.