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Environmental education across the early years has become increasingly important in Australia since the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum. These documents promote a connection to nature for young children as well as environmental responsibility. In Western Australia, large areas of natural environments are bush spaces, accessible by young children, families and schools. There is no existing research investigating early childhood teacher's knowledge of plants in these bush spaces and the utilisation of these spaces in teaching botany as part of their teaching practice. The discussion in this article examines part of a larger year-long multi-site case study of the changes in the botanical understanding of two early childhood teachers of children aged 5-8 years, in Western Australian schools both before and after the Mosaic Approach, botanical practices and Indigenous knowledges were incorporated into their teaching practice. This article focuses on the changes of botanical literacies of the early childhood teachers specifically. The findings suggest that using inquiry-based and place-based methods and including First Nations Peoples' perspectives about plants whilst teaching in the bush can significantly increase the plant knowledge and understanding of teachers, as well their own scientific and botanical literacies.

Djarlgarra Koolunger (Canning River kids) is a culturally centred outdoor learning project referred to as 'On Country Learning' or OCL. The project explores Aboriginal connectedness to the spiritual, social, cultural, environmental and geographic dimensions of particular outdoor spaces. This allows Indigenous and non- Indigenous students and their educators to connect at what Nakata (2007) terms the 'cultural interface'. OCL offers opportunities to transform the ways in which schools engage with Aboriginal perspectives whilst facilitating deep learning through what we describe as culturally responsive pedagogies. This paper stories the journey of Aboriginal students and their teachers, engaging in learning that is situated on Country. We examine the involvement of children when learning on Country and provide analysis using the Leuven Involvement Scales (1994). The analysis compares this group of children in a classroom context and an on Country context over a period of six months and provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of this approach.

Although young children in Early childhood education (ECE) in Australia are often involved in learning in outdoor natural environments, research on their knowledge and attitudes towards plants is limited. Botanical literacies in young children involve developing knowledge and curiosity about plants, formulating questions about plants, and critically and ethically thinking about plants and their environments. This study explored young children's knowledge and attitudes of the flora in the native bushlands on their school grounds. A total of 41 children, aged five to eight from two schools in Western Australia were involved in the research over one school year. Fortnightly visits to the school bushlands with the lead researcher involved bush walks, informal and formal conversations about plants, children creating drawings, maps and taking photographs, as well as visits from local Indigenous people to share Indigenous knowledge of the plants. The data were analysed using content analysis and a revised version of (Uno, American Journal of Botany 96:1753-1759, 2009) levels of botanical literacies. The results of this research led to the development of a framework for developing botanical literacies in ECE.

Pedagogical documentation has been understood as an important way for early childhood educators to provide high-quality learning environments for children. The authors explore the contested nature of quality and its interpretation in two cultural contexts: in Western Australia, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively uncommon practice, and in Sweden, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively common practice. These locations were selected to provide a comparison between educators from these two different cultural and policy contexts. The main purpose of pedagogical documentation within the Swedish preschool system is to gain knowledge of how to systematically improve the quality of the preschool. This contrasts with the demands on Australian early childhood educators to ensure children meet achievement standards in the Foundation Year. Six preschool educators in each country responded to interview questions regarding what enables or hinders their systematic quality work. The participants in both countries were using some form of pedagogical documentation in their professional practice. This article draws on interview data and elaborates on the ways these educators understood the role of pedagogical documentation in what they regarded as systematic quality work. The findings provide insight into the impact of both policy and cultural contexts on individual educators' practices when using pedagogical documentation as a means to promote quality. The results indicate that differences in early childhood education policies between countries may lead to important differences in how pedagogical documentation is used by educators in their practice.

This paper presents a framework for what we consider are essential elements for realising the linguistic rights of Indigenous children in the twenty-first century. The global impacts of colonisation on various Indigenous communities have resulted in loss of cultural practices, knowledge and loss of languages. This framework points to ways forward for addressing Indigenous children's rights to reclaim their languages in early childhood. The linguistic rights of Indigenous children are at the intersection of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in this, the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The enshrined rights of Indigenous children to an education in their own culture and language is a right yet to be realised in nations who are signatories to the Convention and the Declaration. Examples are presented of Indigenous language programmes in early childhood settings in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sápmi and the USA to highlight the significant roles of policy, Elders, communities, teacher education and the role of early childhood education in supporting children and families to reclaim endangered Indigenous languages.

This research, a collaboration of an international aid organisation, an institute of higher education, and an external evaluation consultant, assesses the early literacy, numeracy, and school attendance outcomes resulting from an early childhood development programme undertaken in several villages in the province of Makira, Solomon Islands. The programme was designed to enable kindergarten provision, including teacher education and development, as an early childhood development strategy. This research focused on assessing programme impact in terms of early literacy, numeracy, and school attendance for children who had participated in kindergarten in Makira Province, compared against a matched group of children in another province of Solomon Islands who did not experience the early childhood programme. The findings of the study indicate both a statistically and educationally significant impact of village-based kindergarten on children's literacy and numeracy as well as their school attendance. These findings are discussed in the context of the international literature examining early childhood education in developing countries.

Pedagogical documentation has been understood as an important way for early childhood educators to provide high-quality learning environments for children. The authors explore the contested nature of quality and its interpretation in two cultural contexts: in Western Australia, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively uncommon practice, and in Sweden, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively common practice. These locations were selected to provide a comparison between educators from these two different cultural and policy contexts. The main purpose of pedagogical documentation within the Swedish preschool system is to gain knowledge of how to systematically improve the quality of the preschool. This contrasts with the demands on Australian early childhood educators to ensure children meet achievement standards in the Foundation Year. Six preschool educators in each country responded to interview questions regarding what enables or hinders their systematic quality work. The participants in both countries were using some form of pedagogical documentation in their professional practice. This article draws on interview data and elaborates on the ways these educators understood the role of pedagogical documentation in what they regarded as systematic quality work. The findings provide insight into the impact of both policy and cultural contexts on individual educators' practices when using pedagogical documentation as a means to promote quality. The results indicate that differences in early childhood education policies between countries may lead to important differences in how pedagogical documentation is used by educators in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research, a collaboration of an international aid organisation, an institute of higher education, and an external evaluation consultant, assesses the early literacy, numeracy, and school attendance outcomes resulting from an early childhood development programme undertaken in several villages in the province of Makira, Solomon Islands. The programme was designed to enable kindergarten provision, including teacher education and development, as an early childhood development strategy. This research focused on assessing programme impact in terms of early literacy, numeracy, and school attendance for children who had participated in kindergarten in Makira Province, compared against a matched group of children in another province of Solomon Islands who did not experience the early childhood programme. The findings of the study indicate both a statistically and educationally significant impact of village-based kindergarten on children's literacy and numeracy as well as their school attendance. These findings are discussed in the context of the international literature examining early childhood education in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]