The Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Early Childhood Pedagogies research project aims to co-investigate early childhood education practices that supports meaningful learning and a strong sense of belonging for all children, families and educators. Recognises the pivotal role of early childhood educators and leaders in translating policy into meaningful practice this research addresses the gap between policy and practice by using a co-design approach. As a result, the project outcomes include both research outputs and practical resources from which we invite audiences to use.
This project is funded by the Lillian de’Lissa Trust in partnership with five industry partners across South Australia and New South Wales and the University of South Australia and Western Sydney University.
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The early years of a child’s life are important not only to their future learning but also to their developing identities and sense of belonging to a broader community. We know that children learn best when they feel a strong sense of identity and belonging within their education and care settings, thus culture and language are important to children’s identities. We also know that early childhood education settings are often rich with cultural and linguistic diversity, however, this can feel overwhelming for early childhood educators who do not have strategies to employ culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies. This issue was highlighted in the updated National Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF 2.0) which identified urgent need for early childhood practices to be culturally responsive. Currently, however, there remains little guidance on how to achieve this in contextually meaningful and sustaining ways.
Recognising the pivotal role of early childhood teachers and educators in translating policy into meaningful practice, this project investigates how culturally and linguistically responsive practices are enacted and progressed in early childhood education settings within South Australia and New South Wales. This project addresses the urgent need for early childhood pedagogies that support educators to engage with children and families to build upon their rich cultural and linguistic funds of knowledge . Such pedagogies are significant to achieving meaningful learning outcomes that inspire a love of learning and support strong family/educator partnerships.
This project builds from previous research within South Australia and New South Wales led by the research team:
These projects have created a strong foundation from which to build culturally and linguistically responsive early childhood pedagogies across both jurisdictions. This project aligns with the South Australian Early Learning Strategy 2021-2031, which aims to build research partnerships to inform evidence-based culturally responsive practices and strengthen partnerships with families.
This project uses a co-design approach to develop a bespoke professional learning community. This community includes early childhood educators, leaders, academics, local Elders and visiting experts from the field who discuss strategies and challenges for co-constructing meaningful cultural and linguistic practices for all children, families and staff. As part of the co-design approach, educators and leaders engage in critical action research to trial theoretically-informed culturally and linguistically responsive practices. Qualitative methods such as interviews and observations are used to explore the experiences of educators, leaders, children, and families.
Ivan Tiwu Copley - Kaurna & Peramangk Elder - Engaging with Aboriginal families' and children's funds of knowledge, including the role of place in everyday practice.
If you are keen to read literature on Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education, but are short of time, these article briefs summarise key relevant literature.
This conference highlighted and celebrated the pivotal role early childhood educators play in translating policy into meaningful practice by showcasing research findings from the Lillian de Lissa Trust funded project: Culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies in early childhood (CLRP).
The CLRP project has been mobilised through the collaboration between five partner organisations and two universities across South Australia and New South Wales. Presentations will illustrate how innovations in culturally and linguistically responsive practices were designed, implemented and progressed in South Australian and New South Wales early childhood contexts in collaboration with university based researchers through the enactment of a critical action research methodology.
Additional provocations were provided in this hybrid conference by keynote presentations from high profile researchers in CLRP.
Featured Keynote Lectures:
"The Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Early Childhood Project"
Associate Professor Jamie Sisson, Centre for Research in Educational and Social Inclusion, University of South Australia.
"Policy and Meaningful Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices"
Professor Sue Grieshaber, Professor of Early Childhood Education, La Trobe University.
"Emotional Discomfort in Culturally Diverse Classrooms"
Associate Professor Samara Akpovo, Associate Professor in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Critical Action Research Presentations:
Breakout sessions featured the critical action research projects of early childhood practitioners from South Australia and New South Wales and focued on the following two research areas:
University researchers lead breakout room discussions to stimulate deep thinking and draw threads of connections to highlight implications for future research and practice in early childhood education.
Expert Panel Discussion:
The conference concluded with an expert panel discussion who:
Work on this project will be a team effort bringing together research expertise from CRESI and WSU. The people listed below will be dedicated members of this entire project, but we may add specific expertise and capacity, should this be required.
Name: Associate Professor Jamie Sisson
Email: Jamie.Sisson@unisa.edu.au