Strong foundations : evidence informing practice in early childhood education and care / Anna Kilderry, Bridie Raban.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

SECTION 1. The early childhood years: context : -- 1. Early childhood education and care in challenging times. / Anna Kilderry and Bridie Raban -- 2. Investigating early childhood practice: insights from a large Australian study. / Dan Cloney -- 3. The early childhood professional. / Megan Gibson and Lyn Gunn -- 4. Building inclusive education communities. / Kathy Cologon -- SECTION 2. Identity, wellbeing and children contributing to their world : -- 5. Early childhood outdoor environments: places for play, learning and wellbeing. / Anne-Marie Morrissey, Llewellyn Wishart and Deborah Moore -- 6. Healthy lifestyle behaviours in the first five years of life. / Rachel Laws, Penny Love, Katherine Downing and Jill Hnatiuk -- 7. Keeping children safe. / Nicole Downes -- 8. Social and emotional development in early childhood. / Claire Blewitt, Helen Skouteris, Heidi Bergmeier and Amanda O'Connor -- 9. Facilitating children's agency in early childhood education and care. / Caroline Scott, Andrea Nolan and Anna Kilderry -- SECTION 3. Children as confident and involved learners : -- 10. Play and early childhood pedagogies. / Nicole Leggett -- 11. Supporting oral language development in young children. / Louise Paatsch and Andrea Nolan -- 12. Early literacy. / Bridie Raban -- 13. Learning about STEM. / Coral Campbell -- 14. Learning about mathematics. / Bob Perry and Sue Dockett -- 15. Learning through the arts. / Susan Wright and Jan Deans -- 16. Play and learning in the digital age. / Nicola Yelland -- 17. Assessment and documentation for children's learning and development. / Bronwyn Reynolds -- SECTION 4. Children and society: building positive futures : -- 18. Early years transitions. / Sue Dockett and Bob Perry -- 19. Building positive relationships with families and communities. / Laura McFarland -- 20. Leading practice in early childhood education. / Jo Bird and Angel Mok -- 21. Rethinking research in early childhood: (re)turning the kaleidoscope. / Jeanne Marie Iorio and Will Parnell -- 22. Learning to surf: embracing change in the early childhood sector. / Jen Jackson.

Strong Foundations: Evidence informing practice in early childhood education and care celebrates the progress made by the Australian early childhood education and care profession since the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework. Recognising this progress, Associate Professor Anna Kilderry and Honorary Professor Bridie Raban lead a team of 33 notable contributors from 11 universities and institutions across Australia, who focus on the challenges of access, equity and quality that remain across the sector. Together with a Foreword by Professor Alison Elliott, Strong Foundations brings together knowledge and insights from research in education, health, social care, child safety, science, mathematics and the arts. The book addresses policy requirements from the Early Years Learning Framework, the National Quality Standard and Quality Improvement Plans and includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. With an emphasis on professional practice expectations, it showcases evidence from Australian and international research and provides case studies of how early childhood educators are applying evidence-informed actions in a wide variety of childcare centres and services.