Early Childhood Education and Workforce Needs

We work the people children encounter in their daily lives, including early childhood educators, teachers, and allied health professionals (nursing, speech-language pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, social work). We also work with professional peak and support organisations, employers and policymakers to help create conditions that amplify children’s rights and voices.

Our research and advocacy addresses equitable, quality early childhood programs and services, workforce wellbeing and sustainability, interdisciplinary practices, and transformation of the social, policy and organisational conditions that enable social justice nationally and internationally.

We work with early childhood education centres, schools, and allied health centres to focus on children with disabilities, and families who are from geographically, culturally and linguistically diverse, and vulnerable communities.

The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child guides our work to ensure children's voices are heard by those responsible for building an inclusive world for everyone.

Our books

Resources for educators

Raising Children.net
A free, reliable, up-to-date and independent information site to help families grow and thrive together and to help inform professionals who support them. Funded by the Australian Government and reviewed by experts.

National Early Childhood Program for Children with Disability and Developmental Concerns (NECP)
The NECP supports young children (aged 0-8 years) with disability or developmental concerns and their parents and carers.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations in 1989. Visit this site for information and a range of printable resources to educate and reinforce understandings of these rights at your service. Remember to share the resources with families and children as well as staff.

Our research projects

Observe, Reflect, Improve: A Tool to Enrich Children's Learning (ORICL)

This tool was co-developed with various universities and industry partners to help infant-toddler educators observe, reflect on and improve the quality of individual children’s learning experiences.

Positive Living Skills Wellbeing Project

This is a set of mental health programs for educators at early childhood services and primary schools. It is designed to help young people and their families achieve their goals.

Exemplary Early Childhood Educators at Work

This is a five-year study of early childhood educators across Australia, investigating the work of educators in high quality centre-based early childhood programs.

Our research

  • Brooker, M. (2024). The followership paradox: The undervalued power of effective followers in early childhood education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 49(4), 329-342. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391241267923
  • Cumming, T., Wong, S., & Logan, H. (2021). Early childhood educators’ well-being, work environments and ‘quality’: Possibilities for changing policy and practice. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(1), 50-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939120979064
  • Downey, B., Letts, W., & McLeod, S. (2024). Sustainable leadership approaches to retain early childhood educators. In L. Mahony, S. McLeod, A. Salamon, & J. Dwyer (Eds.), Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals (pp. 223-236). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0_16
  • Downey, B., Letts, W., Gibbs, L., & McLeod, S. (2024). Leadership and retention in early childhood education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 49(4), 343-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391241286935
  • Hopf, S. C., Crowe, K., Verdon, S., Blake, H. L., & McLeod, S. (2021). Advancing workplace diversity through the Culturally Responsive Teamwork Framework. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(5), 1949-1961. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00380
  • Press, F., Cooke, M., Gibbs, L., & Warren, R. (2021). Inequality, social justice and the purpose of early childhood education. Discourse: Journal of Childhood and Adolescence Research, 16(4), 510-524. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3224/diskurs.v16i4.09
  • Smith-Tamaray, M., Verdon, S., & Hoffman, L. (2021). Retention in rural speech and language therapy: The impact of rural tertiary education in Australia. Advances in Communication and Swallowing, 24, 111-124. https://doi.org/10.3233/ACS-210032

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Our work

Publications and grants