I have been re reading the Canadian Early Years Study which has been one of the world's major studies in recent years on early childhood development, children and families. It is a huge and impressive document that draws upon scientific and empirical evidence from a range of longitudinal studies. It considers brain research, genetics, socio economic status, family and parenting issues, early education, care and health.

Amongst the range of implications, recommendations and issues that the report covers, there are some major points that are currently relevant within Australia that are useful to reflect upon and consider.

1.     Language development, oral language is critical in the early years and upon entering school.

Firstly, in certain areas in Australia children entering school have quite low oral language skills. The report states strongly that oral language is an imperative in order for children to become literate, to read and write. However, many recent literacy programs in schools have provided limited oral language experiences or time for children to talk, speak, converse and practice language in authentic and exciting and meaningful ways. The emphasis upon reaching a reading benchmark at the end of prep for children including those with English as a second language and children who enter school without appropriate language has at times compromised the need for rich oral language and active engagement in the learning environment.

Secondly, in order to promote appropriate literacy in young children, they require a program that provides many opportunities to be speaking and interacting on a daily basis. They need opportunities to see written words, books, magazines, notes and posters as part of their own experiences and interests in order to model that spoken words can be represented by written words.

 2.     Links in curriculum and teaching and learning between early childhood and early years of school.

Finally in Australia we are starting to see emerge in the early years of school, a greater recognition that alongside explicit teaching, young children require opportunities to engage in active investigation and exploration in their environment. This active engagement reflects, as the early years study highlights, that the brain development of young children requires a mix of explicit and active engagement  through authentic experiences through play curriculum (the study calls it problem based play). Nothing happens to the young learner as they move between preschool and school in relation to their brain development. They still require active hands on experiences which promote, as Vygotsky discusses, the development of language and thought.  A seamless curriculum between preschool and school and consistent teaching and learning between preschool and the early years of school is something that has been missing in Victoria and across many parts of Australia for a long time. The misassumption that learning in school must exclude planned for and rigorous play as an imperative aspect of learning, literacy and numeracy is misguided.

 3.     Communities must support parents and parenting skills.

This was discussed in great length in the study. The need for parents of all social economic demographics to be provided with ongoing support in relation to parenting, family life, and education has a direct link back into the potential learning outcomes of children.

 4. Community hubs:

The report highly recommends the establishment of community hubs where parents can access, maternal and child health, counsellors, speech therapists, child care, preschool and school. The report strongly suggests that the local school is the most appropriate place for community hubs given that all children and families at some point end up in school. Schools are often viewed by local communities as the major part of a community.

It is pleasing as an educator to have access to studies such as the Canadian Early Years study. It provides a greater level of information and solid body of knowledge to continue to consider what aspects of education are needed and what best practice in the early childhood years across preschool and primary must provide.

It is good for our consultancy to ensure that we are also providing best practice and keeping abreast of international and national studies of significance .The work of the consultancy, as many people now know throughout Australia has a commitment to helping and supporting staff across early childhood and primary education to provide best practice and rigorous teaching and learning experiences for young children.

The development of the Australian Development Curriculum over the past 10 years has proven to be a significant addition to best practice teaching and learning in the early years of school.

Contrary to what some people believe about children and learning, we know, with the support of research around the world, that to best support individualised learning, divergent thinking, rich oral language development, meaningful  literacy competence including comprehension (rather than just barking at print), life skills, children in their early years require an active classroom learning environment that engages children in a wide range of play based experience planned for and scaffolded by teachers.

Not the old, "developmental play" or "language experience", albeit that they each had some wonderful aspects to them. Rather, a rigorous, scaffolded and 'planned for' play that links directly back into explicit teaching of major skills in early literacy and numeracy.

We are pleased to see from our independent empirical data, that oral language through this approach has significantly improved, reading with meaning has improved, writing has increased and boys' engagement has increased.

These are significant results.

There is a need for significant changes and greater levels of understanding that effective and sustained learning of literacy is not about drilling children with endless rotations and explicit teaching that is divorced from the children's authentic interests.  Explicit daily instruction alongside daily active investigations through rigorous play based curriculum is now being implemented across Australia and it is very exciting to witness so many hundreds of schools throughout Australia now, taking on board the Australian Developmental Curriculum and tackling early literacy in ways that are  supported by rigorous research and best practice.

Finally I think we are seeing an end to just borrowing strategies from the USA and the UK, most of which have not been successful. The USA continues to have low literacy as well as millions of disengaged students.  We can do much better than that.

For those interested in the Canadian Early Years Study: http://www.founders.net/fn/papers.nsf/0/39348cb576890e6685256c32005a7cb6/$FILE/EYReview-Aug2002.pdf

http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/policyhub/news_item/early_yeasrs07.asp

 For those interested in the Australian Developmental Curriculum: www.kathywalker.com.au

 Kathy Walker