Neilsen-Hewett, Cathrine Marguerite. Associate Prof.

<p>This line of research focuses on how to easily, accurately and playfully pinpoint young children’s progress and needs in foundational areas of development (e.g., self-regulation), and leverage this information to support children’s continued development. This culminated in creation of the iPad-based <em>Early Years Toolbox</em> (www.eytoolbox.com.au), which is in use in educational and research contexts internationally.</p><p>The EYT approach to early assessment has instigated a shift away from the concentration of expertise and tools among a limited base of professionals, to instead empower those who spend the most time with young children (e.g., educators) and have the greatest opportunity to shift children’s trajectories. Specifically, our research has shown that EYT tools yield valid, reliable, sensitive and actionable information when used by pre-school educators after only a brief induction. For children, these feel like playful activities. For educators, they provide immediate and high-quality information about each child’s abilities and needs, to inform ongoing planning and practice. The EYT philosophy of barrier-free access for all who could benefit (available on the iTunes App Store) contrasts often expensive and time-consuming commercial tools.</p><p>EYT assessments have now been accessed by >11,000 users across more than 50 countries and 5 continents, and have been translated into more than a dozen languages (in collaboration with requesting institutions around the world). EYT has been used with more than 12,000 children in Australia, and greater numbers abroad, with mounting international evidence of its positive impact for educators, children and families.<br /><br /><strong>UOW Participants: </strong>A/Prof Steven Howard, Prof Ted Melhuish, A/Prof Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, Prof Marc de Rosnay<br /><br /><strong>Partner Organisations:</strong> Early Start, Our Place (Victoria), Goodstart Early Learning</p>

The Fostering Effective Early Learning (FEEL) study involves partnerships with educators, early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres and government education departments to advance educational practice.<br /><br />FEEL is a cluster randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy of an in-service, evidence-based professional development program for improving early childhood educators' practice, and developmental outcomes of children. It arose from a competitive tender process initiated by the NSW Department of Education and Training, awarded to UOW Early Start researchers in 2015.<br /><br />The research team recruited 90 ECEC services to be involved, half of which were randomly selected to receive the professional development program in the evaluation year, and half of which were assigned as the control group, to then receive the training following the evaluation year. Early results show children in the centres receiving the program are experiencing heightened curricular and interactional quality, with some positive effects for children's developmental progress as well (despite a relatively constrained intervention period).<br /><br />“In addition, our qualitative process analyses suggest that participants often saw the professional development program as ‘very high quality’, ‘transformative’ and ‘reaffirming’,” according to one of the research leaders, Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett.<br /><br />The ongoing potential of the FEEL study is significant for improving quality in Australian ECEC within the current workforce, by working to enhance educators' practices through intensive in-service professional development. Further longitudinal components to assess children’s school readiness have already been initiated and there is future potential to link the data through to NAPLAN years.<br /><br /><strong>UOW participants:</strong> Professor Iram Siraj, Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, Dr Steven Howard, Professor Ted Melhuish, Professor Marc de Rosnay, Dr Elisabeth Duursma, Dr Xiaoqi Feng, Dr Betty Luu<br /><br /><strong>Partners:</strong> NSW Department of Education, Early Childhood Education Centres across NSW, Dr Denise Kingston (University of Sussex)

<p>This line of research focuses on how to easily, accurately and playfully pinpoint young children’s progress and needs in foundational areas of development (e.g., self-regulation), and leverage this information to support children’s continued development. This culminated in creation of the iPad-based <em>Early Years Toolbox</em> (www.eytoolbox.com.au), which is in use in educational and research contexts internationally.</p><p>The EYT approach to early assessment has instigated a shift away from the concentration of expertise and tools among a limited base of professionals, to instead empower those who spend the most time with young children (e.g., educators) and have the greatest opportunity to shift children’s trajectories. Specifically, our research has shown that EYT tools yield valid, reliable, sensitive and actionable information when used by pre-school educators after only a brief induction. For children, these feel like playful activities. For educators, they provide immediate and high-quality information about each child’s abilities and needs, to inform ongoing planning and practice. The EYT philosophy of barrier-free access for all who could benefit (available on the iTunes App Store) contrasts often expensive and time-consuming commercial tools.</p><p>EYT assessments have now been accessed by >11,000 users across more than 50 countries and 5 continents, and have been translated into more than a dozen languages (in collaboration with requesting institutions around the world). EYT has been used with more than 12,000 children in Australia, and greater numbers abroad, with mounting international evidence of its positive impact for educators, children and families.<br /><br /><strong>UOW Participants: </strong>A/Prof Steven Howard, Prof Ted Melhuish, A/Prof Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, Prof Marc de Rosnay<br /><br /><strong>Partner Organisations:</strong> Early Start, Our Place (Victoria), Goodstart Early Learning</p>

The Fostering Effective Early Learning (FEEL) study involves partnerships with educators, early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres and government education departments to advance educational practice.<br /><br />FEEL is a cluster randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy of an in-service, evidence-based professional development program for improving early childhood educators' practice, and developmental outcomes of children. It arose from a competitive tender process initiated by the NSW Department of Education and Training, awarded to UOW Early Start researchers in 2015.<br /><br />The research team recruited 90 ECEC services to be involved, half of which were randomly selected to receive the professional development program in the evaluation year, and half of which were assigned as the control group, to then receive the training following the evaluation year. Early results show children in the centres receiving the program are experiencing heightened curricular and interactional quality, with some positive effects for children's developmental progress as well (despite a relatively constrained intervention period).<br /><br />“In addition, our qualitative process analyses suggest that participants often saw the professional development program as ‘very high quality’, ‘transformative’ and ‘reaffirming’,” according to one of the research leaders, Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett.<br /><br />The ongoing potential of the FEEL study is significant for improving quality in Australian ECEC within the current workforce, by working to enhance educators' practices through intensive in-service professional development. Further longitudinal components to assess children’s school readiness have already been initiated and there is future potential to link the data through to NAPLAN years.<br /><br /><strong>UOW participants:</strong> Professor Iram Siraj, Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, Dr Steven Howard, Professor Ted Melhuish, Professor Marc de Rosnay, Dr Elisabeth Duursma, Dr Xiaoqi Feng, Dr Betty Luu<br /><br /><strong>Partners:</strong> NSW Department of Education, Early Childhood Education Centres across NSW, Dr Denise Kingston (University of Sussex)