Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Australia has long been associated with the concept of social justice, however, a clear understanding of what it looks like across diverse services and communities is not available. This article reports the process of inquiry, as well as the outcomes, of a small-scale study designed to uncover the perceptions of ECEC educators working in rural and remote communities in the state of Queensland. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with five educators from rural and remote settings identified as areas experiencing significant growth in population diversity. An initial thematic analysis of the data revealed three key themes. A secondary analysis using a place and space conceptual framework uncovered deeper, more sophisticated meanings of the educator experience of social justice. The research is important in bringing pedagogical conversations to the forefront regarding ECEC educator perceptions of their role in creating a socially just learning environment. In addition to identifying future research possibilities, implications from the findings indicate opportunities for re-examining and rethinking initial teacher education and ongoing professional learning.
This study theoretically aligns with research that purports that nature play positively contributes to sustainability stewardship. Early childhood teachers can plan for and nurture children’s capabilities and dispositions for sustainability stewardship. Initial teacher education programs contribute to the professional learning of preservice early childhood teachers’ perceptions regarding nature play. This article details the findings of content analysis to explore and uncover the existence of nature play in online, publicly available documents representing twenty-two early childhood teacher qualifications. In what ways is nature play evidenced in early childhood initial teacher education programs in Australia? The findings highlight potential discrepancies between the values related to nature play in the early childhood field and the content in initial teacher education programming. The article concludes with implications for teacher education programs and proposed recommendations for ongoing research.
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