Narratives of Childhood in Regional Western Australian Towns: A Trajectory of Hope and Collective Wisdom for Landmark Reforms

Abstract

The major policy reforms responding to these needs and concerns include the development of a National Quality Framework (NQF) (ACECQA, 2011a), which comprises the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009) and the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2011b), a national rating system. These reforms are 'designed to improve the quality, access and equity of early childhood services' in Australia (Cheeseman & Torr, 2009, pp. 61-62), address the historic 'bifurcation between education and care', and seek to overcome the 'fragmentation and patchwork nature' (Cheeseman & Torr, 2009, p. 68) of service provision. For the first time in its history of early childhood provision, Australia has taken a 'national approach to quality standards, equity of access and a national early years learning framework' (Cheeseman & Torr, 2009, p. 68). With the advent of these reforms, many government agencies reconsidered their engagement with and provision for the early years. One such agency was the Department of Sport and Recreation of Western Australia (DSR); this article reports on the SouthWest Early Childhood Project (SWECP), a pilot study focusing on the ways that communities in the regional southwest of Western Australia (WA) afford opportunities for young