University of Melbourne study finds kids don’t get top quality learning in childcare

JUST one per cent of Australian children receive top-quality learning in childcare and kinder, a new report has revealed.

Asher 3, enjoys reading a book by himself as the teacher reads to the children at Civic Kindergarten Middle Park. Picture: David Caird

JUST one per cent of Australian children receive top-quality learning in childcare and kinder, a new report has revealed.

Children are well cared for emotionally, but miss out on vital play-based learning, a landmark national University of Melbourne study shows.

Even tertiary-educated teachers spend more time making sure children are behaving well and are properly socialised rather than more important language concepts and higher-order thinking, the results suggest.

Under the Effective Early Education Experiences for Kids project, researchers from the Graduate School of Education tracked almost 2500 three and four-year-olds from Victoria and Queensland over five years.

They found 87 per cent of early learning services had low-quality teaching geared at turning play into learning.

They found only one per cent had high-quality learning, eight per cent had high-quality personal care and hygiene, and only six per cent had high-quality activities.

Lead researcher Professor Collette Tayler said children were not in danger, but were missing out.

“A lot of the time educators are making sure children are behaving and communicating and supported emotionally but it’s not good enough without picking up the learning,” she said.

She said much more should be expected of teachers and childcare workers.

“Educators should be discussing their play with children, making sure they understand and helping them explore what is going on and why,” Professor Tayler said.

“The presence of this learning at three and four makes a difference to children’s outcomes later at age eight,” she said.

Professor Taylor said children who are the most disadvantaged get the least amount of this kind of learning.

Researcher Collette Tayler from University of Melbourne.

Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said the report will “help guide future funding decisions as we reform and improve Victoria’s early childhood sector”.

Early Learning Association of Australia CEO Shane Lucas said Professor Tayler’s research “is a further validation of the importance of high quality early learning”.

Annette Tsindos, director and teacher at Civic Kindergarten, said her centre in Albert Park did a lot of “preliteracy and prenumeracy”.

“It looks like play but in actual fact the children are learning,” she said.

“Their sorting and grouping is about numbers and their puzzle-solving is about spatial awareness. They’re able to concentrate, listen and co-operate with others. They have all the skills they need when they first start at school,” Ms Tsindos said.