Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood Education Symposium
Saturday 9 November 2024, 8.30am–5pm
295 Queen Street & 370 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, AU View map below
$50
Victoria University will host an Early Childhood Education symposium on Saturday 9 November 2024, at the university's City Campus in Melbourne.
The primary theme of the symposium is Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood Education. With the aim of sharing and grasping new evidence-based knowledge and research-based practice, the symposium provides a platform for pre-service teachers, academics, in-service teachers, researchers, and educational policymakers to present their research, learn about contemporary issues in early childhood education, and network with the ECE community.
The keynote speakers will navigate the complex terrain of national and international contemporary Early Childhood Education perspectives.
In addition, we are keen to hear from different ECE stakeholders, including education leaders, practitioners, researchers and policy makers. If you are interested in presenting your research findings, please explore the symposium themes and abstract submission instructions.
Prof Andrea Nolan, Deakin University, Australia
Andrea Nolan is Professor of Education (Early Childhood) in the School of Education, Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University, Australia. She is a member of Deakin University’s Strategic Research Centre (SRC) – Research for Educational Impact (REDI). Andrea is the founder and Chair of the Victorian Early Childhood Research Consortium (VECRC), a group of 90 cross-disciplinary researchers from a number of Victorian and interstate universities who come together to support research capacity in early childhood.
Andrea has produced a significant body of research focusing on the capabilities of the early childhood workforce with a specific interest in the professional learning of teachers. She has researched professional identities, mentoring, inter-professional work, and reflective practice. Her work has received national and international recognition particularly relating to mentoring.
Educator practice has been a complementary theme to her research where she has focused on facilitating young children’s language development, transition to school practices, and practice that improves outcomes for children and families experiencing disadvantage.
Being an Early Childhood professional in contemporary times: navigating complex terrain
In many OECD countries, including Australia, the established link between quality early childhood programs and positive child trajectories has led to a push to professionalise the early childhood workforce. However, professionalism brings with it its own politics and often means an increase in accountability and performativity agendas being invoked that act to limit the agency and flexibility of educators. This presentation will reflect on what it means to be an Early Childhood Professional in current times focusing on what needs to be considered when the workforce is diverse in qualifications, experience, workforce profiles, ethnicity and positions within organisational workplace structures, and competing discourses vie for support.
Prof Valerie Margrain, Karlstad University, Sweden
Valerie Margrain is Professor of Educational Work at Karlstad University in Sweden. She also works as a part-time professor in Norway and adjunct professor to Victoria University in Melbourne. She has previously worked in early childhood teacher education in New Zealand and in Melbourne (at ACU). Since moving to Sweden in late 2018, Valerie has obtained substantive research funding in the areas of gifted education, early childhood education, and internationalisation in teacher education. She has family in NZ and Melbourne, enjoys travelling, lifelong learning, and her new e-bike.
Contemporary perspectives on ECE quality & rights: a view from Sweden
In this presentation, contemporary perspectives on early childhood education and care from Sweden will be shared, with particular focus on quality ECEC, and rights. Firstly, ECEC policy enactment in Sweden will be shared as inspiration for what is possible from a context where there is national, municipal, cultural and societal commitment to ECEC. This includes families’ right to an ECEC place for their children, low or no fees, focus on nature and outdoor play, sustainability, degree qualified teachers for every child from age one, legal status for children’s rights, and migrant language learning support. Secondly, some contemporary Swedish ECEC research will be shared, which raise challenges around ratios, shifts in pedagogical and leadership roles, increasing emphasis on learning with subsequent risk to play, workload issues and EC teacher job satisfaction. The session concludes with some provocations around ECEC utopia, and what might be possible for the future of ECEC in Australian contexts.
Theme: Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood Education
We are interested in the following sub-themes:
Changing Educational Practices and Paradigms
Equity in Early Childhood Education
Technological advancements and Early Childhood Education
Globalization and Cultural Diversity in ECE
Research and Evidence-Based Practices
Cultural awareness and sensitivity
Family and Community Engagement
Designing and implementing inclusive learning pedagogies
Professional Development for Educators
Innovative Teaching approach
Technology and Inclusive ECE
Collaboration and Teamwork for quality learning
Special Education needs
Risks and Rewards in ECE practices
Contemporary child learning and development theories and practices
Trauma informed practices in Early Childhood Education
Indigenous perspectives in ECE
Relationship of children nature, country and culture
Loose parts and children’s play
Presentations
We have limited spots available for presentations
Research paper presentation: 15 minutes presentation time, plus 5 minutes Q&A. Once your abstract has been accepted, please email your presentation slides to the Symposium committee by 1 November
Poster presentation: If your poster is accepted, please print on a single A0 size page in portrait format (841mm wide x 1189mm high). Upon arrival, please hand your poster to the staff members at the Symposium reception desk.
If you would like to submit an abstract for presentation, please see abstract submissions following.
The symposium organising committee invites to submit an abstract for the symposium. Please review the information below and submit via the online abstract submission portal, which will open on 1 August and close on 7 October2024.
Results of abstract review will be returned to authors within 3 weeks of submission.
Instructions to authors & abstract formatting guidelines
You are invited to submit an abstract/s related to one of the themes listed in the 'Themes for presentations' drop-down above.
Please review the abstract instructions below and prepare your abstract accordingly before submission.
Presentation types:
Research paper presentation (15 minutes presentation time, plus 5 minutes Q&A)
Poster presentation (one single A0 size page printed in portrait format; poster must not exceed 841mm wide x 1189mm high).
Abstract formatting guidelines
Abstracts are to be typed directly into the text box provided within the online submission portal. Please adhere to the following formatting guidelines:
The abstract should be no more than 250 words.
Use sentence case for all text.
Do not include the presentation title, author names, or affiliations in the abstract text box; these details will be collected separately during the submission process.
Ensure your abstract is thoroughly checked for spelling and grammar, as successful abstracts will be included in the conference program booklet.
Abstract submission portal
Only abstracts submitted via the online abstract submission portal will be considered for the symposium. The submission portal willopen on 1 August and close 7 October 2024 (updated submission date). Results of abstract review returned to authors within 3 weeks of submission.
Once an abstract has been submitted via the online submission portal, an acknowledgement email will be sent to the submitting author. If you do not receive this email, please first check your spam folder. If it is not there, contact the conference via email [email protected].
The presenting author/s of all accepted abstracts must register by 16 October. If registration isn’t completed by this date, the organising committee reserves the right to remove the presentation from the program.
Our symposium committee is composed of academics from the ECE program at Victoria University. The program is highly popular and prestigious among students, academics, and researchers, both locally and internationally. Our programs not only prepare high-quality early childhood teachers but also equip students for further exploration, research, and networking.
From L-R, Prof Mary-Rose McLaren, Dr Masud Ahmmed, Dr Nathalie Nehma and Bonnie Zhen
Prof Mary-Rose McLaren
Head of Program, Early Childhood Education program, VU
Professor Mary-Rose McLaren is the Head of Program in Early Childhood Education at Victoria University, Melbourne. She is committed to Teaching and Learning as empowering experiences for students and staff. In 2023 Mary-Rose was an Erasmus+ scholar undertaking teaching exchange at Karlstad University, Sweden.
Mary-Rose is also an active researcher. Her research occurs at the intersection of practice, theory, and performance, as scholarship, and knowledge building, and includes traditional and non-traditional outputs. It incorporates the disciplines of History, Education, Early Childhood Education, Creativity and the Performing Arts. It untangles interconnections between the past and present, personal agency, collaborative agency, and creativity.
In Early Childhood Education, her research centres on play in public spaces, communication of values, and preservice teacher identity and experience. Research methods include grounded theory, historical-cultural theory, qualitative research, arts-based research, and creative outputs.
During November, 2023, Professor McLaren was a research fellow at Karlstad University, Sweden.
As Head of Program, Mary-Rose works to provide rich and challenging teaching and learning environments, and graduating Early Childhood Teachers who are creative, effective advocates, and responsive to children, families and communities.
Dr Masud Ahmmed
Lecturer, Early Childhood Education Program, VU
Dr. Masud Ahmmed is a Lecturer in the College of ABLE&IT (Early Childhood) at Victoria University (VU). He completed his doctoral research at Monash University, focusing on the inclusion of children with additional needs in mainstream education. Prior to this, he earned an MA in Special and Inclusive Education through the Erasmus Mundus Program at Roehampton University, U.K., and Charles University, Czech Republic.
Masud's professional background includes roles as an Early Childhood Teacher, Early Childhood Early Intervention professional, Research Fellow, Doctoral Research Supervisor, and academic.
His research contributions include presentations at national and international education conferences, receiving the Graduate Scholar Award at UBC in Vancouver, Canada, and publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. He is also a reviewer for international journals.
Currently, Masud is leading two research projects: Trauma-Aware Play-Based Early Learning and Pre-Service Teachers’ Responsiveness Towards Inclusive Education Practices.
Dr Nathalie Nehma
Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood Education Program, VU
Nathalie Nehma is a Senior Lecturer in the College of ABLE&IT (Early Childhood), at Victoria University (VU). Nathalie worked at VU since 2004 in both sectors, TAFE and Higher Education.
She has always strived for excellence in supporting pre-service teachers in developing exceptional teaching skills to reach their potential. She is interested in developing innovative and creative approaches to teaching and curriculum design. She works on creating partnerships between VU and the local, national and international community.
In her PhD study, Nathalie explored children’s educational experience during and beyond times of armed conflict. With first-hand experience of a disrupted education due to conflict, this study evolved as a result of her passion to advocate for children’s right especially in the most challenging circumstances.
Currently, Nathalie is the course chair of the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (EBEC) and Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership (EBCL).
Bonnie Zhen
Lecturer, Early Childhood Education Program, VU
Miss Lihong (Bonnie) Zhen is an academic in Early Childhood Education and a PhD researcher at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. Bonnie completed her master's degree in teaching Early Childhood Education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, before embarking on her doctoral research at VU.
With extensive experience as an early childhood teacher in various ECE settings across Australia, Bonnie has acquired a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Her collaborations with educators from diverse backgrounds have significantly enriched her perspectives and insights, both as an educator and a researcher.
In her academic career, Bonnie has dedicated herself to teaching student teachers while actively engaging in research. Her research interests focus on quality assurance in early childhood education and initial teacher education programs, with a particular emphasis on the impact of academics’ professional qualifications, experience, and demographics on pre-service teachers’ learning outcomes.
Bonnie is actively involved in several committees, including the VU ECE Symposium 2024 and the Asia-Pacific Sociocultural, Cultural-historical & Activity Theory Summer School. She also contributes her expertise as a reviewer for the prestigious AARE Conference 2024.
Contact us
If you have any questions regarding submission of abstracts, registration, sponsorship or general program information, please contact [email protected].
