Innholdsfortegnelse for NOVEMBER/DECEMBER ISSUE 22 2025 i Pedagogy+

Community is not a single place or definition; it is a living practice shaped in the everyday moments shared between people, land, and story. This edition of Pedagogy+ invites us to look closely at these moments, noticing the threads that bind us and the responsibilities that come with belonging. Community matters particularly if we see and define early childhood programs as places of community, not only where we create community but also where we make community. Across remote islands, busy cities, and quiet bushland settings, our contributors show how community is created through relationships, reciprocity, and a willingness to step beyond our gates and into connection. We will argue that this is essential to the identity of a thriving, living educational program. The stories gathered here remind us that community…

Creating together builds more than skills; it builds community. At the Early Learning & Community Centre (ELCC), our collaborative sewing project gave children the chance to explore culture, connect to Country, and share meaningful experiences with each other and their families. Our connection to Country quilt grew from heartfelt conversations among educators about how we could meaningfully weave Aboriginal and cultural perspectives into our everyday program. We wanted to create something that reflected who we are as a community; a project that connected people, place, and story. As educators, we see it as our role to nurture children’s connections to their community and to provide a space where families feel safe and proud to share their own cultures, identities, ideas and beliefs. The Early Years Learning Framework reminds us that,…

Who’s in your community in the education and care sector? One of the striking things about our sector is how small most of our workplaces are. While long day care centres are getting bigger, about 15 per cent of preschools, kindergartens and long day care centres in Australia still have fewer than 30 places. Over half have fewer than 70, and more than 80 per cent have under 100. That means we have small staff teams. That smallness shapes us. It creates tight-knit teams and deep bonds – but it also limits the daily exchange of ideas. In a small team, bad habits can quietly take root, and sometimes what we need most is a burst of outside energy – new thinking, new voices – to reignite that spark and…

Early childhood educators, of all people, know that human beings are wired for community. From the moment they’re born, children search for connection – through a smile, a cry, a touch, a question. Some of those bids for connection are easier to respond to than others, but the same instinct drives all: to belong. Our capacity to form communities, to cooperate and care, is one of the main reasons we’ve survived and thrived as a species. Community isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s part of what makes us human. Long before anyone built an education and care centre or wrote a curriculum, people gathered in groups to share food, raise children, and protect one another. The more of us there were, the better our chances – to hunt, to fend off…

Can working within a social justice framework build community? Well, the short answer is yes. We can all think of causes important to us that have tethered us closer to other people, be it saving our local library from closure, petitioning government for slower speed limits in our local streets, or lobbying for greater investment in early childhood education. We know that these important causes cannot be fought as an individual but rather there is power in a group. For many people, defining social justice is an approach which brings greater equity and fairness to our communities (local, national and global). In working towards these causes, we find ourselves bound by shared purpose, shared values, and often, shared action. The work of social justice is rarely quiet. It asks us…

Adults who work in educational settings can participate in a learning community for several reasons. A learning community can be defined as a group of people who are working towards a shared purpose. A learning community aims to work with openness and bravery, while drawing upon collective efforts, enthusiasm, empathy, interdependence and teamwork. To unpack the characteristics of an effective team-focused learning community, I’d like to jump back a few years to my work as a preschool teacher, when I asked a group of 4- and 5-year-old children how they might place the plastic farm and wild animals they were playing with into teams. I remember being fascinated by their role-playing, anthropomorphism, and decision-making processes, and by how they defined and justified what makes a team. In this article, I’d…

The Early Years Learning Framework Version 2.0 invites us to hold three profound ideas in mind: Belonging, Being and Becoming. These concepts are deeply familiar to us in our work with children and families, shaping how we see, teach and learn. I wonder if, over time, they have become so closely associated with children’s experiences that we sometimes forget their relevance to our professional lives as educators. So, what might it mean to belong, be and become as professionals? What would it look like to create spaces where educators themselves can experience belonging, where being is honoured and becoming is supported? In the EYLF V2.0, belonging is described as the basis for living a fulfilling life. It speaks of connection to people, place, culture, and community, of relationships that give…

Some experiences arrive like a whisper, unexpected, perfectly timed and shimmering with meaning. A recent visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales gifted me one of those moments. The Quilt Project at Tenison Woods ELC, which I discovered quite by chance, had resonated with me. The determined stitching of children and teachers sewing side-by-side, weaving friendship, learning and community into every square. Their beautiful work had filled me with such admiration. So, when I found myself wandering, quite by accident, into an explosion of colour and creativity, it felt like destiny gently taking me by the hand. There it was: The Patchwork Portal… It stopped me in my tracks. Truly—my breath caught. Fabric twirled in every direction, stitching danced across surfaces, and colour glowed as if lit from within.…

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW YOU. CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU ENDED UP ON GROOTE EYLANDT? I grew up in Zambia and did all my schooling there. I began working as a teacher aide and, during that time, I met my partner, who worked in the mines. We had our first child in Africa before deciding to move to Australia. His family is in Victoria, and we lived in our home in Adelaide for a few years while he continued flying in and out for work—eight weeks in Africa, three weeks at home. Eventually, he applied for a position on Groote Eylandt, and I moved here in 2015 to join him. WHEN DID YOU START WORKING AT SEAGRASS EARLY LEARNING? I…

Tucked away behind stands of native trees and foliage that have watched generations grow, Lantana Kindergarten lives within the welcoming Parafield Gardens community in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. We are proudly situated on the land of the Kaurna people, where we play, learn, and grow. We deeply respect and acknowledge the Kaurna people’s enduring connection to this land, its stories, and its people, and promise to look after the land, the animals, and each other through our work and play. ‘To nurture children’s growth, we must also be active, connected members of the community we serve.’ Belonging Through Connection Lantana Kindergarten is a South Australian government preschool that welcomes 55 children and their families. Our families represent a vibrant group of cultural backgrounds, languages and socio-economic contexts. Our kindergarten offers multiple…

As a child, I remember fondly the days spent at the Tennis Club in the small country town where I was raised. The ritual of walking in beside mum, carrying freshly baked and filled cream puffs, to lay alongside the sponge cakes, honey joys, devilled eggs and sandwiches. This marked the beginning of a day of play and connection, of stories shared alongside friendly competition. Years later, as a mother of two and a recent member of the local Country Women’s Association, I recall sitting around the dinner table with other members. I looked around to see many familiar faces: faces who had also laid food on the tennis club table, faces that competed in sports, raised funds for local causes, business owners, farmers, and schoolteachers. The thought occurred that…

‘Music is a world within itself; with a language we all understand’Stevie Wonder (1976) Music offers connection and joy. It is a universal language that unites all ages, sparks curiosity, and awakens creativity. Participating in musical communities — in learning environments and beyond – enriches our lives with human connection and a deep sense of belonging. In our family of nine children, without a television, music was our play and our way of being. Our singing and instruments filled the house; music was the heartbeat of our family life – something beautifully ordinary, yet extraordinary. We didn’t name it then, but we were part of a musical family – a community bound by the love that music brings. Music captures our stories and reflects our culture, history, emotions, and life’s…

We hope you enjoy Pedagogy+ the art of teaching. Each issue of the magazine looks at a theme relevant to early education; exploring and challenging practice and thinking. The pages of Pedagogy+ brim with inspiring articles, candid conversations, the latest trends and lifestyle treats — our brief being to foster critical thinking and stimulate conversations that can advance the theory and practice of pedagogy in early education settings, and to encourage you to think about you. Why subscribe? – it’s an opportunity to: ■ Slow down, relax and enjoy a well-informed read ■ Share in the insights of highly-respected and knowledgeable education experts ■ Enjoy the experience of deciding – what might I like for me or that would make a great gift for someone else ■ Critically reflect on…

A recent visit to the exhibition French Impressionism at the NGV left me both captivated and contemplative. Beautifully curated, the exhibition opens with a description of the Impressionists as a community of French artists. Standing before the works of Renoir, Monet, and others, I found myself thinking less about the brushstrokes and more about the community of artists and the stories that surrounded them — the friendships, the shared ideas, and the courage to experiment together. It led me to a question that felt simple yet deeply woven into the act of creation. What if seeing differently is not something we do alone, but something that begins within us and deepens in the company of others? The question lingered as I left the gallery. I began thinking about how this…

At Lantana Kindergarten, we believe the best learning happens in real life — and that belief guides our decision to take children beyond the kindy gate. When planning our excursion program alongside children, we began by revisiting our philosophy, which acknowledges that children grow and learn on Kaurna Country. It emphasises empowering children to be global citizens through discovery, nature, and exploration — an idea embedded in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), particularly Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. As a team, we reflected on the concepts most meaningful to our site — diversity, sustainability, and community — and asked: How can children explore these within our local context? Place-based theory provided our pedagogical foundation, highlighting the importance of learning in, about, and with…

ABOUT THE BOOK Combining theoretical inspiration, practical guidance and visual examples, this book empowers educators to implement rich visual arts experiences and foster joyful, art-centered learning environments with children. Drawing upon decades of experience and research, the authors offer rich, practical, plain English information alongside inspiring images, reflection points and visual examples to support educators to understand the WHY, WHAT and HOW of designing and delivering a rich visual arts curriculum for and with young children. Making no assumptions about prior visual arts knowledge or experience, this informative, visually beautiful book connects theory and practice, while providing guidance to inspire and inform interactions with children and visual arts materials in meaningful ways. This is an essential resource for educators, teachers, parents, students or academics aiming to enhance their teaching practices…

At First Encounters, LLC, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, even the youngest babies are introduced to the world of art. The studio was built around a simple idea: that a baby’s very first interactions with art, language, and caregivers can ignite a lifelong curiosity and passion for art. The studio offers experiences for infants, toddlers, and children aged two to four, giving each child the chance to explore art in meaningful ways. For infants, this involves viewing original artworks placed at their level, where they can touch, respond, and discover independently. Caregivers are encouraged to talk to babies as they observe—introducing new words, describing colours and shapes, and fostering wonder. For toddlers and preschoolers, studio sessions encourage playful, open-ended exploration, where materials serve as invitations to experiment. These early experiences are…

Each day, I am reminded of the privilege it is to live, work, and learn on the lands of the Anindilyakwa People. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and acknowledge the deep cultural heritage and knowledge systems that continue to guide, inspire, and teach us. My Name is Rosinta Holland, nominated supervisor and centre director for both Seagrass Early Learning and OSHC service. I feel deeply honoured to lead a service that sits at the heart of the Alyangula community on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory. Seagrass Early Learning and OSHC is a not-for-profit organisation, proudly governed by a voluntary management committee whose dedication to children, educators, families, and the wider community remains steadfast. Our approach is guided by the National Quality Framework (NQF), which…

When we yarn about ‘connecting with community’ it’s easy to start with what we want to bring, our ideas, our programs, our energy. But real connection isn’t about what we want from community, or even what we think we can offer. It’s about how we yanay warranggal, how we walk together in good spirit. True connection comes from relationship being present, being humble, and taking time to listen. It’s a way of being that says, ‘I see you, I value you, and I’m here to learn with you.’ When we move at the pace of relationship, not rush, something shifts. We stop trying to do things for community and instead begin to do things with community. That is where the strength lives, in the walking together, not the working alone.…