Understanding early childhood learning trajectories: Evidence‑informed supports for quality curriculum and practice

High‑quality early childhood education and care enables children to flourish across developmental domains while supporting educators to make informed pedagogical decisions. The Early Childhood Learning Trajectories, developed by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), offers a research‑based lens to understanding how young children learn and develop in the years before school, and how educators can best support that learning through intentional practice. 

Hosted on the EdResearch platform, the Early Childhood Learning Trajectories resource collection is designed to support teachers and educators in ECEC settings to strengthen curriculum design, assessment and planning, aligned with approved learning frameworks such as the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) Version 2.0 and to meet the expectations of the National Quality Standard (particularly Standard 1.3: Assessment and planning). 

The Early Childhood Learning Trajectories describe how children’s learning progress unfolds across five interconnected domains:

• Executive functions — cognitive processes that support problem‑solving, memory, planning and self‑regulation
• Social and emotional learning — skills for managing emotions, building relationships and engaging cooperatively with others
• Mathematical thinking — ways children make sense of number, pattern, measurement and spatial concepts
• Language and communication — development of expressive and receptive language, interaction and meaning‑making
• Physical development — growth in motor skills, coordination and embodied learning experiences 

While each trajectory focuses on a single domain, they are intended to be used in interconnected ways. A single experience in an early childhood program may foster development across multiple domains, and progress in one area can often influence development in another. 

The resource collection can be used in multiple ways by ECEC services and teams:

1. Strengthening curriculum and pedagogical decisions
   Educators can use the trajectories to inform what they observe, assess and plan for, building learning experiences that are responsive to children’s evolving strengths, interests and needs. This supports the ongoing cycle of observation, planning, implementation and reflection central to quality practice. 
2. Supporting professional learning
   Trajectories can help teams develop shared language and understanding about children’s learning progressions. Services can focus on one domain at a time to deepen educator knowledge and refine pedagogical approaches. 
3. Enhancing assessment for learning
   Unlike prescriptive milestone checklists, the trajectories describe learning as a continuum rather than age‑based steps. They encourage educators to make professional judgements grounded in evidence about where a child is in their learning and what might be the next meaningful learning opportunity. 

A range of supporting materials accompanies the core trajectories:

• A comprehensive PDF resource collection that outlines the trajectories in depth and provides downloadable content for educators. 
• A user guide to help educators implement the trajectories purposefully in curriculum design and reflective practice. 
• Animated explainer videos that introduce the learning domains and demonstrate how the trajectories align with curriculum frameworks and assessment practices. 
• A reflection activity to support teams to gather classroom examples and deepen understanding collaboratively. 
• A related evidence base report outlining research foundations and the development of the trajectories. 

Educators and leaders can integrate these resources into professional learning communities, curriculum planning days and Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) reviews to strengthen pedagogy and improve learning outcomes.

The Learning Trajectories reflect a contemporary understanding of child development that recognises learning as holistic, individualised and dynamic. This aligns with essential early childhood principles such as developmentally appropriate practice, learning through play and the intentional use of assessment information to support ongoing improvement. 

By using these trajectories, services can:

• Better articulate children’s learning pathways
• Enhance documentation and pedagogical reasoning
• Improve alignment with EYLF 2.0 and the NQF
• Promote shared professional language across teams
• Support responsive, evidence‑informed practice

To explore the Early Childhood Learning Trajectories and access the full suite of resources, visit the Australian Education Research Organisation’s website.