What Australians think about the early years could shape support for reform

Australians broadly recognise that children and families need greater support, but new research suggests understanding of what shapes early childhood development and the solutions required to improve outcomes, remains uneven.

A new report from the FrameWorks Institute is examining the beliefs Australians hold about the early years and how those beliefs may influence support for policies designed to improve outcomes for children and families.

Measuring Early Years Mindsets: Patterns of Thinking That Shape Australia’s Future draws on a nationally representative survey conducted in February 2026.

The research forms part of the multi-year Measuring Early Mindsets Project, undertaken by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with Curijo and Minderoo Foundation.

Researchers examined the strength of different mindsets Australians use when thinking about early childhood, how those mindsets vary across population groups, how different beliefs cluster together and how they relate to support for potential solutions.

The report starts from the premise that the way people understand early childhood influences how they identify problems, where they place responsibility and which policy responses they consider appropriate.

While the research found broad recognition that children and families require greater support, public understanding of the specific factors influencing early development remains uneven.

For early childhood advocates, policymakers and sector leaders, that distinction matters.

FrameWorks said changing policies and the systems serving children and families depends, in part, on shifting the cultural mindsets that shape public understanding of the early years.

The research is therefore interested not only in what Australians know about early childhood, but in how existing beliefs influence demand for change.

The findings point to an important challenge for those communicating about early childhood: different ways of framing an issue can activate different understandings of who is responsible for children's wellbeing.

The project is exploring how strategic framing could move conversations towards greater recognition of shared responsibility, systems-based responses and collective action to support children, families and communities.

The research also found comparatively low support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled approaches, an area highlighted for further consideration in communicating about early years policy and reform.

The next phase of the Measuring Early Mindsets Project will test framing and narrative strategies intended to shift public thinking and build demand for policy and systems change.

The findings have particular relevance for early childhood education and care because public understanding can influence how the role and value of the early years are discussed beyond the sector itself.

How ECEC is framed, as an individual family responsibility, an education system, essential social infrastructure or a shared community responsibility, can shape the solutions people regard as appropriate.

The research provides advocates and sector leaders with an opportunity to consider not only what they communicate about early childhood, but how those messages may influence public understanding and support for reform.

The FrameWorks Institute said the wider project will continue to measure early childhood mindsets over time while developing and testing ways to change the public conversation and policy environment surrounding the early years.

Measuring Early Years Mindsets: Patterns of Thinking That Shape Australia’s Future is available from the FrameWorks Institute.