OPINION ARTICLES
Quality
Practice
Research
Curiouser and Curiouser: What Alice helps us see about who should teach
This article follows on from my earlier piece, Who should work with young children?, where I explored how the dispositions we value in those who work in early childhood education, shape not only who enters the profession, but how the work itself is imagined. This is where that thinking has brought me.
2025-12-19 07:15:35
by Contributed Content
Workforce
Quality
Research
When did it start to go wrong?
Looking back at the changes in how we deliver early learning since the 1990's, I'm back tracking what sent us down the proverbial toilet. Trying to think objectively about it , it's evident to me that when the focus shifted to parents instead of children everything we did and how we did it changed. The more early learning became competition for warm bodies, the bigger the shift in who really mattered at kindy.
2025-12-18 08:00:46
by Fiona Alston
Quality
Workforce
Practice
Research
Let’s not lose the word 'Children'
Across the early childhood profession, our language is constantly evolving. We reflect deeply on the words we use; how they shape identity, how they frame relationships, and how they influence the way children experience their world. Yet one quiet shift has been occurring in our sector, almost unnoticed: the gradual move away from the word children.
2025-12-18 07:45:13
by Fiona Alston
Practice
Provider
Quality
Workforce
Strengthening Early Childhood Education: Insights and reflections
With over 40 years of experience in early childhood education, I have witnessed firsthand the joys and challenges faced by families and educators across Australia. My journey has taken me through diverse settings, from bustling metropolitan centres to quiet regional communities, and from for-profit organisations to passionate not-for-profits. For eight years, I had the privilege of teaching at TAFE, preparing future educators to make a difference.
2025-12-18 07:30:05
by Fiona Alston
Practice
Quality
Workforce
It’s the people – full stop. Why early learning reforms must start with educators
Real reform in early learning has always hinged on one truth: if you get the people right, everything else follows.
2025-12-05 05:28:48
by Fiona Alston
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Economics
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3 Day Guarantee comes into effect: New CCS rules unlock access for families and children
2026-01-05 06:30:55
by Fiona Alston
Workforce
Quality
Canberra early learning service honoured with national award for team excellence
2026-01-05 07:00:44
by Fiona Alston
Workforce
Quality
Practice
Research
Embedding culture every day: Evans Head–Woodburn Preschool recognised for reconciliation leadership
2026-01-05 08:00:05
by Fiona Alston
