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Research and advocacy

Research and advocacy

Since its creation in 2014, Early Start Research has gathered researchers from diverse disciplines and across Schools to work to overcome disadvantage, advance children's rights, and positively impact the lives of children, youth, and families.

Early Start's Research primary business is to conduct world-class, evidence-based research that drives government policy, and assists industry professionals and the broader public in making informed educational decisions for policy and practice.

Early Start Institute

In 2024, Early Start widened the scope of research to focus not only on the child, but their adults, their communities and surrounding systems.

The breadth of Early Start research is summed up under the C.H.I.L.D model:

Key topics

  • Country centred practices
  • Ancients: Old People, flora and fauna
  • Truth Telling
  • Reciprocity, Respect, Responsibility
  • Cultural Leadership

Key topics

  • Movement
  • Nutrition
  • Wellbeing
  • Environments
  • Sports psychology
  • Perinatal

 

Key topics

  • Physical, social and virtual contexts
  • Family, parents, carers and siblings
  • Intergenerational connections
  • Peers
  • Empowering child voices
  • Social narratives (marketing, media)

Key topics

  • Educational trajectories, continuity and transition
  • Formal and informal learning contexts
  • Children's meaning making of current issues
  • Curiosity and creative expression
  • Workforce development
  • Frameworks, Curriculum, and Pedagogy

Key topics

  • Child development (physical, social, emotional, cognitive)
  • Self-regulation and executive functions
  • Assessments, measures and tools
  • Neurodivergence and neurodiversity-affirming practices
  • Economic models for childhood

Early Start research prioritises:

  • Health, development and connections across the life course
  • A commitment to social justice through partnerships built on trust
  • Innovative methods, including interdisciplinary, digital and a focus on children's rights
  • Research impact and translation for positive futures for the child, their adults, their communities and surrounding systems

Early Start has over 70 internationally recognised academic members and 50 higher degree student members across the University. Researchers work to generate evidence and solutions to real challenges (e.g., healthy pregnancies, digital childhoods, mental health, successful learning transitions, workforces in crisis - educators and health professionals). 

Early Start leverages extensive partnerships, networks and dissemination paths–and its reputation as a trusted source for families, communities, industries and government–to ensure insights reach those who can benefit. 

With its on-site 'living lab', the Early Start Discovery Space, as well as engagement spaces, commercial kitchen and learning labs, Early Start offers a unique set of resources to conduct and immediately translate cutting edge research.

Our research teams have led influential policy submissions, healthy development guidelines, and many successful tenders for government.

Impacting policy and practice

Early Start Research is focused on impacting policy and practice, not only in the communities with which our researchers work, but nationally and internationally. Early Start Research has worked to impact policy and practice through:

  • Involvement in the development of the World Health Organization guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep for children under 5 years of age; and leading the development of the World Health Organization global standards for healthy eating and movement behaviours in the early years.
  • Development and validation of the Early Years Toolbox, a collection of game-like iPad-based assessments that provide early childhood educators and researchers with information about children’s progress in foundational areas of learning and development. The EYT assessments have been accessed by more than 11,000 users, across more than 50 countries and 5 continents, and have now been translated into more than a dozen languages. In the Australian context, the EYT is currently being piloted by Australia’s largest early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider and by education providers in highly disadvantaged and regional/remote areas.
  • Leading an international study of movement behaviours in the early years, bringing together over 35 low, middle, and high income countries across the globe.
  • Exploration of the trajectories of children attending the Early Start Discovery Space.
  • Development of partnerships and collaborations with leading researchers and industry experts.
  • Partnering with Early Education and Care Centres and organisations throughout NSW to engage in collaborative research and support educators professional development and influence child outcomes.

Ready to collaborate?

If you are interested in discussing a research partnership with Early Start, please email us

earlystart-rp@uow.edu.au