Our purpose is to make a sustained impact upon the lives of young Australians through advancing the quality of early learning experiences for all children.
The REEaCh Centre has three priorities of research and engagement in early childhood education and care: the quality of early childhood education programs, the equitable participation of all children in high-quality programs, and the importance of educational leadership to sustained quality improvement in early childhood education programs.
REEaCh Research
-
Teacher effectiveness
Our research on teacher effectiveness focuses on teacher–child interactions and assessment for learning practices as valuable ways to maximise young children’s learning and development outcomes, and address disparities in child development early in life.
-
Children's Outcomes
Our research on children's learning outcomes, demonstrates the mechanisms (e.g., sufficient quality and intensity) by which early childhood education programs impact children’s learning and development.
-
The Research Network
Educators and early childhood professionals across Australia are invited to join our Research Network of Early Childhood Professionals, to collaborate in research and give voice to real-world issues in early childhood education and care (ECEC).
-
The EDGE Study
The Educational and Developmental Gains in Early Childhood (EDGE) study is a partnership with The Front Project and the Victorian Department of Education and Training for a a five-year evaluation of the state-wide roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten in Victoria.
The REEaCh Centre was established in 2019, with a generous philanthropic investment from Jenny and John Leaper. Learn more
What's on at REEaCH
Professor Tricia Eadie
+61 3 90354503
peadie@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Director, The REEaCh Centre
Associate Professor Jane Page OAM
+61(3) 8344 4502
j.page@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Associate Director, Pedagogy and Leadership Research, The REEaCh Centre
Dr Penny Levickis
+61 3 8344 9406
penny.levickis@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Senior Research Fellow, The REEaCh Centre
Dr Amelia Church
+61 3 8344 0957
achurch@unimelb.edu.au
Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood
Dr Sarah Young
Senior Lecturer Early Childhood/Early Years Education
Dr Laura McFarland
+61 448 967 157
laura.mcfarland@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Research Fellow, The REEaCh Centre
Dr Hannah Stark
hannah.stark@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Research Fellow, The REEaCh Centre
Lisa Murray
+61 412 372 943
lisa.murray1@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Research Fellow, The REEaCh Centre
Dr Lynn Lee-Pang
llee@unimelb.edu.au
Find an Expert
Research Fellow, The REEaCh Centre
Halina McNally
+61 3 8344 0041
halina.mcnally@unimelb.edu.au
About
Project Officer, The REEaCh Centre
Lizzie Grech
+61383444681
lizzie.grech@unimelb.edu.au
Project Officer, The REEaCh Centre
Educational Leadership in Early Childhood MicroCert series
In 2021 four Melbourne MicroCerts will be offered as part of the Educational Leadership in Early Childhood Series. Melbourne MicroCerts are the University of Melbourne’s unique microcredential offering. They are 8-week online courses which are industry aligned and support ECEC educational leaders and educators to engage with cutting edge research and world-class pedagogical practice. Each Melbourne MicroCerts can be taken as a stand-alone course, or you can complete all four Melbourne Microcerts in the Educational Leadership in Early Childhood series as a pathway into the Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching. Learn more about the first two Melbourne MicroCerts:
Leading Learning for Quality Improvement
Leading Learning through Partnerships
The Abecedarian Approach Australia (3a)
Staff in the REEaCh Centre are at the forefront of research, training and implementation of the 3a strategies Australia wide.
3a is a set of evidence-based teaching and learning strategies for early childhood educators and parents to use with children from birth to five. Research has shown that 3a delivers enhanced educational outcomes by enriching and enhancing educator practice – both before and after a child starts school.
For more information about 3a and training visit https://3a.education.unimelb.edu.au
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)™
The CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) Observation Training program enables participants to develop capacity and confidence in providing feedback on teacher practice to improve children’s learning and development outcomes. The program involves observing teacher-child interactions and providing feedback to help new and experienced teachers become more effective. The program also helps educational leaders and teachers to lead and develop other educators in their settings.
MGSE is an authorised trainer in CLASS in Australia across Toddler, Pre-K and K-3 levels. View more information about training.
Both the Abecedarian Approach Australia and the CLASS Training are available through the Victorian DET’s School Readiness Funding. Details are available on the Victorian DET's website.
Current projects
-
Child Wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic
The REEaCh Hub are conducting an online survey with members of the Research Network to understand more about EC professionals’ thoughts and experiences in relation to the social and emotional health of children in early childhood settings.
-
Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS)
ELVS is a longitudinal epidemiological study of the emerging communication, language and literacy skills of approximately 1800 Victorian children born in 2002.
-
Early Learning Teaching Trial
The REEaCh Hub, in partnership with the Centre for Program Evaluation, have been engaged by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment to deliver the Early Learning Teaching Trial (the trial), an initiative under the Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.
-
Early Years Assessment for Learning Tool
The Assessment Research Centre, in partnership with the Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood Hub (REEaCh), is working with the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training to develop a Teaching Tool for Kindergartens (the Tool).
-
EDGE - The Educational and Developmental Gains in Early Childhood Study
-
Examining evidence use in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and schools
The REEaCh Hub, in partnership with the Centre for Program Evaluation (CPE), is working with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) to examine educators’ use of evidence in Early Childhood Education and Care services and schools across Australia.
-
Family engagement with Early Childhood Education and Care during the COVID-19 pandemic
Led by Dr Penny Levickis, this research project aims to find out if the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way families use and interact with their early childhood education and care services.
-
Learning from COVID-19 crisis in early childhood education: Educator wellbeing and family engagement
Led by the REEaCh Hub, this project is a partnership with the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), and Goodstart Early Learning.
-
Mini-Maddern Pop-up Playground
This project is a study of the critical elements in designing temporary play spaces for children.
-
Research Network of Early Childhood Professionals
The Research Network of Early Childhood Professionals was established in 2019, with the aim of inviting early childhood professionals in Australia to generate and facilitate high quality research into common, real-world issues in Early Childhood Education (ECE).
-
School Readiness Funding Initiative Evaluation
The Centre for Program Evaluation in collaboration with the Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood Hub have been engaged by the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training (DET) to undertake an evaluation of the School Readiness Funding (SRF) Initiative.
Recent projects
-
Building a Bridge into Preschool in Remote Northern Territory Communities
In collaboration with Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in the NT Department of Education (DoE), the study aims to increase the school readiness of young Indigenous children in two remote communities in the Territory.
-
Early Childhood Learning at the Museum
The project explored language and concepts used in museum programs for young children, and how this learning was embedded in the early childhood curriculum after museum visits.
-
Every Toddler Talking Research Evaluation
The Every Toddler Talking (ETT) research trial aligns with the Victorian Government Education State priorities to achieve earlier engagement in high quality learning, better connection between services, and better support for children and families experiencing disadvantage.
-
Families as First Teachers (FaFT) Online Coaching study
The FaFT online coaching study is a one-year project funded by the Northern Territory Government’s Department of Education to examine the impact of targeted coaching and web-based support on FaFT Family educators’ (FE’s) and Family Liaison Officers’ (FLO’s) fidelity of implementation of conversational reading teaching strategies in their daily interactions with mothers and young children attending the FaFT playgroups in 10 remote Northern Territory communities.
-
Improving children's language, literacy and mental health: Evaluating the impact of the Classroom Promotion of Oral Language (CPOL) approach
This project is led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Deakin University and partnering with Catholic Education Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Education.
-
Improving Teaching Skills for Early Childhood Educators (ITSECE)
Improving Teaching Skills for Early Childhood Educators (ITSECE) is a project carried out in partnership with the Victorian Curriculum & Assessment Authority (VCAA) to validate and test the reliability of a self-reflection tool that focuses on the quality of instructional support provided by teachers of children aged from three to five years.
-
Literacy Teaching Resource
This study aims to document effective teaching strategies in reading, writing speaking and listening in Victorian early childhood centres and primary schools.
-
Parent and child wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic
In 2020, REEaCh conducted an Australia-wide survey about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parent and child wellbeing, parent-child relationships, the home learning environment, and young children’s learning and development.
-
The Victorian Advancing Early Learning (VAEL) Study
The Victorian Advancing Early Learning Study was a three-year research project funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Training.
Student projects
The influence of coaching interactions on early childhood educators’ learning
Catriona Elek. Supervisors: A/Prof Jane Page and A/Prof Tricia Eadie
Implementing Inclusive Education in Early Childhood Settings
Olivia Penna. Supervisors: Prof Tricia Eadie, Prof Lorraine Graham & A/Prof Jane Page
Connecting policy and parents in the early childhood education and care sector
Phyllis Jackson. Supervisors: A/Prof Jane Page and Dr Di Mulchavy
The perceptions and experiences of professionals in the early childhood sector regarding ways in which professional reading has supported them to engage with evidence-based practices to improve learning, development and wellbeing outcomes for young children
Jackie Brien. Supervisors: A/Prof Jane Page and Dr Jeanette Berman
Research interest: Looking at effective teaching practices in kindergarten classrooms in low and middle income countries.
Adeola Monty. Supervisors: Prof Janet Clinton, A/Prof Jane Page and Dr Rhonda di Biase
Young children making meaning through co-creating art installations.
Jo Dean. Supervisors: Dr Marnee Watkins and Dr Robert Brown