Evidence-Informed Practice Through Research-Engaged Early Childhood Teachers

A recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report questions how education research can be more relevant and impactful and presents the first steps towards addressing this knowledge gap. In Australia, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF v.2) acknowledges the importance of research evidence to inform practice, positioning early childhood teachers as consumers of research and producers of contextual knowledge related to practice. For this to be realised, early childhood teachers need opportunities to engage with research and build their research literacy. This chapter presents the Supporting Oral Language Development (SOLD) programme as one example of engaging early childhood teachers in comprehensive and contextualised research to inform their own practices. Data excerpts from this qualitative research study, located in Victoria, Australia, of how teachers collected evidence, analysed, and applied findings to inform their practices to support young children’s oral language learning are highlighted to provide practical examples of research-engaged teachers. The chapter showcases how the development of research literacy assists teachers to use critical skills to become involved in the production of research through the shaping of their own research projects, leading to evidence-informed practices that impact children’s oral language development.