Australian Early Development Census

Last updated

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a nationwide initiative that measures the development of children in their first year of full-time school, providing comprehensive data on the health, well-being, and learning outcomes of Australian children. [1]

Contents

Background

First introduced in 2009, the AEDC is conducted every three years across all states and territories of Australia, covering approximately 305,000 children. [2] The results of the AEDC are used by policymakers, educators, and health professionals to inform the development of programs and policies aimed at improving the early childhood development outcomes of all Australian children. [3] [4]

The AEDC focuses on five key areas of early childhood development called domains: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based), and communication and general knowledge. By collecting data on these domains, the AEDC generates a national snapshot of the developmental progress of Australian children, highlighting areas of strength and identifying where additional support may be needed. [4]

The AEDC is a collaborative effort between the Australian Government and state and territory governments, and is managed by the Australian Department of Education. [5]

Development

The AEDC was developed by the Australian Department of Education, in collaboration with the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Dr. Sally Brinkman played a key role in the development and implementation of the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) first piloted in 2004, which was then adapted in the way data was collected and reported to become the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) in 2009. [6] One of the key features of the AEDC is that the data is made publicly available for communities to use. This means that educators, health professionals, researchers, and community organizations can access and use AEDC data to inform their work and better understand the needs of children in their communities. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health education</span> Education for awareness of and influence on the attitude of health

Health education is a profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health, as well as sexual and reproductive health education.

The social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status. They are the health promoting factors found in one's living and working conditions, rather than individual risk factors that influence the risk for a disease, or vulnerability to disease or injury. The distributions of social determinants are often shaped by public policies that reflect prevailing political ideologies of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Bureau of Statistics</span> Federal statistics and census agency of the Australian Government

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government, responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments. The ABS collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, environmental and social issues, publishing many on their website. The ABS also operates the national Census of Population and Housing that occurs every five years.

Lifestart, a not for profit organisation and registered charity, provides early intervention and school age years inclusion support programs and supports to children and young people 0 – 24 years living with disability or developmental delay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Education (Victoria)</span>

The Department of Education is a government department in Victoria, Australia.

Hands On Learning Australia is a not-for-profit organisation listed as a Harm Prevention Charity by the Australian Government. The charity was assisted to come into being by Social Ventures Australia and became an Australian company in 2008 with a board of directors providing governance and oversight. The charity was formed to expand the implementation of a secondary school reengagement program started some nine years previously by high school teacher Russell Kerr, at Frankston high school. The organisation has gained the patronage of Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. From April 1, 2017 Hands On Learning Australia merged with Save the Children Australia.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is an Australian Government statutory agency in the Department of Social Services. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its role is to conduct research and communicate findings that affect family wellbeing to policy makers, service providers and the broader community.

The National Childcare Accreditation Council(NCAC) was a non-profit organization based in Sydney, Australia, in operation between 1993 and 2011. The Council was funded by and accountable to the Australian Government and was responsible for administering Child Care Quality Assurance (CCQA). In December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced a National Partnership Agreement to a New Quality Agenda to replace the regulatory processes administered by state and territory governments and the Child Care Quality Assurance systems administered by NCAC from January 2012. The Council was superseded by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority.

The Early Years Learning Framework, together with the National Quality Standard, forms the policies around early childhood education in Australia.

The National Quality Standard is the benchmark for the quality of Early Childhood Education & Care in Australia.

The Closing the Gap framework is an Australian government strategy that aims to reduce disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, education and economic opportunity targets. The strategy was launched in 2008 in response to the Close the Gap social justice movement, and revised in 2020 with additional targets and a refreshed strategy.

The Top Blokes Foundation is an Australian-based non-government organisation that addresses young men’s health outcomes and provides social education programs to young men and boys. Founded in 2006, Top Blokes Foundation has worked with Australian young men to improve their behaviour, wellbeing and their relationship with schools and communities.

Phoenix P-12 Community College is a school located in the Ballarat suburb of Sebastopol, Victoria, Australia. It formed in 2011 with the amalgamation of Sebastopol College and Redan Primary School. The school was named after the Phoenix mine, located south of the school.

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is a policy research institution at the University of Chicago that focuses on child welfare and family well-being. Chapin Hall is funded through social service systems, foundations, and non-profit organizations. The organization's focus areas include child welfare and foster care systems, youth homelessness, and community capacity to support children, youth, and families. Chapin Hall is an affiliated research center of the University of Chicago.

ACIL Allen is an Australian economics and policy consulting firm, specialising in the use of applied economics and econometrics to analyse, develop and evaluate policy, strategy and programs. It is the result of the April 2013 merger between Allen Consulting Group and ACIL Tasman. ACIL Allen employs 65 consultants in offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational management</span> Administration of education systems

Educational management refers to the administration of the education system in which a group combines human and material resources to supervise, plan, strategise, and implement structures to execute an education system. Education is the equipping of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, habits, and attitudes with learning experiences. The education system is an ecosystem of professionals in educational institutions, such as government ministries, unions, statutory boards, agencies, and schools. The education system consists of political heads, principals, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, administrative personnel and other educational professionals working together to enrich and enhance. At all levels of the educational ecosystem, management is required; management involves the planning, organising, implementation, review, evaluation, and integration of an institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G8 Education</span> Australian childcare conglomerate

G8 Education is Australia’s largest ASX-listed early childhood and care (ECEC) provider. Its 430+ childcare centres are marketed under 21 brands such as Kindy Patch Kids, Jellybeans, Kinder Haven, First Grammar, Community Kids, Pelicans Learning for Life and Casa Bambini. G8 Education’s head office is located in Gold Coast., Australia. Across Australia, G8 Education cares for around 50,000 children every week and employs almost 10,000 employees.

Dr. Sally Brinkman is a social epidemiologist with a focus on early childhood development and the impact of society on children's short and long term outcomes. Brinkman led the development and implementation of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) for population level data across Australia, now known as the nationwide Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) measuring over 300,000 children in how they have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. Brinkman works for international organisations including World Bank, UNICEF and AusAID, and has over 100 publications covering child development and education. Brinkman is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide and the co-director of the Fraser Mustard Centre, an initiative to improve research translation established between the Telethon Kids Institute and the South Australian Department for Education.

Sharon Goldfeld is a paediatrician and public health physician, who is Director of the Centre for Community and Child Health at the Royal Children's Hospital, Co-Group Leader of the Policy and Equity Research Group, and Theme Director, Population Health, at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

References

  1. Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data to support policy and planning for early childhood development, education.sa.gov.au, 2022-10-14, retrieved 2023-03-28
  2. Collier, Luke R.; Gregory, Tess; Harman-Smith, Yasmin; Gialamas, Angela; Brinkman, Sally A. (2020-11-01). "Inequalities in child development at school entry: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Australian Early Development Census 2009–2018". The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific. 4: 100057. doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100057. hdl: 2440/133126 . ISSN   2666-6065. PMC   8315438 . PMID   34327392.
  3. "Executive summary | Victorian Government". www.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  4. 1 2 The Allen Consulting Group and the McCaughey Centre: VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing 2010 Local Champions — Turning the AEDI into action, Report to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Melbourne.
  5. Standards, Educational (2022-08-01). "AEDC Frequently asked questions for families". education.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  6. Brinkman, Sally A; Gregory, Tess A; Goldfeld, Sharon; Lynch, John W; Hardy, Matthew (August 2014). "Data Resource Profile: The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI)". International Journal of Epidemiology. 43 (4): 1089–1096. doi:10.1093/ije/dyu085. ISSN   0300-5771. PMC   4258780 . PMID   24771275.
  7. "Australia's children, The transition to primary school". Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  8. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2016). Developing the National Early Childhood Development Researchable Data Set. Canberra, ACT. ISBN   978-1-74249-628-3. OCLC   1100058109.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)