What if the true measure of early childhood education isn’t a government benchmark, but a feeling?

The essence of childhood may be difficult to quantify, but a group of academics is unlocking the science of delight to focus on what should really be driving the early childhood sector; joy.

Amid the corporate collapses, child abuse scandals and workforces woes, Australian researchers believe that the sense of wonder has never left childcare, it just takes a little effort to find.

So Notre Dame University senior lecturer Olivia Karaolis and her University of Sydney colleague Cathy Little have had a crack, researching the concept of joy in early childhood education since 2023.

The results of their survey of dozens of early childhood educators has informed the team’s latest piece of academ

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