Access to early childhood education in Australia: insights from a qualitative study

Based on interviews with 94 parents in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia, this report investigates parents\u27 knowledge of and attitudes towards early childhood education. Executive summary This report documents the background, methodology and findings from the Access to Early Childhood Education (AECE): Qualitative Study, undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and commissioned by the then Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR; now the Department of Education) on behalf of the Early Childhood Data Subgroup (ECDSG). This research was commissioned within the context of the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education (NP ECE), which jointly committed the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments to achieving universal access to preschool by 2013. The AECE Qualitative Study was undertaken in order to develop a qualitative evidence base about how the concept of “access” to early childhood education (ECE) is defined and understood, and to explore what reasons and barriers exist in relation to access to ECE. A qualitative framework was chosen for this study to enable more in-depth study of any barriers to ECE, and/or factors that lead to parents making particular decisions about their children’s use of ECE. &nbsp

Past adoption experiences: Impacts, insights and implications for policy and practice

The National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices examined the extent and effects of closed adoptions in Australia, to strengthen the evidence available to governments and service providers in addressing the current needs of those affected. With over 1500 participants, the study results provide an indepth understanding of the complex and, in many cases, urgent public health needs of those affected. These implications not only include the addressing the effects of ongoing trauma, grief and loss associated with past practices, but also the implications for adopted individuals and subsequent generations who want access to genetic and medical histories. The article highlights the characteristics of practice interventions that study participants deemed necessary to adequately respond to their current needs and, importantly, reflects on the parallels existing between the current adoption and assisted reproduction environments and the lessons needing to be learned from past practices

Past adoption experiences: Impacts, insights and implications for policy and practice

The National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices examined the extent and effects of closed adoptions in Australia, to strengthen the evidence available to governments and service providers in addressing the current needs of those affected. With over 1500 participants, the study results provide an in-depth understanding of the complex and, in many cases, urgent public health needs of those affected. These implications not only include the addressing the effects of ongoing trauma, grief and loss associated with past practices, but also the implications for adopted individuals and subsequent generations who want access to genetic and medical histories. The article highlights the characteristics of practice interventions that study participants deemed necessary to adequately respond to their current needs and, importantly, reflects on the parallels existing between the current adoption and assisted reproduction environments and the lessons needing to be learned from past practices

Past adoption experiences

The key focus of the study is to improve knowledge about the extent and effects of past adoption practices, and to strengthen the evidence available to governments to address the current needs of individuals affected by past adoption practices, including information, counselling, search and contact services, and other supports. The practices in Australia around the permanent transfer of parental legal rights and responsibilities from a child’s birth parent(s) to adoptive parent(s) have varied over time. The Australian Senate noted in their report on the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices (Senate Community Affairs References Committee, 2012; “the Senate Inquiry”) that “adoption as it is now understood is a peculiarly twentieth century phenomenon” (p. 3). Not only have adoption practices in Australia undergone considerable change, so too have society’s responses to pregnancies outside of marriage and single motherhood. Until a range of social, legal and economic changes in the 1970s, unwed (single) women who were pregnant were encouraged—or forced—to “give up” their babies for adoption. The shame and silence that surrounded pregnancy out of wedlock meant that these women were seen as “unfit” mothers. The practices at the time, called “closed adoption”, were seen as the solution. “Closed adoption” was where an adopted child’s original birth certificate was sealed forever and an amended birth certificate issued that established the child’s new identity and relationship with their adoptive family. Given the prevalence of adoption in Australia in the second half of the twentieth century— particularly in the 1960s and early 1970s—a significant proportion of the population has had some experience of or exposure to issues relating to adoption. The rationale for conducting the current study—the National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices—is to improve the adequacy of the evidence base for understanding the issues and the needs of those affected. Despite there being a wealth of primary material, there has been little systematic research on the experience of past adoption practices in Australia. The focus has also been on mothers’ experiences of “forced adoption” and the experiences of adoptees, with less focus on fathers, adoptive parents and other family members

Local service provision to counter violent extremism : perspectives, capabilities and challenges arising from an Australian service mapping project

Authorities are increasingly engaging community-based organisations and social service providers to help them prevent and reverse radicalisation. However, little is known about community-based services for youth at risk of violent extremism and whether service providers have the necessary capacity and willingness to take on this role. This paper reports the results of research undertaken in 2016 to map community-based services for youth at risk of violent extremism in Australia. Research teams examined the capabilities and needs of service providers across three of Australia’s most populous states, which have experienced several dozen counterterrorism operations. Interviews with service providers indicated they have specific conceptions of what constitutes violent extremism, the likely causes and how they should be addressed. While it was found that, in general, service providers are willing to engage in practices that could help prevent individuals radicalising to extremism, a range of constraints and capability gaps were identified. The agencies that were interviewed believed that providing services aimed at countering violent extremism (CVE) involved significant risks, relating to the impact on the provision of current services, the ability to engage clients and adverse community reactions. The paper considers the implications of the results for the delivery of CVE policy and practice