Bronwyn Beecher’s research while affiliated with Western Sydney University and other places

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Publications (8)


E-learning: Do our students want it and do we care
  • Article
  • Full-text available

January 2006

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91 Reads

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3 Citations

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Bronwyn Beecher

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Roslyn Elliott

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Early childhood courses at the University of Western Sydney are at a watershed. Program restructuring has embraced the challenges of the changing contexts of Australian early childhood education and the dynamic multicultural, multilingual, multi-aged communities of Western Sydney. These conditions have resulted in the reconceptualisation of the content and delivery of initial and continuing education for early childhood professionals at UWS. This paper will present research conducted by the early childhood staff team as they document and analyse the introduction of new courses using a blended learning approach.

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Sharing the Lived Experiences of Children

June 2003

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20 Reads

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5 Citations

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

This article explores possibilities for linking children, families and early childhood settings through processes that celebrate and document the richness of children's daily realities. Changing images of the child, greater recognition of the child in social contexts of the family, community and the early childhood setting, as well as the dynamic nature of early childhood services have contributed to innovative approaches to curriculum and documentation. New ways of thinking about children and planning affirm children's competencies and celebrate their learning. Effective learning communities involve the collaboration of children and families in all stages of documentation and decision-making.


Languages and literacies in early childhood: At home and in early childhood settings

January 2002

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27 Reads

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11 Citations

This paper reports on one aspect of a collaborative early childhood literacy research project in New South Wales, Australia, where two government departments and three universities investigated the language and literacy environments of preschool age children at home and in settings. Researchers observed and rated the environments of 80 early childhood settings, followed by interviews with staff members working in the setting as well as focus group discussions with representative family members. The project focused on families and settings of children from Aboriginal, bilingual and low socio-economic backgrounds. In settings with strong levels of congruence between family and staff perspectives on early literacies, both stakeholders shared understandings of cultural and family practices, in comparison to those settings where shared understandings about diverse literacies were not present.


Effective Learning Environments for Young Children Using Digital Resources: An Australian Perspective

August 2001

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338 Reads

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64 Citations

The use of digital resources in early childhood settings in Australia is a recent phenomenon. In 1999 Education.Au, a company funded by the various educational authorities in Australia, commissioned a study of the educational use of the Internet with children eight years and under. Data were col-lected through a literature review and discussions or inter-views with all stakeholders in early childhood education: children, families, early childhood educators, school system representatives, academics, researchers, policy makers and advisers. This paper reports on the major outcome of the commissioned study: a pedagogical framework for the use of digital resources in early childhood settings. The framework includes a rationale and a description of the key elements of effective practice: quality resources, effective learning envi-ronments and appropriate teacher interactions


Assessing Internet Resources for Early Childhood Education

January 2001

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107 Reads

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1 Citation

Educators and parents must make sound educational decisions about of digital resources for use with young children. This paper reports on a project which evaluated current online resources for children eight years and younger. Over sixty sites were evaluated. Analysis examined the availability and quality of the sites and suitability for two groups: under fives and over fives. Many sites were difficult for young children to use independently and demanded expertise with literacy processes beyond the level of children in this age group.




Citations (5)


... Many parents seemed to have shifted their practices from a traditional view, framed in terms of reading and writing, to an expanded view that includes new and multiple literacies. More recent research has focused on parents' attitudes toward incorporating other aspects into the HLE, including formal and informal literacy activities such as reading, phonics awareness, and using technological tools such as watching television and using computers in learning emergent literacy (Castles et al., 2014;Jones Díaz, Arthur, Beecher, & McNaught, 2000;Skwarchuk et al., 2014). For instance, Australian researchers Jones Díaz et al. (2000) investigated literacy practices among parents from specific cultural backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Arabic-speaking families at home and prior-to-school settings in New South Wales. ...

Reference:

Title: Culture and Communication: Revealing Limits to Literacy-Learning Communications in Saudi Children's Home and Kindergarten Communities (From theory to Practice)
Multiple literacies in early childhood: What do families and communities think about their children's early literacy learning?
  • Citing Article
  • January 2000

... Such experiences shape the construction of a particular habitus. This suggests that early childhood settings need to be more embracing of new technologiesin this case computersif they are to provide quality learning environments for the digital natives who are now entering them (Downes, Arthur, & Beecher, 2021). For the digital natives entering the range of early childhood services, their exposure to technologies is often vast and has shaped them in different ways from other generations, including that of the teaching staff. ...

Effective Learning Environments for Young Children Using Digital Resources: An Australian Perspective

... Large-scale, research-based model projects followed by planned implementation of successful models appears to be a wiser strategy. Finally, policy makers should realize that market forces alone would not provide highquality content; new incentives are needed to fill noncommercial content and needs of all members of our society (Downes, Arthur, Beecher, & Kemp, 1999; Wartella & Jennings, 2000). Thus, there are areas of agreement, and in a recent face-to-face discussion with one of the editors of Fool's gold, Edward Miller, we found conversation about concerns flowed easily. ...

APPROPRIATE EDNA SERVICES FOR CHILDREN EIGHT YEARS AND YOUNGER
  • Citing Article

... Classroom environment is crucial for successful second language acquisition 'as a social context for speaking and listening' (Datta, 2007, p. 23). Many studies show that classroom areas (Neuman & Roskos, 2002;Jolliffe & Waugh, 2015), natural and real situations (Beecher & Makin, 2002), and the kind of activities or resources used (Browne, 2001) directly influence a child's achievement of a proper English reading level. Moreover, it is important to mention that the literacy process starts when children are born and it is influenced by the sociocultural context which surrounds them (Neuman & Roskos, 2002). ...

Languages and literacies in early childhood: At home and in early childhood settings
  • Citing Article
  • January 2002

... Properly implemented, emerging technologies in e-learning have the potential to change and improve education, allow for innovation in curricula, and reshape the nature of knowledge mobilisation in education (Dede, 1999;Delich et al., 2008;Arthur, Beecher, Elliot & Newman, 2006). The term "emerging technologies" has become a "buzz word" in different domains such as commerce and academia, and as such it is worth defining it in the context of this study. ...

E-learning: Do our students want it and do we care