Education Research Projects

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012), Cycle 3 (2015), Cycle 4 (2018)

States: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Department of Education

The project aims to provide insights into the characteristics and educational performance of students with low English Language Proficiency (ELP) and contribute to an improved understanding of effective educational support for this cohort. Findings are for internal use only and may be drawn on to support evidence-informed policy development.

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 3 (2015), Cycle 4 (2018)

States: NSW

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Wollongong City Council

The purpose of the report is to provide a snapshot of how children in the Wollongong Local Government Area are developing in comparison to state and national benchmarks. This report will be a valuable resource for our community. This report will become a useful tool for local organisations and service providers, as it will be used to inform the planning of services and programs for children across the Wollongong Local Government Area.

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012), Cycle 3 (2015), Cycle 4 (2018)

States: QLD

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: University of Melbourne now at University of Queensland

The objective of this project is to examine the impact of the school-starting-age on children's early development, using the Australian Early Development Census (2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018). The research question to be addressed is whether the age at which children enter school has any impact on their development and whether those effects differ between boys and girls. This is an important question given the practice of holding back children to allow them to start a year later, and how this practice differs between boys and girls and Australian States. This project will help assessing if and who benefits from being held back.

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 3 (2015), Cycle 4 (2018)

States: NT

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Menzies School of Health Research

As part of the NT Government’s commitment to improving outcomes for Territory children and young people, the Department of Chief Minister is working with Menzies School of Health Research in the preparation of a report “Story of Our Children and Young People”. It will detail the wellbeing of young Territorians aged 0-24 years across six domain areas – being loved and safe, having essential needs met, being healthy, learning, participating and having a positive sense of culture and identity. Menzies have worked with an independent Editorial Committee to shape the Story using 60-70 measures of wellbeing.

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012), Cycle 3 (2015), Cycle 4 (2018)

States: SA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: The University of South Australia

The project fits within a larger NHMRC-funded study, entitled ‘Consequences of child maltreatment in Australia’. The overarching aim of the add-on project is to understand the pathways into resilience for South Australian children exposed to maltreatment, using AEDC developmental domains as indicators of resilience. The study will examine resilience indicators for children in their first school year and their association with past child protection (CP) system involvement and then disseminate this information to key stakeholders, the scientific community, and SA public.

Date: January 2024

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012), Cycle 3 (2015)

States: ACT

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Australian National University

Date: August 2017

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009)

States: VIC

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Royal Children's Hospital

The Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS) is a unique longitudinal study following a cohort of over 1200 children through the middle years of school. CATS is based in and around metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria. The study began in 2012 when the children were in Grade 3 and approximately eight years of age. Data is collected annually and to date five waves of data collection have been completed.

Date: January 2017

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 3 (2015)

States: VIC

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

The study uses AEDC data alongside administrative data held by the Department of Education and Training to evaluate the impact of the Linking Learning project in demonstration sites across Victoria. The Linking Learning project aims to improve learning outcomes for Victorian children from birth to age 12, by focusing on enabling parents, educators and other practitioners and professionals to work effectively together in an integrated manner to support children’s learning and assist in smooth transition processes.

Date: August 2015

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 2 (2012)

States: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Department of Education and Training

This project examines the effects of different early childhood and child care (ECCC) arrangements on early childhood development outcomes, focusing primarily on children’s readiness for school at the start of kindergarten. The study builds on research undertaken at the national and international level to assess how levels of child participation in different ECCC arrangements impact their development across the five AEDC domains (physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional). The research aims to establish evidential links between intensity of exposure to ECCC services and children’s school readiness, and measure the extent to which children's school readiness varies by the differential exposure to ECCC services.

Date: May 2015

States: WA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Telethon Kids Institute

Although the 2009 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data collection was the first nationwide assessment of child development in Australia, the instrument has been used in Australia since 2003 when the test was administered to children in the North Metropolitan Health Service of Perth.  These children have now completed their Year 3 Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (WALNA) testing, and Year 5, 7 and 9 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing.  The Department of Education in Western Australia has recently undertaken matching of this sample and managed to link approximately 70% of the children in government schools resulting in a sample of approximately 2200 children.   This WA sample therefore provides the first opportunity to understand the relationship between the AEDC and NAPLAN and how well the AEDC predicts later school performance.

Date: October 2014

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012)

States: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Telethon Kids Institute

This is the first paper to investigate the relationship between the EDI and the national standard school assessments in Australia. A child’s skills, development and attributes at school entry (as measured by the EDI) predict their latter literacy and numeracy skills as assessed by the National Assessment Program Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN). The implications are two fold; firstly the results provide confidence in Australia’s use of the AEDC as a national progress measure of human capability formation and secondly it reinforces the importance of having all children entering school with the skills and developmental capacity to take advantage of schooling.

Date: June 2014

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009)

States: WA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research

This study uses population-level data to examine the associations between children’s scores on the AEDC at age 5 and their literacy and numeracy scores at age 8, in the context of child, family and neighbourhood characteristics. Specifically, this study explores risk factors for developmental and educational disadvantage; as well as the protective factors associated with the presentation of good developmental and educational outcomes in groups considered at-risk for educational disadvantage. The outcomes of this study will help to inform government on intervention and prevention strategies to mitigate achievement gaps in education; as well as contribute to the international scientific literature on the factors which can influence early childhood development at the child, family, and neighbourhood level.

Date: June 2014

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009), Cycle 2 (2012)

States: SA

Data Linkage Project: Yes

Organisation: Menzies School of Health Research

This project seeks to increase understanding of the population dynamics of childhood growth and development over the life-course by better linking data and quantifying the prevalence, associations and consequences of the early life circumstances to children’s longer-term health, behaviour and learning outcomes.

Date: June 2014

AEDC Cycle: Cycle 1 (2009)

States: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA

Data Linkage Project: No

Organisation: Charles Sturt University

The main objectives of this research are to examine gender specific school readiness as measured by the five AEDI domains and the overall AEDI.  This research will investigate levels and variations within and between various jurisdictions in Australia state/territory; describe the five domain specific and total AEDI distributions according to linguistic background, measures of socioeconomic status, ethnic groups, geography and special needs, early childhood and care status.