Implementing 3-Year-Old Kindergarten in Victoria: Teachers’, Educators’ and Directors’ Perspectives

Abstract

In the past two decades, Australian governments have initiated a series of reforms to provide accessible, affordable, high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). At the core of these reforms is the intention to improve learning outcomes for young children in the years where strong foundations are laid and where learning inequalities can be addressed. The Victorian State Government has built on these reforms through its investment in rolling out two years of funded universal kindergarten for 3-and 4-year-old children. This qualitative study reports on teachers’, educators’ and directors’ experiences of implementing funded 3-year-old kindergarten at 26 ECEC services from metropolitan and regional/rural Victorian regions. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 participants in 2022–2023. Thematic analysis revealed key findings, including the importance of pedagogical differentiation, workforce sustainability, leading and responding to change, and building capacity, as well as the structural impacts on implementation. We conclude that participants’ perspectives and experiences are critical to understanding the optimal opportunities and conditions for 3-year-old children’s learning across diverse contexts in Victoria during a time of reform.