View photos of these visits. (PDF)

Joseph Sparling Visits Australia May 20 to June 17, 2009

Teaching Strategies Senior Advisor on Curriculum and Research, Dr. Joseph Sparling, was invited to Australia to present a keynote lecture at a May 2009 workshop meeting of COAG, the Council of Australian Governments. COAG is the peak governmental body in Australia and periodically meets to examine topics of current interest. Dr. Sparling presented on Infant Health and Development: Facets and Implementation of Reform. This conference occurred in Melbourne, Victoria and was hosted by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). A pdf file of Sparling’s PowerPoint presentation and conference handout can be found at the ANZSOG site:
http://www.anzsog.edu.au/content.asp?pageId=167

During his month-long stay in Australia, Sparling also consulted with state government departments for education, child care, and family services in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. In Canberra, ACT he consulted with federal government departments and met with Hon. Kate Ellis, the federal government’s newly appointed Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth.

     
Bernadette Burchell Visits Washington, DC., June 27, 2009

Bernadette Burchell, Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Protection Society of Australia was recently in the US and came to Washington, CD on July 27 to consult with Joseph Sparling about a replication of the Abecedarian intervention with children at risk of abuse and neglect in Melbourne, Australia. The project will be partly funded by the Australian Federal Government. Bernadette Burchell said, “We are very excited about the prospect of Joe being a consultant to us in this venture and the opportunity for leveraging off his considerable wisdom and expertise in this work. Joe’s reputation here in Australia has influenced Government preparedness to partner CPS in this breakthrough intervention to intervene early with children at risk of abuse and neglect and change life trajectories.”

The Children’s Protection Society is a child and family support service established 110 years ago as a first community response to the welfare of children in Victoria, Australia. CPS today provides therapeutic services at an individual and family level for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and a range of prevention and early intervention initiatives.

 
Collette Tayler Visits Chapel Hill, NC, August 1-3, 2009

Prof Collette Tayler recently spent time in the US to complete training on the use of early childhood program quality measures and to consult with Dr Joseph Sparling and other university colleagues on the final design aspects of the new Australian longitudinal study of the effectiveness of early childhood education and care programs in different Australian communities. Professor Tayler said, “The excellent record of Joe’s work in the Abecedarian and CARE research studies is providing rich detail for the Australian research team as they select measures, design sub-studies and plan for implementation. Some of the LearningGames and Creative Curriculum materials are likely to have relevance to local Australian contexts. Already, some ideas for specific nested studies that are inspired by Dr Sparling’s work are being drafted. The team is hopeful that Joe can visit Australia again soon and bring his expertise directly to current developments.”

Professor Collette Tayler is Chair of Early Childhood Education and Care in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne in Australia.