School of Education

Professor Caroline Barratt-Pugh

Caroline is an Honorary Professor in the School of Education.

Background

Caroline trained as an early childhood teacher and worked as a teacher and senior advisory teacher for the promotion of multicultural education in Bradford, West Yorkshire (UK) between1978-1987. She was awarded her PhD from The University of Leeds (UK) in December 1990, while working at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) as a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies (Early Childhood). She took up the position of Senior Lecturer (Early Childhood) at Edith Cowan University in 1992 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2008 and appointed as Professor of Early Childhood research at ECU in 2013.

Professional associations

• 2013 - ongoing: Curriculum and Assessments Committee, School Curriculum and Standards Authority (Member)
• 2012 - ongoing: ARC Discovery proposals (Assessor)
• 2017 - 2020: TKI, CoLab Research Advisory Committee (Chair and member)
• 2018 - ongoing: Literacy Educators Network WA (Member)
• 2010 - 2014: Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Reviewer)
• 1993 - ongoing: Early Childhood Australia (Member)
• 2018 - 2019: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (Member)
• 1995 - 2005: Australian Literacy Educators' Association (Member).

Awards and recognition

• 2021 - Winner, Engagement Australia Excellence Awards in the category of Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact. Citation: ‘Better Beginnings’: The development and impact of a State library and University partnership on a family literacy program
• 2017 - ECU Vice Chancellor's Staff Award for Engagement in Research.

Research interests

• Digital technologies in early childhood
• Early intervention programs
• Language and literacy learning and development
• Multilingual children, families and communities
• Early childhood pedagogy and practice.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy, England, 1990.
• Certificate in TESOL, England, 1980.
• Bachelor of Education Honours, England, 1978.

Research Outputs

Research Projects

• Transforming Transitions - Using students' social capital to recast transitions, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2020 ‑ 2025, $124,910.
• 2021 Nationally Quality Framework Approved Learning Frameworks Update, Australian Children's Education Care and Quality Authority, Grant, 2021 ‑ 2024, $96,726.
• Improving parental engagement in children's learning and school readiness through a literacy-based text messaging program. , Ian Potter Foundation, Grant, 2019 ‑ 2023, $209,000.
• Longitudinal evaluation of the Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program, Department of Culture and the Arts, Dept of Culture and the Arts – Tender, 2016 ‑ 2022, $198,702.
• Review and revision of the Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines (the Guidelines), development of a Kindergarten planning template, and an exemplar demonstrating how the Guidelines can be used to plan and program for the continuity of learning for a group of children, as they transition from preschool settings to Kindergarten and from Kindergarten to Pre-primary , Department of Education WA, Department of Education - Tender, 2021 ‑ 2022, $28,842.
• Better together: Supporting perinatal and infant mental health services, WA Primary Health Alliance, Grant, 2017 ‑ 2018, $230,000.
• Evaluation of the KindiLink Pilot for the Department of Education, Department of Education WA, Department of Education - Tender, 2016 ‑ 2018, $100,000.
• Evaluation of Better Beginnings ‘Sing With Me’ Program, State Library of WA, Grant, 2016 ‑ 2018, $135,154.
• Parents as Children's Teachers (PACT), Edith Cowan University, ECU Industry Collaboration Grant - 2015 (Round 1), 2015 ‑ 2016, $33,920.
• Enhancing Classroom Talk in the Early Years through Sustained Shared Thinking, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2015 ‑ 2016, $40,000.
• Evaluation of the Integrated Service Model of Child Australia, Child Inclusive Learning and Development Australia Inc., Grant, 2015 ‑ 2016, $40,000.
• Evaluation of four family literacy projects developed as part of the Better Beginnings program Project 1 - 4-5 years remote indigenous communities, Department of Culture and the Arts, Dept of Culture and the Arts - Grant, 2012 ‑ 2016, $187,836.
• Evaluation of four family literacy projects developed as part of the Better Beginnings program Project 4 Adult Literacy/Research and Development of Literacy Moodle Modules, Department of Culture and the Arts, Dept of Culture and the Arts - Grant, 2012 ‑ 2016, $223,142.
• Reflective Practice with Early Writers, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2013 ‑ 2015, $65,634.
• Mathematics education in early childhood settings, Edith Cowan University, ECU Early Career Researcher Grant - 2014, 2014 ‑ 2015, $20,000.
• Development of child and parent centre initiative WA, Department of Education WA, Department of Education - Tender, 2012 ‑ 2014, $45,455.
• Evaluation of four family literacy projects developed as part of the Better Beginnings program - Project 2 - Cald Program, Department of Culture and the Arts, Dept of Culture and the Arts - Grant, 2012 ‑ 2014, $65,071.
• Evaluation of four family literacy projects developed as part of the Better Beginnings program Project 3 - Better Beginnings - 6-9 Years, Department of Culture and the Arts, Dept of Culture and the Arts - Grant, 2012 ‑ 2014, $57,884.
• An Investigation of Goodstart's Centre-Based Practice and Program Quality Using the National Quality Standards as the Benchmark, with a Focus on Building the Capacity of Early Learning Consultants, Charles Sturt University, Grant - Good Start Early Learning Centre Ltd, 2013, $7,000.
• National Year of Reading 2012, The Library Agency, Grant, 2012 ‑ 2013, $94,975.
• Evaluation of the Better Beginnings Plus Pilot 2010, State Library of WA, Grant, 2010 ‑ 2013, $134,306.
• Focused Intervention for Early Literacy Development, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Grant, 2009 ‑ 2013, $155,143.
• Phase 2/year four of the evaluation of the Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program 2006-2008, State Library of WA, Grant, 2006 ‑ 2013, $215,023.
• Development of Kindergarten / Pre-Primary Guidelines for Western Australian Schools, School Curriculum and Standards Authority, Tender, 2012 ‑ 2013, $68,668.
• Beginning with books: The impact of Family Literacy Intervention Programs in two low socio-economic communities, Telstra Foundation, Grant, 2006 ‑ 2010, $118,182.
• The Identification of Resources to Support Children Learning to Read in the Early Years of School, Department of Education and Training WA, Grant, 2007 ‑ 2008, $47,185.
• The Identification of Resources to Support Children's Social and Emotional Development, Department of Education and Training WA, Grant, 2007, $47,185.
• Implementation and evaluation of Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program, initiated by Public Library Services Directorate at the State Library of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, ECU Industry Collaboration - Grant, 2004 ‑ 2005, $27,500.
• Effective Teaching and Learning Practices Leading to Improved Literacy Outcomes in the Early Years of Schooling - RFT 957, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Grant, 2001 ‑ 2005, $598,548.

Research Student Supervision