Play Pedagogy in Science Education: Early Childhood Teachers of Chinese Heritage in Australian Contexts

Influenced by Australian annual immigration program, immigrant-born educators have become an indispensable part of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce in Australia, but they are not well represented in the relevant literature. This thesis seeks a nuanced understanding about the ways play pedagogy is used by Chinese heritage early childhood teachers working in Australia and the influence of their Chinese heritage as they determine their preferred pedagogical approaches when teaching science in ECEC in Australia.