Abstract:
The voices of Indigenous families living in the Sydney area are central to this paper, as they take part in yarning sessions about their young aged children. In the yarning sessions they talked about their experiences of early childhood education. The common themes of yarning sessions with 27 city families are presented as first findings of a research project involving close to 100 families across NSW. Child Care Choices of Indigenous Families is a project that has been underway over the last five years, funded by the NSW Department of Community Services. There has been little research on current patterns of child care for young Indigenous children or the attitudes of parents about what is important for them in early childhood programs. Using the culturally appropriate methodology of yarning, this project has yielded rich information about quality early childhood provision from the viewpoint of Aboriginal parents living in the city.