Yeshe Colliver

Yeshe is a Lecturer at the Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University. He has worked in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings for nearly a decade in multiple cities across the world including Osaka (Japan), Ulsan (South Korea), Wakayama (Japan), Concepcion (Chile), Granada (Spain) and Honiara (Solomon Islands). Through his work and life overseas, he has acquired an interest in natural learning that we have evolved with (e.g., the types we needed in Indigenous cultures). His career has reflected a belief in two premises: that all social problems can be addressed most effectively through education, and that early childhood is the most crucial period in life.

Historical records helped him develop the Following in Our Footsteps intervention, which has demonstrated the effect parents and educators can have on children’s interest in literacy and numeracy in just 4 weeks. By partnering, educators and parents can significantly increase the amount children choose to play with literacy and numeracy in their free play. This can result in greater reading, writing and arithmetic on standardised tests. The intervention shows that adults can get young children more interested in useful learning without depriving them of choice or their human right to play - and this results in real learning.