Towards a trauma-informed early childhood education and care

RESEARCH PROFILE

Yihan sunYihan Sun

Towards a trauma-informed early childhood education and care

Early childhood is a critical developmental period that shapes children’s long-term social, emotional and physical health. Trauma at this sensitive period of child development is a significant public health concern. Passionate about advancing trauma-informed practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) to support the healthy development of all children, Yihan, along with Dr Claire Blewitt and Mitchell Bowden, is partnering with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to co-design a Trauma-informed Organisations Intervention targeting the ECEC sector.

This project is informed by multiple systematic reviews (e.g. early childhood centre-based trauma-informed interventions; trauma-informed interventions with an organisational-change component), and a qualitative inquiry exploring the experiences of early childhood professionals, ECEC organisational leaders, and trauma consultants.

Apart from her passion in advancing trauma-informed ECEC, Yihan advocates for young children’s voices to be listened to and incorporated into decision-making. She is partnering with Our Place to capture the perspectives of young children.

For more information: yihan.sun@monash.edu