Early childhood professionals and inter-professional work in integrated early childhood services in Australia

A growing body of literature argues that integrated services, where a range of professionals including early childhood professionals work together in teams, offer a potentially highly effective strategy for providing families with access to a range of services in a seamless 'joined-up' way. Some have cautioned, however, that early childhood pedagogy and professionals within such hybrid services are in danger of being marginalised. Despite the growing literature suggesting strategies for supporting inter-professional teamwork in integrated services, there are relatively few empirical studies of how such teams operate in practice in Australian contexts. This paper reports on findings from a project funded by the Professional Support Coordinators Alliance (PSCA), that investigated, through a survey (n = 25) and case studies (n = 10), the experiences of professionals in integrated services across Australia and their perspectives on factors that contribute to the success of these services and to interprofessional working. The findings indicate that the early childhood professionals who participated in the study are generally optimistic about these services and about working in inter-professional teams.