Bridging the Gap! Immigrant Early Childhood Educators' Perceptions of Languages in Pedagogical Practice in Australia and Finland

The global workforce crisis in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has led many countries to increasingly rely on immigrant populations to fill essential roles, resulting in a growing presence of immigrant workers in ECEC settings across Western countries. Despite this shift, research on immigrant educators' unique contributions to ECEC remains limited.

This study seeks to address this gap by examining the perspectives of multi-lingual educators and the significance they attribute to language in daily pedagogical practices to support children in their language learning. Grounded in the Quality Use of Research Evidence (QURE) Framework, this research considers how contextually relevant, evidence-based insights from immigrant educators can enhance inclusive practices. By exploring how immigrant educators perceive and utilise language as a resource, this study aligns with Adair's (2016) findings that policies supporting immigrant teachers not only foster positive perceptions of immigrant communities but also strengthen communication mechanisms with immigrant families. Through the QURE Framework, we aim to illuminate the potential of research on immigrant educators and demonstrate how its findings can enrich ECEC environments by valuing and using evidence that promotes linguistic diversity as an integral component of early learning.