Dr Yeshe Colliver

Dr Yeshe Colliver is an Honorary Lecturer at the Macquarie School of Education. He has worked in early childhood education and care  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, Yeshe has acquired an interest in natural learning that we have evolved with (e.g. the types 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 Yeshe 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 four 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 better 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.