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Item Supporting early childhood educators’ oral language teaching practices through coaching : an investigation utilising Te Kōrerorero : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Speech and Language Therapy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024) Maxwell, FernIn Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Whāriki (the early childhood curriculum) (Ministry of Education, 2017), weaves the learning and development needs of the child with the cultural context of the country. It is described as a highly flexible curriculum, one which early childhood educators can tailor to fit the learning needs of the children in their care. Recently, the Ministry of Education created Te Kōrerorero (Ministry of Education, 2020a), a document supporting Te Whāriki, to facilitate the language and communication skills of Aotearoa New Zealand’s youngest learners. Speech-language therapists (SLTs) work in collaboration with early childhood educators to support the development of language and communication skills within the context of early childhood centres. Coaching, as a method of professional learning and development (PLD) is nationally and internationally recognised as an effective way for SLTs and early childhood educators to build skills focusing on promoting language and communication skills. However, coaching early childhood educators utilising a tool developed in and for Aotearoa New Zealand, has not previously been investigated. The aim, therefore, of this research was to investigate the impact coaching had on early childhood educators’ perceptions of daily practices, their confidence and their awareness and use of Te Kōrerorero, and the strategies associated with it. Three sub-questions were generated to capture: 1) early childhood educators’ knowledge of coaching and speech and language strategies prior to receiving coaching from the researcher, 2) their perception of coaching in the application of Te Kōrerereo and 3) their perception of the impact coaching had on their daily practice and utility of the strategies discussed. In this qualitative case study, early childhood educators participated in weekly coaching sessions, lasting one hour, with the researcher in her role as SLT coach. The sessions focused on strategies for enhancing language and communication that the educators selected to support their daily practice. A focus group was run before the coaching sessions and at the conclusion of the sessions, to gather personal perspectives of the impact of the coaching. Transcripts from both focus groups, reflective logs, field notes and artefacts were analysed through a rigorous inductive thematic analysis, which captured the voice of the early childhood educators and their experiences. The analysis generated a number of global themes relating to each sub-question. Broadly, the findings indicated that prior to coaching, early childhood educators had little experience of coaching and reported having limited knowledge of language and communication strategies. Post coaching, early childhood educators reported that they felt more confident and were aware of the way they interacted with children in their centre. They reported that they had started considering how activities could be set-up to support language and communication development. Recommendations for further research and clinical practice are presented.