This review summarises the current research evidence on effective strategies for promoting rich conversations with young children aged 2 – 5 years within the Australasian context.

A database search for relevant studies identified published, peer-reviewed articles that discussed strategies to foster rich conversations, sustained shared thinking and dialogic interactions between educators and children (aged 2 – 5 years) in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. The search strategy is designed to identify study designs that include intervention, observational, cross-sectional and qualitative studies on strategies that could be informal or formal, delivered through an education program. Only studies from Australia and New Zealand, published in English, based on direct observation (i.e. no self-reports or surveys) were included.

Key strategies identified as important in creating opportunities for children to talk include:

• Pausing: Educators pausing to create time for children to think, process and construct a response and signals to children that it is someone else’s turn to contribute to the conversation.
• Prompting: Using questions to co-construct shared meaning as conversations unfold.
• Positioning: Creating spaces for children’s talk by employing interactional strategies that position children with knowledge and ideas to contribute to conversations.