TCHR2003: Curriculum Studies in Early Childhood Education

Assessment 1: Critical Review

Due Date: Monday, 23 March 2026 at 11:59 pm AEST/AEDT (start of Week 4)

Length: 1500 words (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 50%

Submission: Word document submitted to Turnitin (do NOT submit PDF documents).

Unit Learning Outcomes

This assessment task maps to the following ULOs:

• ULO1: Describe and justify curriculum in early childhood education and care services.
• ULO2: Understand and demonstrate conceptual knowledge related to key learning areas for children from birth to five years.
• ULO3: Argue, with reference to the literature, how curriculum key learning areas can be applied to support children’s learning.
• ULO4: Create and analyse learning environments of curriculum key learning areas for children’s development and learning; explain the role of the early childhood educator.

Rationale

This unit develops conceptual knowledge of the holistic approach to curriculum in the early childhood setting. There is a focus on an integrated approach of the Australian Curriculum key learning areas (English, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Science, Technologies, and The Arts) for children aged from birth to five years. Links are made to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF V2.0) and the National Quality Standard.

Task Description

Assessment 1 requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the use of play when implementing the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF V2.0) and the National Quality Standard, and to critically reflect on teacher and children’s interactions during an early childhood activity with relevant links to EYLF, NQS Quality Areas and Australian Curriculum key learning areas.

Task Instructions

Write a response to the following three points to demonstrate a good working knowledge and understanding of early childhood education curriculum, frameworks, and concepts.

1. Scenario: You are an Early Childhood Teacher in an Early Childhood Education setting. The Director of the setting has asked you to contribute to the service’s newsletter by writing a statement. The statement should address the concept of curriculum within early childhood education. Justify the statement by incorporating supporting information from the EYLF, Australian Curriculum, and the unit readings. The newsletter will be distributed to families (100 words).
2. Scenario: You are an Early Childhood Teacher in an Early Childhood Education setting. A parent has emailed you to ask why educators use children’s play to implement curriculum in early childhood education settings. Write a response that explains why and how you do this. Justify your response by using theory, NQS, EYLF, and scholarly references (500 words).
3. Watch the video provided in the Assessment 1 folder on the unit Blackboard Site. Observe the teacher and children’s interactions during the activity then:
   • Analyse one (1) EYLF Principle and one (1) Practice the educator is embedding in their interactions with the children and outline how they are doing this (150 words).
   • Examine one NQS Quality Area that the educator is implementing in their interaction with the children and outline how they are doing this (150 words).
   • Analyse which EYLF Learning Outcomes can be linked to the children’s learning and support with examples from the video (300 words).
   • Propose which three (3) Learning Areas from the Australian Curriculum could be linked to the video and support with one (1) example for each Learning Area (300 words).

Resources

• NQS Quality Areas: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard
• EYLF: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf
• Australian Curriculum: https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Referencing

APA 7th referencing is required. Include a reference list at the end. Use at least 8-10 scholarly sources, including EYLF (AGDE, 2022), NQS (ACECQA, 2023 or latest), and relevant unit readings or peer-reviewed articles.

Formatting and Style

• Use the provided template including cover page from the Assessment 1 folder on Blackboard.
• 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font, double-spaced.
• Headings aligned with task points.
• Indent paragraphs.

Task Submission

Submit via Turnitin in the Assessments section on Blackboard. Label file as SurnameInitials_TCHR2003_Assessment1.docx. No resubmissions permitted.

Academic Integrity

GenAI tools must NOT be used. Breaches may result in misconduct proceedings.

Curriculum in early childhood settings provides structured yet flexible experiences that promote children’s overall growth through intentional teaching and play. Educators draw on frameworks like the EYLF to ensure activities support belonging, being, and becoming for every child. Play serves as the primary vehicle for learning because children investigate concepts naturally and build skills in context. For example, block play develops spatial awareness alongside social negotiation. The educator’s careful observation and extension of interests align with EYLF Principle of Secure, Respectful and Reciprocal Relationships, as Pyle and Danniels (2017) highlight the value of teacher-guided play in fostering deeper conceptual understanding.

 References

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022) Belonging, being & becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia (V2.0). https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority [ACECQA] (2023) Guide to the National Quality Framework. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/about/guide

Pyle, A. and Danniels, E. (2017) ‘A continuum of play-based learning: The role of the teacher in play-based pedagogy and the fear of hijacking play’, Early Education and Development, 28(3), pp. 274–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1220771

Edwards, S. and Cutter-Mackenzie, K. (2020) ‘Pedagogical play types: What do they suggest for learning about sustainability in early childhood education?’, International Journal of Early Childhood, 52(1), pp. 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-020-00258-5

Skene, K., O’Farrelly, C., Greene, A. and Booth, A. (2022) ‘Play in early childhood education: A review of the evidence’, Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(4), pp. 567–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01215-7