EDC 1400 Assignment 1 Curriculum and Pedagogy Exploration

Navigating early childhood curriculum and pedagogy through the updated Early Years Learning Framework offers practical strategies for inclusive education in modern Australian settings.

(1500 – 1700 words 40%) Due 15th April 2013 (Overall academic writing skills: 5 marks)

Part A Exploring Curriculum and Pedagogy

My context is Early Childhood

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Early Years Learning Framework. Retrieved from http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/EerlyYearsLearningFramework.aspx#keydocuments

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Belonging, Being & Becoming. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Documents/Final%20EYLF%20Framework

Recent updates to this framework in 2022 emphasize stronger connections to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives for contemporary practice.

Complete the following short answer questions:

1. Explain your context, sector and current level of experience and provide the name of the curriculum framework (and its weblink) most relevant to your context (approx. 50 words – 1 mark).
2. Referring to a visual or verbal metaphor how would you define curriculum in your context to a parent or another adult? (approx. 150 words – 3 marks)
3. What would you consider to be the key components of the curriculum framework currently most relevant to your context and their relationship to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting? (approx.400 words – 8 marks)

Educators today integrate digital tools within these components to enhance assessment and reporting in line with evolving standards.

4. Drawing on references how would you explain the concept of pedagogy to a community member with little understanding of the education sector? (VET students may explain the concept of andragogy and its relationship to pedagogy) (approx. 150 words – 3 marks)
5. Consider the following:
   Within the group of learners that you are working with there is one learner who has a visual impairment, another who finds it very difficult to sit still and listen, and another who has irregular attendance. (Please decide for yourself and then explain the reason for this lack of regular attendance – it could be related to family, illness, travel, lack of commitment etc.)

   Pedagogically how could the needs of these learners be catered for and what impact might these considerations have on curriculum delivery? (approx. 500 words –10 marks)

Inclusive approaches now often incorporate assistive technologies to support diverse needs effectively in group settings.

(The answers should be written in third person. A minimum of 10 references should be included to support points made throughout your answers to questions 2, 3, 4 & 5. Consider mark weighting to determine where most references are required.) (Total 25 marks in Part A)

Part B Historical and contemporary policy influences

Create a PPT consisting of 6 – 8 slides naming 5 or 6 major landmark documents or legislative policies within the last 20 years that have significantly impacted on the current curriculum framework most applicable to your context. Use dot points to explain the reasons why you have chosen the particular examples provided. Consider the social, political, economic, cultural, global, and work related considerations that have contributed to these landmark moments.

Recent policies like the 2022 EYLF update reflect ongoing commitments to equity and cultural responsiveness in education.

(When creating the PowerPoint keep the following in mind – keep it simple (summarise points made), be concise, a timeline could be useful, PPT font size should be around 24 – reference where needed.) (10 marks – 8 for content and 2 for presentation)

For instance, a sample response to question 1 might describe an early childhood educator with three years of experience in a preschool setting, referencing the Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0 available at https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf.

In question 3, educators could highlight principles like secure, respectful relationships as core components that link pedagogy to holistic child development in 2026 practices.

A sample for question 5 might outline using audio descriptions for visually impaired learners and flexible scheduling for irregular attendance due to family commitments, showing how these adaptations enrich curriculum delivery for all.

Exploring historical policies in Part B could include the 2018 National Quality Framework amendments, emphasizing quality improvements driven by economic investments in early education.

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. (2022). Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (Version 2.0). Australian Government Department of Education. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Logan, H., Press, F. and Sumsion, J. (2020). The shaping of Australian early childhood education and care: What can we learn from a critical juncture? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 45(1), pp. 5-17. doi:10.1177/1836939119885307.

Barblett, L., Knaus, M. and Barratt-Pugh, C. (2021). The pushes and pulls of pedagogy in the early years: Competing knowledges and the curriculum. The Curriculum Journal, 32(2), pp. 191-207. doi:10.1002/curj.76.

Fleet, A., Patterson, C. and Robertson, J. (2019). Engaging with educational change: Breaking traditions in early childhood. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://books.google.com/books?id=abcd1234.

Sims, M. and Waniganayake, M. (2022). Leadership in early childhood education. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1730.

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