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Unit of Study TCH82002 - Principles and Practice in Early Childhood Education (2016)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Unit type

    PG Coursework Unit

  • Credit points

    12

  • AQF level

    8

  • Level of learning

    Intermediate

  • Former School/College

    Former School of Education

  • Enrolment information

    N/A

Unit description

Provides students with an understanding of the key aspects of an early childhood educator’s practice. Involves observation and documentation of children’s learning, an understanding of the importance of building and maintaining relationships with children, parents and the community. The importance of flexible learning environments for children’s learning and development is considered.

Unit content

  1. Contexts of and influences on early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Australia:
  • Histories; influences: internationally, nationally, regionally; funding; management; quality ECEC; staffing; regulatory frameworks;
  1. The importance of relationships with children, families, colleagues and the community:
  • Attachment, personal philosophy, the setting
  • Building the relationships respecting diverse histories and backgrounds including an Indigenous perspective on kinship; Inclusive practices that build relationships with families, honouring and celebrating diversity
  1. Observation and documentation of children’s learning:
  • Strategies and techniques: Why document? What to document? How to document?
  • Alignment with personal philosophy to learning and teaching in early childhood
  • The teacher as researcher
  1. Constructing flexible ECEC learning environments:
  • The importance of the physical and human environment to support learning and development
  • The relationship between the physical and human environment on children’s learning and development – indoor outdoor, routines, transitions, aesthetics, the use of time, space grouping
  • The importance of early childhood environmental education
  1. Contemporary theories of professional practice: child rights, queer theory, feminist theory

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Online Session 2 N/A

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 deconstruct the historical and comparative contexts of ECEC in Australia regarding structure, management, mandatory policy and current and prospective legislative and regulatory frameworks
2 analyse the importance of relationships to the learning and development of children, families, colleagues and communities respecting the diversities of their histories and background
3 Identify and analyse contemporary theories of professional practice for educators in the early years.
4 analyse, evaluate and discuss the ways in which observation and documentation are used in early childhood programs and classrooms to promote children's learning
5 understand how to establish flexible learning environments that include sustainable practices

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. deconstruct the historical and comparative contexts of ECEC in Australia regarding structure, management, mandatory policy and current and prospective legislative and regulatory frameworks
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  2. analyse the importance of relationships to the learning and development of children, families, colleagues and communities respecting the diversities of their histories and background
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  3. Identify and analyse contemporary theories of professional practice for educators in the early years.
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  4. analyse, evaluate and discuss the ways in which observation and documentation are used in early childhood programs and classrooms to promote children's learning
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  5. understand how to establish flexible learning environments that include sustainable practices
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
    • GA4:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.