Early Childhood Development, Learning and Teaching 1

Dominant understandings of child development as defined in policy documents and curriculum frameworks view children from a narrow, normalised perspective often with no regard for diversity and context. In this unit, students will critically engage with major theories regarding children and childhoods (birth-5years) grounded in meaning-making, complexity, multiplicity, and context. As part of this work, students will analyse and debate related research and contemporary issues. Students will be introduced to the planning cycle to design curriculum that is responsive to infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, and families. Connections will be made by illustrating contexts of education and caregiving; vision, strategy, and innovation in curriculum planning with infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers; understanding the power of relationships in working with different communities; and demonstrating practices and policy development reflective of all children as capable and competent. This unit will prepare students for placement but will not include any placement days.