Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Childhood Curriculum and Cosmopolitan Imaginary †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Childhood Curriculum and Cosmopolitan Imaginary. Answer: Introduction: NQS or the National Quality Standard is the standard for setting the quality of the give services such as care-services, education for children so that the families understand the quality service in a better way. In this way the families will be informed regarding the benchmark of the care and education they are providing to their children. According to Australian Childrens Education Care Quality Authority (2017) there are ratings for the care service and education that are being provided to children, where the Excellent rating is the highest one. While the families are providing adequate services for their children in terms of education and care service, they are being provided with the highest rating as per the National Quality Standard. In order to get this rating the families have to exhibit three fundamental criteria, such as: the family has to promote outstanding educational services and care for the children that will improve their potential outcomes in the later life (Brenna n and Fenech 2014). The caregivers of children will also have to show adequate leadership capabilities which will later contribute to the further growth of the local community. These may also add to the broader care and education sector. For getting the excellent rating, the families will also have to show sufficient commitment to the continuous brilliant practice through continual involvement and improving towards a complete learning. Therefore, this report will discuss two of the chosen quality areas from the seven quality standards: Quality Area 1- Educational Program and practice and Quality Area 6- Collaborative partnerships with families and communities. This report will also discuss the rating standards and assessment and analyze those according to the standard quality areas. As stated in Jones and Harcourt (2013), Educational program and practice is the first standard. This quality area focuses on making sure that the education and the relevant practice and programs management that are being provided to the children are engaging, motivating and enhancing the comprehensive development and learning of children. The teachers of early childhood requires to know that if the children are engaged in the actively, they learn the best from those active engagement. Therefore while they are making relevant decisions for preparing the curriculum, they have to make sure the interests of children are embedded in those activities. As stated in the EYLF or Early Years Learning Framework, the teachers have to be adequately responsive to the abilities, strengths, interests and capabilities of children which will eventually help them to make sure that the children are engaged and motivated in the learning procedure. According to Early Years Learning Framework, the learning process of children is a continuous process; therefore every child will proceed towards specific outcomes of their learning process in a different and meaningful way. Within the early childhood services, the teachers can increase the development and learning procedure in different ways such as: Using the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Frame work for all the children from 0-8 years. Acquiring adequate information for children from their families at the time of enrolment. Supporting and promoting the toddlers by initiating active conversation and interactions, responding to their signals in a positive way. Initiating one-on-one conversations Promoting multiculturalism. Currently I am working in a kindergarten where we plan a quarterly plan focusing on the individual development of children and recording the necessary interaction so that we can plan further. The evidences are in assessment of childrens learning and development documentation. The teachers tend to record at the service, so that they can identify the changing interests of children and their skill levels. This will help them to plan according to the observation record. Having enough knowledge about the capabilities and strength regarding individual child will help the educators to engage children in different experience according to the learning outcome. In order to gain this knowledge the educators will have to engage themselves in close interactions with children for a continuous period of time (Millei and Jones 2014). They will also require aligning their behaviors according to the cultural, financial and religious background of the children. For gaining excellent standard here, the education will have to involve a routine program organized in methods that will increase the engagement and involvement of children in their continuous learning development. This program will include outdoor and indoor activities in the routine which will help the children to increase the opportunities for learning. At the kindergarten I work, we tend to provide a flexible routine so that the children get the freedom for taking part in both outdoor and indoor play within proper safety boundaries. We plan these play routines according to the needs and skills of children. The activities include: table activity, mat time, snack and lunch time relaxation or yoga time, library session, outdoor play etc. This element mostly focuses on achieving the service for higher quality of care and education by engaging the respective families and deciding on effectual strategies for informing the parents regarding the development and learning process of children. Both teachers and parents work as a team for enhancing the learning experiences of children. The teachers and caregivers are the ones who have the complete access for reading and discussing the progress format of children within the planning program reflecting on their daily actions. Here we also provide intentional development record at each term, so that the families can also track the developmental progress of children. The parents teacher meetings are organized for this purpose as well. As stated by Australian Childrens Education Care Quality Authority (2017) this element aims to focus on the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of children which contributes in the decision making process of curriculum. Therefore the EYLF states that the educators should make sure that irrespective of their background, all children should get sufficient access to resources. This element mostly focuses on the approaches and polices which will permit the children for directing their own leisure and play experiences with their classmates. Therefore educators need to implement different strategies for promoting the learning environment for all of them. For instance, the teachers can Arrange resource materials for childs playing according to their level of learning management Encourage them for managing their behavior The assessment of such skill, knowledge, understanding and capabilities is a major ingredient for promoting and planning the learning and development. For achieving higher standard, the educators should incarcerate and document the interest, strength, learning and relationship of children over a certain period. The kindergarten I work with, it utilizes various documentation methods such as work samples, children portfolios, child voice, enrolment information and parent feedbacks. After we analyze the information that has been gathered regarding individual children, the curriculum decisions are made focusing on the progress of children towards learning outcomes. O'Gorman and Ailwood (2012) explain that the educators need to promote the learning and development through different valuable experiences and motivating interactions for promoting the higher level of thinking skills. For fostering these strategies the educators will have to monitor and listen to children over a long period of time and pay close attention. There can be some other strategies as well, such as: Making a weekly program for demonstrating flexible programs and also incorporate the cultures, ideas and interests of children for ensuring that the learning experiences are relevant and engaging. There can be strategies such as demonstrating and modeling, explaining, problem solving, open questioning etc. According to Somerville and Williams (2015) the educators should reflect on the critical evaluation and practice as it is the most significant part of the early childhood practices. In a similar way, it is also important o maintain the effectual learning environment for creating the setting and service for the improvement for children. The preschool, I have been working, the educators make all children sit together at some point of time in the day and reflect on all the events of the day. This joint discussion helps the teachers to understand whether they need any kind of improvisation with the regular activities. We also conduct meetings amongst the educators and with parents for modifying any plan. In these meetings we can effectively reflect on the development of the children and plan effective strategies. Effective enrolment and orientation process for families Familial support adds meaning to the development of children. The relationship between the family members and the educators results in the introduction of quality care and educational plans for the children. Maintenance of standards in the provision of care is beneficial in terms of ensuring proper care and nourishment of the children in a legal manner. Collaborative attempt in this direction produces positive results in terms of nurturing and nourishing the children (NQS, Page 252, 2017). Mention can be made of Australia where the families along with their kins cater to the diversified needs of the children. Introducing childcare programs for the family members strengthens the bondage between the family members. Involvement of the experts in these programs enriches the preconceived knowledge of the members regarding the efficient and effective means of taking care of the child. Maintenance of effective and comprehensive familial support and communities is reflected from the consideration of the central enrolment system. All the families were provided with a package, which included the detail information about the effective and efficient means of strengthening the bondage within the family and the communities (Brennan and Fenech 2014). This information was also available in the Hume city council website. Typical components of this website were explanation for the preference behind the enrolment system, handbook containing the services provided to the family and the children including those of the communities, 4-year-old vaccination information, meetings and conferences on preschool admissions among others. Detailed information on enrolment policies reflects the adherence to the standards and protocols of NQS by the community personnel. Sessions were organized for the community parents for mitigating their worries regarding admitting their children in the pre -school. Along with this, interviews were held for the parents, whose children would be admitted in the kindergarten. Completion of the preschool child information sheet resulted in the creation and development of Westmeadows Preschool handbook for the families (Cheeseman, Sumsion and Press 2014). One of the mentionable facts here is the introduction of several opportunities for the community families to be engage themselves in these services. Group discussions proved helpful in terms of instigating the parents to spend quality time with their children. Sharing the duty of the time with children was an advanced attempt in terms of making the children aware of the workplace dynamics. Countering this, this instigation affirms the fact of spending quality time with the children in case of the parents. Along with this, the service also resulted in the transfer of the skills, knowledge and capability from the parents to the children. Adopting the means of survey and feedback from the parents proved fruitful in terms of gaining suggestions and recommendations for making quality improvement plans and documents (Grieshaber and Graham 2017). Notices were displayed on the boards for informing the families about the latest trends and activities adopted by the community personnel. Invitation was sent to the families to take part in the Childrens Reference Groups. The providers, for authenticating the event, approved these invitations. This approval went through the process of reviewing the request with the policies. Positive results enabled the community personnel to review the drafts and provide the feedbacks. Brochure about the current services was accessible for the community families. The sources considered for this are websites, emails, posters, postcards and television in the community offices. The information was available in various languages, which benefitted all of the community people. Consistent approach from the service providers resulted in the maintenance of dignity of the families (Harrison and Sumsion 2014). Wide ranging services reflects the extension of supportive hand to the community families for levying them a quality lifestyle. Support in terms of parenting and childcare Experts were sorted out from the families considered. These families were asked to voice out their opinions regarding caring and nourishing their children. Normal question answer session, surveys and feedbacks were adopted for gaining an insight into the approaches and mentality of the parents towards upbringing their children. Individual child portfolios were published in the newsletters and magazines for enhancing the ease of the parents regarding childcare. These parents were provided with Preschool child information sheet for enriching their knowledge and information about childcare. An interesting point here is inspiring the parents to participate in activities like pizza making, art activities and exploring the varieties of apples. Display of the current information in various languages increased the ease of the parents from the foreign countries in terms of understanding the services adopted by the community people in terms of childcare (Hedges and Cullen 2012). Screening the information at the entrance of the community reflects the attempt of the community personnel towards the exposure of straightforward response towards the needs of the clients. Newsletter display can be considered as an approach towards making the higher authorities aware of the ways and means adopted for providing the children with a proper and healthy development. Collaboration of the community personnel and the educators resulted in the development of lucrative plans and programs for ensuring the wellbeing of the children. Delving deep into the aspect of collaborative partnership, the carers, guardians, peers and relatives reflect close unity. Countering this, when the guardians, peers and relatives come together, conflicts and discrimations are bound to occur. These conflicts are an obstacle in the development of the children. Herein lays the appropriateness of the aspect of non-judgmental communication (NQS, Page 259, 2017). Two-way communication is apt in terms of the proper and sound development of the children. Maintenance of the standards and frameworks in provision of care, nutrition and nourishment develops trust, reliance and dependence on the parents regarding the proper establishment of the children. The service providers engaged in partnerships with other agencies for establishing frameworks for ensuring the wellbeing of the children. The educators sat in meetings with Noahs ark, Multicultural Resource Centre and local maternal child healthcare nurses and the preschool field officers. Along with this, the educators indulged in collaboration with the TAFE organizations, which helped in conducting diploma courses for the bachelors (Hill et al. 2014). Lantara Unit care personnel were hired for extending helping hand to the students, who required additional help. This was a part of the social inclusion program. Collaborative learning practices were conducted between the school, educators, families and the children. Educators completed the Transition Learning and the Development Standards for catering to the specific needs and demands of the children. Adherence to the standards of NQS helps the educators to maintain the stability in the relationship with the education officials of th e government. Teachers and qualified inspectors are hired for inspecting the current performance of the community schools in terms of providing the children with bright future. If negative results are discovered, the inspectors plan for events like pet shows, road shows, environmental awareness, sports among others (Jones and Harcourt 2013). For this, the educators indulge in relationship with Pet Ownership, Smiles for Miles, Tingle Toodle Road Safety, Environmental Sustainability Officer, local councils and Essendon Football clinic. The public is offered the opportunity to contribute this initiative for shaping a better future for the community children. Herein the educators need to adhere to aspects like practice, involvement with every child and parent, assessment of the needs, capabilities and competencies of the children and meetings. Within this, meetings are essential in terms of assessing the appropriateness, effectiveness and feasibility of the partnerships with which the educators indulge for providing quality education to the children (NQS, Page 261, 2017). Adherence to the standards and protocols of the legislations is crucial in terms of indulging in correct and appropriate partnership. Conclusion This assignment emerges successful in providing an insight into the aspect of community care. As a matter of specification, the assignment highlights the aspects of NQS, which plays a major role in the provision of quality care to the community people. Shedding light on the support to the community families and children can be considered as an attempt to provide them an escape into a better lifestyle. Engagement of the families and children into various activities is a collaborative initiative towards extending a firm hand towards the upliftment of the community through the means of education. Rational approach in this direction possesses the flexibility to alter the mindset of the people regarding the events occurring in this surroundings. References Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority 2017, Guide to the National Quality Standard, Australian Children's Education and Care Authority{ACECQA), retrieved 6 December 2017, https://www.acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework/the-national-quality-standard Brennan, D. and Fenech, M., 2014. Early Education and Care in Australia: Equity in a Mixed Market-Based System?.An Equal Start?: Providing Quality Early Education and Care for Disadvantaged Children, pp.171-192. Cheeseman, S., Sumsion, J. and Press, F., 2014. 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Social competencies and the'early years learning framework': Understanding critical influences on educator capacity.Australasian Journal of Early Childhood,38(1), p.4. McLachlan, C., Fleer, M. and Edwards, S., 2013.Early childhood curriculum: Planning, assessment, and implementation. Cambridge University Press. Millei, Z. and Jones, A., 2014. The Australian early childhood curriculum and a cosmopolitan imaginary.International Journal of Early Childhood,46(1), pp.63-79. O'Gorman, L. and Ailwood, J., 2012. They Get Fed up with Playing: Parents' Views on Play-Based Learning in the Preparatory Year.Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood,13(4), pp.266-275. Petriwskyj, A., O'Gorman, L.M. and Turunen, T., 2013. The interface of the national Australian curriculum and the pre-Year 1 class in school: Exploring tensions.Australasian Journal of Early Childhood,13(1), pp.16-22. Ridgway, A. and Quinones, G., 2012. How Do Early Childhood Students Conceptualize Play-Based Curriculum?.Australian Journal of Teacher Education,37(12), p.n12. Roy, D., Baker, W. and Hamilton, A., 2015.Teaching the Arts: Early Childhood Primary Education: Early Childhood and Primary Education. Cambridge University Press. Somerville, M. and Williams, C., 2015. Sustainability education in early childhood: An updated review of research in the field.Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood,16(2), pp.102-117. Sumsion, J. and Grieshaber, S., 2012. Pursuing better childhoods and futures through curriculum: Utopian visions in the development of Australia's Early Years Learning Framework.Global Studies of Childhood,2(3), pp.230-244. Sumsion, J., Grieshaber, S., McArdle, F. and Shield, P., 2014. The'state of play'in Australia: Early childhood educators and play-based learning.Australasian journal of early childhood,39(3), p.4.

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