Contemporary Contexts of Early Childhood Education

Course aim

To explore contemporary contexts of early childhood education in the contemporary world including current policies and practices, and the theoretical and philosophical perspectives that inform them, including child development, sociology, and philosophy.
To engage students in dialogue about early childhood education as a discipline that is based in relationships, is holistic in approach, and guided by broad principles that underpin early years curriculum, pedagogy, and policy.

Course content

Students will develop an understanding of the contemporary landscapes of early childhood education in Australian and global contexts. Students will explore key curriculum and policy documents including the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), the Australian Curriculum, Graduate Teacher Standards, National Quality Standards (NQS), Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Students will develop an understanding of contemporary pedagogical approaches including attachment based care, democratic and inquiry based such as those used in Reggio Emilia, emergent curriculum, intentional teaching, and play-based learning. Students will develop critical understandings of current early childhood education thinking and practice, and how it is strongly influenced by historical and philosophical underpinnings that shape the image of the child, teachers, and families.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Online activities, Presentation

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 1A)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee. (Opens new window)

Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.