Education And Care Program Design In Early Childhood Setting Homework Answer

Answer :

TITLE OF THE ASSIGNMENT- EDUCATION AND CARE PROGRAM DESIGN IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS

Introduction

The foundation of childcare care programs and education framework is based on the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The approaches and pedagogy involve the National Quality Standard with different quality areas to be focused on the holistic development of the children (EYLF Australia, 2008). Pedagogy defines a teacher's functioning, which is induced in high-quality learning for the children in their early years. The discussion on the education and care program encompasses several pedagogical practices of the state and territory like Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and other states, which have their own set of the framework with the influence of ELYF. The education and care program for children is also analyzed with the five phases of the planning cycle. The importance of the planning cycle is highlighted in the essay to project its impact on the curriculum design. The framework of ELYF highlights learning through play, cultural competency, the importance of the environment, and responsible collaboration with the children. 

Discussion on the Education and Care program

The Education and Care program implemented by the Australian State and Territories for the children fulfils the learning outcome, including developing a strong sense of identity among the children, connecting and contributing to the world, confidence as learners, effective communicators, and develop a sense of wellbeing. The different approaches and pedagogy are discussed in the following segments.  

Exploring the differences within Australian State and Territory approaches and pedagogy in the context of Australia 

The PDHPE (Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education) in New South Wales (NSW) is developed with the curriculum that addresses and strengthens the students' skills in three domains comprising self-management, movement, and interpersonal relationships. The approaches and pedagogy in teaching comprise of some principles. The children's learning environment in their early year needs to be supportive, respectful, and purposeful (Torii et al., 2017). The children need to be provided with a learning environment that makes them independent and develops self-motivation. The students from diverse background are encouraged through programs to develop thinking, learning, knowledge, and skill abilities. The curriculum is strictly against the usage of shock and tactics, where fear strategies reduce children's cognitive thinking. Instead, the teachers are encouraged to plan the learning activities, which help the students share their thoughts and experiences, plan for actions, and contribute to the learning ambience positively (Braybrook, 2019). The curriculum for children with disability or special needs is modified as per the children's requirement. The children are viewed with an inclusion spectrum where visual cues are added to understand their needs and expression and use the scaffolding methods to understand their responses. 

The focus of the Early Years Learning Framework followed by Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Tasmania along with New South Wales (NSW), focuses on the values, beliefs, and principles of learning that comprises the belonging, being and becoming experiences for the children (Okely et al. 2017). The principles of early learning drive the educators and children to constitute a plan for the children's holistic growth. The approach and pedagogy comprise enhanced learning through activities and fun, where the children must not feel threatened by anyone. The educators keep encouraging the children to understand their self-worth, critical in the optimum learning experiences. The educators believe that the children, irrespective of belonging to any category in the country, have the equal right of getting the education and educational support in their healthy upbringing. The teaching practice includes the nurturing of the children and the whole family. The pre-school facilities generally do not charge fees in ACT, Tasmania, Northern Territory but may have a voluntary contribution levy. NSW generally charges fees for the services which are fixed by the service providers (Raban & Kilderry, 2017). However, the content of the education and care approach in the states as mentioned above and territory is similar to developing the children on their physical foundation, emotional maturity, communication and general knowledge, social skills and language and cognitive skills of the children. 

The ELYF curriculum has been considered the standard framework for the holistic development of children since 2008. No other curriculum was set before this Act under the National Quality Standard. The other approved frameworks in existence in the Australian early educational context comprises Every Chance to Learn, developed in 2007. The Tasmanian Curriculum developed in 2007, The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2016, and Preschool Curriculum in 2016. o beThe Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) recognizes the wellbeing of the children from birth to the age of eight, where the educators focus on the skill buildings with adults and supportive relationships with the community enhances the growth of the children. Considering the children from their birth, the policymakers believe that children are biologically primed for learning since birth. In association with the EYLF, the Victorian community lays the importance of a diverse approach to learning. The VEYLDF respects and recognizes Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders' culture to have their unique place in Victoria's heritage (Victorian Department of Education and Training, 2016). The practice principle highlighted in Victorian children's learning and development promotes collective and personal acknowledgement of every child's identity, spirit, and culture. The Victorian early learning framework highlights story descriptions that reflect the practice principles of education and care program. 

The Northern Territory Curriculum Framework (NTCF) is aligned with the outcomes of ELYF. The curriculum's underlying foci are based on life skills, developmental approach, and building partnerships. The focus of the curriculum is highlighting the significance of community and families in the early childhood education, workforce with relevant qualifications and research and evaluation of the programs in early childhood in the Northern Territory (Northern Territory Preschool Curriculum, 2011) (Watt, 2020). The early years emphasize the children, ensuring they feel secure and supported by the families and the education service providers. The guiding principles act as the curriculum base, highlighting that learning in the early years needs to be based on sensory experiences (Krakouer et al. 2017).  Play and physical activities comprise the fundamental method of learning. The environment of learning also plays a crucial part in the early learning stages. The educators need to have a higher level of qualification and dedication towards nurturing the children. Through the framework of early learning, the educators are motivated to create an inclusive learning environment supports the learning of language and development of concept according to the needs of the children (Sims et al. 2018). The educators plan for supporting the children whose first language may not be English. They understand and appreciate the diversity and create different programs that cater to the children's unique needs. Communication is essential for the children, where the educators help teach the children on the voice tone, body language, eye contact, personal space, and respect each and everyone's religious beliefs. 

Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline is the framework in alignment with the EYLF that shares a similar vision. The framework's outcomes comprise identity, connectedness wellbeing, active learning and effective communications (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2018). The difference in pedagogy projected through the curriculum relates to evidence-based pedagogies, including inquiry-based, play-based, and project-based support to the early learners. The framework induces intentional teaching practices promoting unique learning skills among the children. The intentional teaching practices include challenging the opportunities to encourage critical thinking among the children, collaboration, encouragement, explanation, imaginative environment, instruction, active listening, modelling, scaffolding and reflecting. The assessment of the children's progress is projected through the gathering of evidence and documentation of the learning process, analyzing the evidence, identifying steps for learning, and reflecting on the feedback. The concept of continua is used by the educators that describe the phases if emerging, explore and extension. The pedagogical practise approach includes encouraging the children to manage their belongings and maintain a daily routine, encouragement in communication through verbal and non-verbal cues and scaffolding in learning experiences. The children's development is assessed through play, real-life situations, routines and transitions, and investigations.  The curriculum's guiding principles relate to the social, personal, physical, health, language early mathematical learning and the positive dispositions on the phases of becoming aware, making connections, exploring and applying the concept. 

Western Australia follows the Early Childhood K3 syllabus in alignment with the primary EYLF framework. The curriculum concept is the play-based environment that encourages partnerships between the teachers and the parents (Western Australia School Curriculum and Standards Authority, 2018). The parents are educated with the concept of play which enhances the cognitive skill of the children. The educators use the progress maps to assess the progressive achievements of the children through play-based activities. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and Western Australian Framework focuses on the children's expression where their learning is dynamic, holistic, emotional, spiritual, creative and based on linguistic aspects (Beloglovsky & Daly, 2015).The children are encouraged to enhance their creative mindset and curiosity. Early childhood pedagogy involves the educators' professional knowledge, knowledge of the children, families and their communities, awareness of the beliefs and imparting their creative styles and past experiences to support the learning of the children.  The pedagogical practice of the teachers and educators reflects their responsiveness to the children, intentional teaching, valuing the social context and culture, creating social and physical learning experiences and enable the children to have a successful transition in their learning experiences. The active learning environment and involvement of the parents, teachers, and children promote the learning outcomes as described in the framework. 

South Australia has developed the South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework (SACSA) with the concept of constructivism. The theorists like Piaget and Vygotsky are associated with the curriculum (Department of Education South Australia, 2018) (Pilkington et al. 2019). The central concept revolves around constructivism that creates the learner's image as the active constructor of a world through interaction physically and socially where the learner's experiences are internalized. The framework is viewed as a set of parameters that encourage continuation in learning and seamless transitions. The learners in the curriculum context need to develop the concept of understandings, dispositions, and capabilities. The difference in the outlook of the framework suggests future based implications where the curriculum's design addresses the future engagement of the children in their community (Inoue et al. 2017). The pedagogical approach components support identifying a strong theoretical base for flexible though the process, acknowledging past knowledge and diversity in culture, and learning on future, identity, interdependence, communication, and critical thinking. The children from birth to three are focused on the psychosocial self, physical self and communicating self. 

Identifying and explaining the planning cycle with its five phases

The Early Years Learning Framework's planning cycle is considered the process where the professionals observe plans. It evaluates the educators and teachers' planning cycle to develop a high-quality education program for the children. The five phases involved in the planning cycle relate to observation, questioning, planning, acting, and reflection. 

The structure of the planning cycle involves the observation phase. The educators in this phase collect information on the children, families, and communities to assess the cultural and social background of the children to add creative input to the program plan. The educator also actively collects the evidence of a child who is engaged in an activity. The activity enhances child learning in a facility (Breathnach et al. 2017). The second stage or phase involves questioning and analyzing the activities of the children. The educators develop the idea of what potential the child has with clarification on the child's knowledge. The child may be ready to learn the next things which the teachers provide. The educators then create a link with the EYLF outcome evidence markers while marking the children's level of achievement. 

The third phase involves planning. The teachers identify the learning aims with the link to EYLF evidence markers while outlining the content, which they will consolidate to enhance their learning trajectory (Arthur et al. 2017). The content will include new vocabulary for the children, modelling some concepts and scaffolding some encouraging and open-ended questions. This planning of activities encourages the children to explain their understandings or demonstrate their thinking of a concept. The fourth phase involves the action phase, where the teachers set and delivers the learning activities. The teachers tend to pay attention to how the children get actively engaged with the learning aims (Berk & Meyer, 2013). The fifth phase involves reflection and review of the activities that the children actively participated in. The educators are skilled and trained to correlate with the learning aims and the children's actual progress. They understand which activities need repetition, refinement, or extension. The educators also may choose to keep the learning aims while applying them in other play-based activities. 

Discussion on the importance of planning cycle in curriculum design

The importance of the planning cycle in a curriculum ensures that the children have inclusive growth in the domains that cover cognitive, physical, social, emotional and aesthetic development. The planning cycle is important since each child's development is different where the same outcome cannot be expected all at a time (Philips, 2020).  However, educators develop a consolidated program to understand the development and progress showed by the children in their early years. The rationale of developing a curriculum design with the planning cycle involves fostering diversification of learning, flexibility, and creativity in the learning phases. The principles and values of EYLF are constituted by the beliefs that children are naturally competent when their abilities and ideas are supported by experiences and learning (Havu-Nuutinen et al. 2021). A well-structured planning cycle helps in distinguishing the learning aims that maintains consistency in the learning activities. The planning cycle helps decipher the required resources in a facility to support the children's learning. The planning cycle also offers opportunities to gain a wide range of experiences in children's learning abilities when they experience indoor and outdoor environments. 

Conclusion

In summary, it may be concluded that the learning aim of the Early Year Learning Framework tends to be similar in most of the states and territories in Australia. However, their approach may differ where some states focus on the families and relationship with the communities for the children's holistic development. In contrast, in some states, the children's future takes the central part of motivating their education and care. The EYLF tends to cater to the foundational support framework for education and care. The fundamental outcome revolves around building a sense of identity, connectedness, wellbeing, confident and involved learners, and effective communicators. Developing the frameworks relates to securing reciprocal relationships, partnerships and develops high expectations and equity among the children. They also learn the concept of diversity and respect individuals and the wider communities in the country and across the globe. The reflective practice helps the children to understand the essence of learning.