School Curriculum And The Early Years Learning Framework

Critical issues facing educators today include; educational inequity, socio-economic status of students, cultural diversity, stereotyping, dominate cultural paradigms, and social disadvantage. Because of these issues, educators will be best prepared for classroom life if they find ways to adapt and modify the learning environment in order, to provide for inclusive regardless of the learners needs. All children in Australia are presented with the opportunity to attend schools which are designed to be inclusive for any and all abilities. Due to the diverse nature of the school age population in Australia classrooms are made up of an assortment of needs in relation to social, cognitive, and physical areas of learning.

Curriculum plays a significant role at school as it guides the structure and process of the teaching and learning experience. Every school will have its unique curriculum, usually guided by the national curriculum, which reflects the school philosophy and guides its strategic plan in teaching. The purpose of this essay is to explore and critique the Early Years Learning Framework(EYLF) curriculum by identifying how this curriculum links to City of Kingston- Edithvale Family and children center’s philosophy and Good Start’s strategic plan.

Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.

Within a school, equality, diversity and inclusion is very important. It is their duty to make sure all children have equal access to the curriculum. Whether they are a different race, culture, gender or have a special need or disability, it is important that they are supported and have a right to participate and be treated equal; this is known as inclusion. As part of this it is important that schools and other professionals support and promote cultural diversity in schools and the wider society, breaking down any discriminatory barriers to learning.

It is agreed that educator’s philosophy, pedagogical practices and believe about topics such as gender and sexuality, socio-cultural factors and cultural diversity will influence how the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is reflected in the classroom. For example, cultural competence which is one of the eight main practices that EYLF focuses on to support children’s learning.

It is the responsibility of the school to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils, based on the programmes of study for each key stage in the national curriculum. The teacher’s responsibility is to minimise any obstacles to effective learning and plan for all children to participate in the curriculum and achieve the best that they can. This will help to ensure an inclusive classroom. Access to a high-quality education is critical for empowering all children to lead rich and productive lives. Regardless of their background, disability, heritage, special educational needs, social group, gender, physical or emotional needs, race or culture schools have a duty to make sure all pupils have equal access to the curriculum. All children

Early childhood is a crucial stage of life in terms of children's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development and of their well-being. The growth in children is both rapid and differential. A

There is a significant importance placed on educators abilities to understand and implement diversity within educational centres, both Mary and Julie seem to have an in depth understanding of what diversity is and why it is so essential in early childhood settings. Mary and Julie share a common perspective about diversity established by their words such as individual, different, recognise, respect, value and promote. Holman (1998) believed that by accepting the differences of those surrounding us, we recognize and uphold the strength of those differences.

to 5 years and is broadly considered to be the most important time of learning

The Educators Guide to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia has identified key concepts and principles which require educators to use particular understandings and practices effectively to achieve the desire outcome ‘ The Journey for Educators: Growing competence in working with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010, Page 24) focuses on guiding educators

The key issues teachers need to consider to work successfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are to know cultural behaviours, relatedness, identity, history, community spirit, and to be aware of a great sense of autonomy. They are referred to as

More and more classrooms are devoting classroom time to center activity time. The main purposes of these centers are to generate opportunities for children to experience learning independently in the classroom. This gives children the sense of freedom to learn what they want to, even if these centers have options the child still get to choose what they want to learn. When looking at your classroom teachers need to think how the flow of traffic will go and what teachers want the children to get from each learning center.

During the ten years that I have worked in primary education inclusivity has played an increasingly important part when considering how the curriculum can be delivered and how a classroom can be managed to ensure that it is accessed by all children. Experience of working within a primary classroom has shown that the accommodation of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the delivery of inclusive lessons have had a vital part to play when determining classroom

The research article ‘Children under five and digital technologies: implications for early years pedagogy’, has included a long and well written literature review. However, it has not clearly been identified as a literature review in the research article. This can be seen as a disadvantage as it can make the article hard to follow (Bell and Waters, 2014). In addition, the article states that it is based on a research project which was carried out in four European countries that includes England, Luxemburg, Greece and Malta during 2010-2012 (Palaiologou, 2014). In continuation Campbell et al, (2004) argued the importance of a literature review as they believe it helps and gives guidance to the researcher to choose the research methods and get

Australia is multicultural society that brings an abundance of cultural and ethnic backgrounds amongst society; therefore it is an educator’s responsibility to have an understanding of how to support the diverse range of students that will be encountered within classroom context. Culture is regarded as an individuals behaviours and perceptions, which is influenced by the people and groups in which one belongs (Lawrence, Brooker & Goodnow, 2012, p.75). Culture gives an individual a sense of worth and sense of identity, shaping the daily practices of every day life (Lawrence, Brooker & Goodnow, 2012, p.76). The Cultural practices of students can influence academic approaches and mindset towards schoolwork, both within a classroom setting and