TCHR5003 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

ASSESSMENT 1: Critical Review

Summary

Task Description

You are required to develop a professional response to all three (3) scenarios described below that have occurred in early childhood settings making reference to the unit materials, the National Quality Standard [NQS] (ACECQA, 2020) and the Early Years Learning Framework [EYLF] (AGDE, 2022).

Rationale

The scenarios are based on real life events in early childhood settings and relate to the early childhood principles and practices that have been explored over the first three weeks of the unit (Modules 1-3).

Task Instructions

Develop a professional response to each scenario below (500 words each) to demonstrate your understanding of the importance of relationships and how to build and foster relationships with children, families, staff and the community respecting the diversities of their histories and backgrounds. Refer to the EYLF, NQS, unit materials, and academic literature to support your points

Scenario 1

You are the early childhood teacher in the toddler room. Increasingly, you notice some of your colleagues have a deficit view of the toddlers in their care. Your colleagues demonstrate behaviours that suggest the toddlers are not capable of making choices and completing routines on their own. Critically analyse this learning environment in terms of a) the need for children’s agency and b) the practices you would implement for improved children’s agency in this setting.

When synthesising your response, justify your analysis with one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature.

Scenario 2

As the early childhood teacher responsible for the Preschool room at a long day care service, you are eager to introduce a healthier eating program. Your goal is to involve both families and the community in this initiative. Your service caters to a diverse range of family backgrounds, each with unique cultural influences and dietary requirements and preferences.

How can you effectively implement a healthier eating program, considering the diverse backgrounds and preferences? Additionally, how can you ensure participation and support from both families and the broader community in this initiative?

When constructing your response, justify your answer with one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature.

Scenario 3

You are the educator in the 0–2-year-old room. You have a number of new families who are concerned about their children who become very upset at drop-off time. You are to construct a response to families that will a) reassure the new families that their children’s behaviour is common, and b) explain the strategies you use to settle the children each morning and build trust.

When detailing the strategy use one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature to justify your decisions, and the importance of these for the child and family.

Follow the steps below to complete this task

Download the TCHR5003 Assessment 1 Template and save it with your surname and initial and the assessment task’s name. E.g: LastnameA_TCHR5003_criticalreview

• Complete a critical review for each of the three [3] scenarios

• Complete one reference list for the entire assessment task

• Once complete, submit task via the Turnitin link in the Assessment and Submission section of the unit site.

• Adhere to APA7 formatting guidelines

Referencing

APA7th referencing format is required with a minimum of 10 references. Sources should include relevant early childhood policy and peer-reviewed literature. Link to SCU Libguide here: APA 7 Referencing.

Task Submission

Submit Assessment Template by using the Turnitin activity titled “Assessment 1: Critical Review” in the Assessments Tasks & Submission section on the Blackboard site. Only Microsoft Word documents submitted via the Turnitin portal on Blackboard will be accepted.

Special Consideration

Students wishing to request special consideration to extend the due date of an assessment task must submit a Request for Special Consideration form via their MyEnrolment page as early as possible and prior to the original due date for that assessment task, along with any accompanying documents, such as medical certificates.

Late Submissions and Penalties

Except when special consideration is awarded, late submission of assessment tasks will lead automatically to the imposition of a penalty. Penalties will be incurred as soon as the deadline is reached.

• a penalty of 5% of the available marks will be deducted from the actual mark at one minute after the time listed in the due date

• a further penalty of 5% of the available mark will be deducted from the actual mark achieved on each subsequent calendar day until the mark reaches zero.

Academic Integrity

At Southern Cross University academic integrity means behaving with the values of honesty, fairness, trustworthiness, courage, responsibility, and respect in relation to academic work.

The Southern Cross University Academic Integrity Framework aims to develop a holistic, systematic, and consistent approach to addressing academic integrity across the entire University. For more information see the SCU Academic Integrity Framework.

NOTE: Academic Integrity breaches include the use of generative artificial intelligence tools when not permitted, poor referencing, not identifying direct quotations correctly, close paraphrasing, plagiarism, recycling, misrepresentation, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, fabricating information.

In this assessment task, students are permitted to use GenAI only for specific assessment tasks and purposes as identified in the table below. There are no restrictions on using grammar, spelling and referencing GenAI tools. Students must uphold the principles of the Student Academic and Non Academic Misconduct Rules, Section 3. You are responsible for ensuring that any content generated with the assistance of these tools is accurate, properly referenced where appropriate, and demonstrably your own work. Misrepresentation of GenAI generated work as entirely your own without appropriate oversight, editing, or critical engagement may constitute a breach of academic integrity.

You may only use GenAI to help guide you in the process of completing your assessment work. Think of it as a tool. A quick way to access information or an AI tutor to help answer your questions. Remember, just as if you Googled something, you still need to evaluate the information to determine its accuracy and relevance. GenAI can produce biased and false information. You must find scholarly sources to support any of the ideas generated. This is a requirement for this assessment.

You cannot include content generated AI in your assessment (even if you have paraphrased, summarised or quoted the output).

If you opt to use GenAI as defined as acceptable for this assessment, you must keep evidence of how it was used and acknowledge how you used it in the process of completing your assessment appropriately. To help understand what to do, consult the Learning Zone’s resources.

• Referencing GenAI with APA 7 Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Tools - APA 7th Referencing Guide - Library guides at Southern Cross University

• Quick Guide Acknowledging and Referencing GenAI Use

• Build your skills using GenAI - PAIR Framework

• The SCU Library Guide- GenAI can also help you develop your AI literacy skills. https://libguides.scu.edu.au/genAI

If you use GenAI tools in your assessment task beyond the acceptable limits, it may result in an academic integrity breach against you as described in the Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules, Section 3.

Under the Rules - Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules (Section 3) students have the right to Appeal against the Academic Integrity Officers academic misconduct Determination, to the Executive Dean, with that determination being final and conclusive, and not subject to further Appeal within the University. Students are not able to appeal against academic misconduct via the Unit Assessor or unit staff.

Grades & Feedback

Assignments that have been submitted by the due date will receive an SCU grade and written feedback. Grades and feedback will be posted to “Grades & Feedback” section on the Blackboard unit site. Please allow 7-10 days for marks to be posted.

Description of SCU grades

High Distinction:

The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows exceptional ability to synthesise, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The student’s performance could be described as outstanding in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Distinction:

The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows a well-developed ability to synthesise, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The student’s performance could be described as distinguished in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Credit:

The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements specified, demonstrates insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts. The student’s performance could be described as competent in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Pass:

The student’s performance satisfies all of the basic learning requirements specified and provides a sound basis for proceeding to higher-level studies in the subject area. The student’s performance could be described as satisfactory in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Fail:

The student’s performance fails to satisfy the learning requirements specified.

Assessment Rubric