Posted: January 27th, 2025

Fostering Inclusivity: Examining Historical, Cultural, and Gender Dynamics in Early Childhood Education

TCHR2002 CHILDREN, FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES
ASSESSMENT 1: Portfolio 2024

Summary
Title: Assessment 1: Portfolio of short responses to unit content
Due Date: Monday 18th November (WEEK 4) @ 11:59pm AEDT
Length: 1500 words excluding references

Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)
You will demonstrate the following Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO) on the successful completion of this task:

ULO 1: Compare and critique historical and contemporary constructions of childhood and families, including those pertaining to First Nations perspectives and experiences.
Adding a layer of understanding about these constructions facilitates critical engagement with diverse cultural narratives.

ULO 2: Identify how children develop identity and how teachers develop a sense of belonging, being, and becoming.
Examining these relationships provides a foundation for effective teaching practices in diverse communities.

Rationale
Working with and supporting children and families within the context of their community is a vital consideration for teachers as this reflects the lives and learning of children. Teachers have a crucial responsibility to actively engage with complex community dynamics. Knowing children, families, and communities therefore presents opportunities and challenges, and being able to identify, compare, and critique the diversity of issues that children and families experience in contemporary communities in Australia is a vital skill.
This holistic understanding also helps foster inclusive environments that respect and celebrate diversity.

Assessment Description
The aim of this assessment is for pre-service teachers to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding regarding the historical and diverse issues facing children and families in contemporary communities. Focus on these issues highlights the intersectionality of historical, cultural, and educational influences. This assessment aligns with the unit learning modules 1-3 and requires you to reflect upon key issues presented in the unit content and complete three (3) x 500-word responses to the following topics.
This effectively integrates theoretical and practical dimensions of the unit’s learning outcomes.

Topics
Topic 1: Historical childhood influences
Think about one or two issues that influence children’s lives today and how this has changed over the last 20-50 years. Consider the diverse socioeconomic and technological factors influencing modern childhoods. With reference to the unit content, compare and critique how contemporary life may enhance or hinder outcomes for children and families compared to how life influenced them in the past.
Analyzing these shifts offers valuable insights into the evolving nature of family dynamics. Pay attention to the ideas about how contemporary childhoods are constructed in an Australian or Global context.
Frame your answer using the levels in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model including an understanding of the concept of proximal processes.
This framework enables a comprehensive exploration of child development in intricate systems.

Topic 2: First Nations childhoods
Culturally responsive educators are knowledgeable of each child and family’s context, including how to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the curriculum. Through this, educators can contribute to reconciliation and understanding in the classroom. Make relevant links to the Early Years Learning Framework (AGDE, 2022) in your discussions.

Discuss the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children seeing themselves, their identities, and cultures reflected in their learning environment.
This reflective practice supports children’s confidence and authentic self-expression.
Identify why creating an intercultural space is important for all children and families.
An intercultural space fosters empathy, mutual respect, and collaboration across cultural boundaries.
Topic 3: Gender equity scenario
You are employed as the teacher in an early childhood education setting where a new family has recently enrolled their four-year-old son Jacob. For educators, this scenario highlights the need to employ age-appropriate methods for addressing stereotypes. You have planned a cooking experience with the children when Jacob states, “cooking is the girl’s job, boys should not cook!”
Discuss the following points with reference to the unit content:

What specific language and strategies would you use to address the children’s being, belonging, and becoming in this situation?
Tailored communication helps children unlearn gender norms in ways that support their growth and understanding.
Give examples of how you can teach gender equity as part of an anti-bias curriculum outlined in the unit content, with children aged 3-5 years-of-age.
Introducing hands-on examples will solidify children’s grasp of concepts like fairness and equality.
How could you communicate the principles of an anti-bias curriculum and gender equity with families?
Collaborative discussions with families promote alignment in values and practices, fostering shared responsibility in raising children.
Assessment Instructions

Formatting and style

APA 7 formatting is required for this task. Clarity and organization are essential for academic writing of this nature.

Include a cover page that contains:

The title of the task in bold.
Your name (as author) and Student ID.
Your faculty (Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University).
Your unit assessor’s name (Tracy Young).
The due date.
Indent the first line of each new paragraph.

Use 12-point Arial font.

Use a 1.5- or double-line space for your writing and your reference list.

Properly formatted content enhances readability and ensures professional presentation.

Referencing

APA 7 Referencing style is required to be used for this task. This ensures consistency and credibility in citing sources.

Create a reference list on a new page at the end of the task with a minimum of ten references, although you may use more.

Broader literature may include textbooks, peer-reviewed articles, and other authoritative sources.

Citing diverse sources reinforces the depth and breadth of understanding presented in the responses.

Assessment Submission
Submitted using the submission point in the Turnitin folder in the Assessments Tasks and Submission section on the Blackboard TCHR2002 site.

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Assessment 1: Portfolio of Short Responses to Unit Content

 
Topic 1: Historical Childhood Influences
During the last 20-50 years, changes in the children’s lives have been witnessed due to various social, economic, and natural factors. These modifications can positively and negatively impact children and families and can be analyzed using Ecological Systems Theory. Microsystems have experienced significant changes as the immediate environments of children are involved. More availability of both parents in paid work and changes in family and dependencies of time for parents and children (Kehily, 2009). This has helped provide households with improved financial stability, although there are controversies over the role of women and childcare as more and more centers opened at each family’s early childhood home. However, quality early childcare opportunities have increased as evidence indicates that early childhood education produces a positive impact on children’s intellectual and language development as well as their social and emotional well-being (Gittens, 2004). These programs include offering good learning experiences and social interaction apart from the family microsystem.
The mesosystem reveals interconnections between children’s immediate environments, particularly in Generation Alpha’s experience. These children are characterized by earlier schooling, longer formal education, and older parents (typically Generation X and Y) (The Pew Research Center, 2015). Their development is the most closely monitored in history, with technology mediating many interactions between home, school, and community settings. At the same time, technology can enhance the process’s connection, cooperation, and individualisation. On the other hand, children spending much time on screens or being exposed to risks such as cyberbullying, fake news, and other problematic content can be antithetical to children’s physical, social, and emotional health. Thus, the emergence of this type of digital environment necessitates new types of parental control and media competence for children and adults as well.
Moving further to the ecosystem, there are changes in the society that have Retrospectively influenced children’s life experiences. New sources of stress for families from Globalisation, instabilities in the economy, and environmental problems including climate change as noted by UNEP (2023), pose challenges to children and their security. This means that poverty, inadequate nutritious food, and restricted quality care hinder the healthy development of children; especially those of color. However, policies and programs that attempted to solve these inequities have either been implemented in a standard mechanized manner or had varying effects on the treatment of the issue in various settings.
At the macrosystem level, changes in cultural beliefs, values, and practices have affected the definition of childhood. Cross (1997, 2004) has claimed that such things as the ‘culture of cuteness’ and the ‘innocence of childhood’ have sustained some expectations and stereotype images of children as unapproachable and constrained that may help to limit their power and voice. On the other hand, the continuing demands for children’s rights and recognition regarding different childhoods have made children more influential and have reformulated ideas regarding childhood as a progressive, linear stage in every person’s life cycle (James & James, 2008). All of these emerging new cultural discourses have a very significant impact on the way children are regarded, cared and supported across society.
Moreover, at the chronosystem level, it is characteristic that the changes in the structures, policies, and history of societies have influenced children’s experiences. For instance, the COVID-19 outbreak affected children’s learning, social lives, and well-being; the effects, however, continue to persist, and researchers have yet to document them. This increases the understanding of the temporal perspective of children’s lives and how macrosystem changes influence change in the other microsystems.
Topic 2: First Nations Childhoods
Cultural relevance as a practice has remained relevant as an important practice as a way of improving education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Play practice for these children therefore requires them to have visibility of reflection of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous identities and cultures in their learning contexts. According to the Early Years Learning Framework (AGDE, 2022), cultural identity presupposes that children recognize themselves and their cultures as important. Authentic acknowledgment and appreciation of children’s daily existence and cultural heritage validate their existence promising a positive self-image – an essential aspect for the child’s health and academic achievement.
To favorably change the situation, it is vital to build intercultural contexts that include and appreciate all the cultures of the world for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and families. In doing so, this approach enables learners to acknowledge and appreciate diverse perceptions, cultures, and existence (Gheaus & De Wispelaere, 2018). Through engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, families, and community members, educators can implement Indigenous content knowledge, language, and teaching learning approaches/strategies into classroom teaching and learning processes. This means that all children may learn from and about the First Nations in a process of radical change if they can get that education (AGDE, 2022).
In addition, there are more branches that create multicultural spaces that help children to respect others, be kind, and follow the principles of social justice. When children are exposed to the rich history, survival, and valuable contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, children also can uplift prejudice and aspire for mutual respect (Holt, 1974). This creates a culture for the well-being of every child and family and develops one that is equitable with more respect for the young members of society.
Culturally responsive educators understand the background of each child and his/her family and are always striving to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into every learning area. This may include using Indigenous art, music, and storytelling, along with TEK to enhance learning activities. Teachers also have to be aware of students’ culturally and linguistically diverse and sensitive to the community’s need to adopt appropriate language use that embraces and accepts diversity.
Topic 3: Gender Equity Scenario
When responding to Jacob’s statement, ‘Cooking is the girl’s job, boys should not cook!’, an early childhood educator uses language and strategy to teach gender sensitivity. First and foremost, the educator should maintain a tone of voice that is both not agitated, but authoritative, then tell Jacob for example, ‘No, Jacob, that is wrong’. It is rather essential for people, man or woman, to learn how to cook. The author argues saying, ‘every child is capable and ought to’ learn how to cook as well as perform various chores at home. This immediately challenges Jacob’s thought process and asserts that cooking is not exclusively for or only performed by any particular sex. After that, the educator could use the opportunity to have a thinking and questioning discussion about gender roles and stereotyping with the children. They could come up with questions such as: ‘Do you know any person who cooks irrespective of their gender? or “And what other things do you believe boys and girls can do in their lifetime”? It allows the children to challenge some of their perceptions and broaden their understanding of the potential and hobbies of male and female individuals.
In an intentionally anti-bias curriculum, the educator could then follow up this discussion with high-quality children’s books, posters, or any other tools that depict men and women performing a variety of roles, including cooking and other work around the house. This makes a nice step towards reinforcing the shift in gender stereotypes that are otherwise peddled by various media houses to young kids. In addition, the educator could design fun activities, where all children could join in and perform cooking, cleaning, and any other chores which are expected of them as grouped under the different gender. It also can be a useful way of teaching purposeful aspects of living and also instills the concept of teamwork and does not reinforce the idea of gender-specific roles in work (Holt, 1974).
When discussing the anti-bias curriculum and gender equity with the families the educator could explain to families the reasons for disrupting the existing gender stereotyping and providing equal opportunities for all students. They could also exchange some of the research articles or handouts that outline how families can create a more gender-sensitive environment in the household. Furthermore, the educator could also encourage families to take part in certain lessons to depict the school’s concerns for gender sensitivity and tolerance perceptions. It also benefits the individual child and has positive implications that contribute to the improvement of an inclusive social justice and equitable environment (Cunningham, 2008 ). Through incorporating an anti-bias curriculum, teachers help children to understand gender roles as socially constructed norms, to appreciate the differences within people, and to have the requisite knowledge and attitudes to meaningfully construct a non-sexist society.
 
References
AGDE. (2022). Early Years Learning Framework. Australian Government Department of Education.
Cross, G. (1997). Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood. Cambridge University Press.
Cross, G. (2004). The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children’s Culture. Oxford University Press.
Cunningham, H. (2008). Children and Childhood in western society since 1500. Routledge
James, A., & James, A. (2008). Key Concepts in Childhood Studies. SAGE Publications.
Gheaus, A., Calder, G., & De Wispelaere, J. (2018). The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children. Routledge.
Gittens, D. (2004). The historical construction of childhood. In M. J. Kehily (Ed.), The sociology of childhood. Open University Press.
Holt, H. (1974). Escape from childhood: The needs and rights of children Ballantyne Books.
Kehily, M. J. (2009). Understanding Childhood: An Introduction to Childhood Studies. Open University Press.
Leslie, T., Byrd, J., & Hoad, N. (2019). See how global warming has changed the world since your childhood. ABC News.
Malone, K., Tesar, M., & Arndt, S. (2020). Theorising posthuman childhood studies. Singapore: Springer Nature.
Pew Research Center. (2015). The whys and hows of generations research.
UNEP. (2023). Prospects for Children in the Polycrisis: A 2023 Global Outlook. United Nations Environment Programme.

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