Diploma of
Early Childhood Education

This subject explores the following components of theoretical perspectives and educational theories that influence early childhood teaching and learning:

• Recognising the theoretical influences underpinning global early childhood pedagogy and professional practice.
• Critically reflecting on and evaluating early childhood educational theoretical perspectives that influence teaching and children’s learning.
• Investigating developmental, socio-cultural, cultural-historical, socio-behaviourist, critical, post structuralism, post-modernism, and contemporary theories in relation to pedagogical implications in the teaching and learning environment.
• Identifying theories in children’s play and the domains of development and applying this in curriculum provision, the planning cycle and teaching practices.

Subject Code: EPRO201
Credit Points: 6

This subject explores the following components of young children’s and early childhood teachers understanding and supporting exceptionality to enable inclusivity in early childhood contexts: 

• Contemporary inclusive education research, recommendations, strategies, and approaches to enhance and enrich the inclusion of children with exceptionalities and diverse learning needs into early childhood contexts.
• The characteristics of exceptionality that influence the inclusion of children in early childhood settings and curriculum provision.
• Recognising the barriers, limitations, modifications, and interventions children with exceptionalities require for inclusive curriculum provision and learning environments.
• Engagement with inclusive approaches, perspectives, and teaching practices to support young children with exceptionalities in early childhood settings.

Subject Code: EDEV202
Credit Points: 6

This subject explores the following components of understanding and guiding behaviour to enable the provision of early childhood education and care to young children:

• Brain architecture and how early experiences shape the developing brain and influence young children’s behaviour. 
• The significance of the links and connections between young children’s contexts, holistic development, and needs on their behaviour.
• Pedagogical strategies for understanding how to guide young children’s behaviour whilst facilitating their social-emotional skills through attachment, positive relationships, and interactions.
• Teaching strategies and approaches to support young children’s behaviour and nurture positive self esteem, wellbeing, self-regulation, and emotional intelligence.
• The importance of play, curriculum provision and identifying the early childhood teachers’ role in guiding behaviour to promote every child’s agency within the learning environment.

Subject Code: ETCH203
Credit Points: 6

This subject explores the following components of working with families and communities to enable the provision of early childhood education and care:

• contemporary sociology, theories and influences of family and community contexts on young children’s development and learning.
• social policy that influences the social behaviour, relationships, interactions, culture and contexts of children, families, and communities.
• he diversity, complexity, changing nature and challenging contexts encountered by families and the impact on children’s development in contemporary society. 
• contextualised research, projects, programs, resilience raising strategies and approaches to working with and supporting family and community contexts in early childhood education.

Subject Code: EPRO204
Credit Points: 6

This subject explores:

• Contemporary issues in sustainability and ethics, including ecological, globalisation, indigenous, social, and cultural sustainability.
• Key concepts, theories, priorities, policies, and practices in education for sustainability.
• A range of pedagogical practices to support children’s knowledge, agency, and practices of sustainability both locally and globally.
• How to nurture children to become active citizens in sustainable practices.
• An identification of personal content knowledge and values relating to sustainability.

Subject Code: EPRO204
Credit Points: 6

This subject explores the following components of infant and toddler care and learning to enable the provision of early childhood education and care:

• Contemporary theories, approaches, models, and frameworks for teaching, educating, and responding appropriately to infants and toddlers.
• Documentation, assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of learning opportunities for infants and toddlers.
• Fostering infants and toddlers learning dispositions and holistic development across all areas of early childhood curriculum provision.

Subject Code: ETCH206
Credit Points: 6
Pre-Requisites: ECUR102 Exploring Play and Documentation, EDEV103 Holistic Child Development

This subject explores the following components of curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching strategies to enable the provision of early childhood education and care to young children:

• Contextual theoretical perspectives on curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching.
• Contemporary perspectives on early childhood curriculum and approaches to curriculum.
• Effective early childhood pedagogy and teaching strategies when supporting young children’s learning and development.
• Integration of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers into everyday practices within early childhood contexts.

Subject Code: ECUR207
Credit Points: 6

This subject enables you to explore your developing understanding of the early childhood profession and expectations in the birth to three age range of an education and care setting. Throughout the professional experience component of the subject, you will apply acquired professional knowledge and demonstrate pedagogical skills in the following focus areas:

• Theoretical Perspectives and Pedagogy
• Understanding and Supporting Exceptionality
• Understanding and Guiding Children’s Behaviour
• Working with Families and Communities
• Sustainability Perspectives in the Early Years
• Development, Assessment and Planning
• Curriculum Approaches and Teaching Strategies

Subject Code: PLAC908
Credit Points: 6
Pre-Requisites: All Level 200 (Year 2) subjects plus PLAC907 Professional Experience 1 (3-5 years)