Reference no: EM133879993

CHILDREN, FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

ASSESSMENT: Portfolio

Learning Outcome 1: Explain the diverse range of issues affecting children, families and communities including social, economic and educational policies and their impact upon service provision for children and families.

Learning Outcome 2: Critically analyse texts and images in terms of the construction of childhood, and families across diverse contexts.

Assessment Rationale

Early childhood professionals experience a range of issues that affect children and families in contemporary society. They need to use critically reflection to work in partnership with families to resolve and work with some of these issues and this requires deep knowledge, effective communication to problem solve and understand how these issues effect policy and practice.
Assessment Description
The aim of this assessment is for pre-service teachers to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding regarding some of the diverse issues facing children and families in contemporary communities and consider links to policy and practice. This assessment aligns with the unit learning modules 4-6 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.

Topic 1: Critical text analysis
Find a relevant article from a newspaper, educational journal, social media or Internet focussing on an early childhood issue for children aged birth-to-six-years. Looking for last-minute assignment help? Grab it now!

Please note we do not want you to write about digital technologies for this assessment so make sure you do not write about issues to do with technology or you will not pass the assessment.
Useful sites include:

Pay attention to the ideas expressed in the article and how they might link to the unit content about family diversity, social justice and construction of childhood family and community explored in the unit. You do not need to cover all of these topics but you do need to align your discussion to the unit content.
Write a summary, critical analysis and evaluation of why the topic in this article is important and relevant to families with young children.
Analyse what works or does not work in the article
Pay close attention to the article choice as you will continue to use the same topic ideas from the article in your topic 2 and topic discussions and you will lose marks if the article is not relevant to families of young children.
Add a hyperlink to the article and include it in the reference list
Your choice of topic does not need approval as this choice is part of the assessment

Topic 2: Family newsletter
Write about the children's issue/topic for a family newsletter outlining the ideas from the critical text analysis you explored in topic 1. You can write this in a newsletter style and use images and communication strategies that we explore in module five, but you do not have to. Even though the newsletter will be written in everyday language rather than being highly academic, the article needs to show understandings of the unit content and readings. It should build on evidence of research and other significant literature and critically analyse the ideas presented around the issue. This isn't about giving your opinion or recommendations, more an opportunity to give an overview of the chosen article to communicate and engage these ideas with families. Pay attention to how you are able to communicate your topic to families in an ECE education setting (500 words).

Topic 3: Impact of educational policies and practices
Now use the issue and understandings you have developed from your chosen text and newsletter article to consider how they align with early childhood policy and practice in an education setting (500 words).
How might some of the ideas be reflected in policy and practices in an early childhood education setting?
What broader polices such as those outlined in module 6 might be relevant to your issue?
Give examples of what this could look like in practice as highlighted in module six.

Assessment Instructions
Formatting and style
APA 7 formatting is required for this task.
Acknowledge if and how you have used GenAI in the assessment
Include clear headings for the topics you are responding to
Indent the first line of each new paragraph.
Use 12-point font.
Use a 1.5 or double-line space for your writing and your reference list as this gives spaces for the markers to write feedback.