The Role of Early Childhood Education for Securing Kids' Future - Essay Example

How VEYLDF supports Quality Standard Area 1.2 of the National Quality Standard The National Quality Standard refers to the educators and coordinators as intentional, purposeful, and thoughtful while making their decisions and actions since they engage various reflective practices through learning (ACEQUA, 2013). Moreover, educators engage questions associated with ethics, practice, and philosophy during the practice. The judgments from professional educators play important roles in facilitating the learning of children (David, 2007). The standard 1.2 aims to achieve several objectives which majorly develop the practitioners: ensure development of their professional skills, experience, and knowledge, development of the children, families’, and communities’ knowledge, and creation of awareness based on the manner in which their beliefs and values impact the wellbeing and learning of children(Bae, 2009). Moreover, the standard also requires the educators to draw on their creativity, insights, and imaginations in their bid to improvise and adjust their early childhood practices to suit the learning context, place, and time (Hutchins, Frances, & Saggers, 2009). Standard 1.2 plays a significant role as it contributes to quality education and care programmes. It enables the assessment of children’s learning through information gathering and analysis based on what the children understand (Barrera, Corso, & Macpherson, 2003). However, the process involves a cycle involving planning, documentation, and evaluation of children’s learning which is significant as it allows the educators and coordinators to partner with other stakeholders (ACEQUA, 2013). Through the Standard 1.2, the professionals need to plan effectively the current and future learning of the children, frequently making informed curriculum decisions, ensuring proper communication on the progress and learning of children, and determination of the scope the progress of the children are realizing the learning outcomes and outline impeding factors (Hutchins, Frances &Saggers, 2009). In additions, the practitioners need to identify children requiring additional support to ensure the achievement of the learning outcomes and offering support to the families and conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the learning opportunities and strategies in place to enable the learning of children (Hutchins, Frances & Saggers, 2009). However, reflection on the pedagogy suiting the children’s context is critical (Hutchins, Frances, & Saggers, 2009). VEYLDF majorly has five learning outcomes for every child under the age of eight: children have strong sense of identity, children are connected with and contribute to their world, children have strong sense of wellbeing, children are confident and involved learners, and children are effective communicators (DEECD, 2009, 6). With these outcomes, it is critical to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the early childhood education practitioners. VEYLDF plays a critical in ensuring quality education among the children as it advances the learning and development of all children from birth to eight years (Clarke, 2009). The framework supports such initiates through supporting the early childhood professionals in working together and closely with the families with an aim of achieving common outcomes for every child (Australian Psychological Society Limited, 2007). Within the Framework, the Early childhood professional involves a person working with children from birth to eight years including the maternal and clinical health nurses, early childhood practitioners, and preschool field officers (Bennett, 2004). The Victorian Framework outlines eight Practice Principles for Learning and Development, which is critical in ensuring deliverance of the required children’s content and outlines the most effect method for which the early childhood professionals could work together and families in facilitating learning and development Significance of VEYLDF Principles in meeting Standard 1.2 The VEYLDF principles guide the activities undertaken by the professionals and divided into various categories: collaborative, effective, and reflective (David, 2007). For collaborative, the principles include family-centred practise, partnership with professionals, and high expectation for every child; for effective, the principles are equity and diversity, respectful relationships and responsive engagement, integrated teaching and learning approaches, and assessment for learning and development. With regard to reflective, the practitioners have to embrace reflective practices. These principles guide the Victorian Framework and form the basis of professional practice among the educators working with children below the age eight. Moreover, they are based on the high level of understanding that requires the educators to respect and care for their relationship with the children and their families in a bid to ensure effective delivery of the learning and development experiences. Moreover, such relationships would ensure deliverance of relevant content with their local contexts (Barrera, Corso, & Macpherson, 2003). As a result, the experience and the relationship gradually assist in the expansion of the knowledge and understanding of important issues, promotion of their health, safety, and wellbeing. In the first practice, family centred-practices, it is clear that children learn effectively in context of the families considering the influence they have on their learning and development. The educators advance the learning and development of children through engaging in family centred practice by respecting the pivotal role contributed by the parents in the lives of children to meet standard 1.2 element of the National Quality Standard. Hence, the educators need to understand the families of children under their care to offer support and share certain important information that would ensure effective development of children. Standard 1.2 recognizes the significance of ensuring that the learning processes occur in social context. Therefore, involvement of the parents in learning of children is critical to guaranteeing their concentration and involvement in the learning process (ACEQUA, 2013). Such activities require educators to be sociable and create trust with the family (David, 2007). Besides, the educators need to ensure creation of a welcoming and inclusive setup that encourages in participation of all families with an aim of ensuring efficient learning and development of children and provision of feedback to the families on the progress of children (David, 2007). Such practice would assist to meet the standard 1.2 by complying with principle six that requires integrated teaching and learning approaches. With reference to principle eight, reflective principle, requires early childhood professionals have to develop extensively the professional expertise to enable them offer the best possible learning and development opportunities for the children. The reflective practice is clear that learning and development of children involves advancement whenever they experience various forms of interactions with professionals. The educators are becoming effective by critically reflecting and developing strong professional culture of inquiry (Centre for Community Child Health, 2009). Effective educators need to develop a vital understanding of their actions and continually develop efficient skills, knowledge, and approaches important to ensure the achievement of the best results. Settings with high quality care systems have positive effects on the intellectual and socio-emotion development of the children (Chitpin& Simon, 2009). Furthermore, whenever the quality of early learning is high, the higher the chances of registering better outcomes among the children. Children often make better all round progresses in environments with practitioners that understand the learning styles of every child; educators understand properly the appropriateness of having a pedagogical content, and strong commitment to ensure the achievement of professional inquiry (Clarke, 2009). The development of such knowledge only occurs if the practitioners reflect on their educational programmes and practices that influence their values, attitudes, and decisions among the children. Therefore, to meet standard 1.2, the educators need to gather various information supporting, informing, assessing, and enriching the decision making process within the profession. Educators need to continually developing their professional knowledge and skills required in developing the best learning and development among the children, promote successful practices, using the evidence to plan their practices, and challenge some practices. Principle seven of the framework, assessment for learning and development, requires the educators to discover what the children understand and know based the activities (Chitpin & Simon, 2009). Assessment is critical for monitoring the progress of children to establish what they are ready to learn and method of delivering such learning activities (David, 2007). Children tend to benefits from the assessment processes especially if the educators embrace whole-child approach, which provides a holistic view of learning and development (Bae, 2009). In most cases, the educators use an array of assessment tools and methods required in building prior learning, duplication avoidance, and addition of value. Since they understand the critical role played by families during the learning and development of children, the educators need to be aware of the health and wellbeing the families while planning learning and development of children (ACEQUA, 2013). The framework requires the early childhood practitioners to gather information that aims at supporting, informing, assessing, and enriching their decision-making processes regarding the appropriate practices (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009). Besides, practitioners have to ensure continuous development of their professional knowledge and skills that would enable them ensure provision of the best learning and development opportunities for all the children. There is also need of promoting practices that in the recent years showed success in supporting the learning and development of children, to achieve standard 1.2 by ensuring compliance with principle five, respectful relationships and responsive engagement. The framework also encourages the utilization of the evidences to inform the early childhood experiences, challenges, and changes in some practices. Children’s learning and development usually take gradual changes from play games to more structured learning processes. With reference to the sixth practices, integrated teaching and learning approaches, the educators should recognize the gradual shifts that usually take place among the children within their first eight years and continuums from play to structured learning mechanisms (Bae, 2009). Currently, Australia is increasingly becoming one of the diverse countries in the work with regard to the culture and linguistic. If the first language of the child is not English and the early childhood education systems fails to support their home language, then such practices could have detrimental effect in their later educational achievements (Australian Psychological Society Limited, 2007). Several evidences exist suggesting that children originating from culturally diversified backgrounds are likely to experience low self-esteem, self-worth, and portray inadequate belonging which contribute to the risk factors associated with the poor academic success, social and emotional wellbeing. Practitioners that are aware of their produces are in better position of supporting the children from the diversified backgrounds and progress their learning since such practitioners they are aware of their emotional intelligence, values, personal philosophies, and belief systems that are crucial to ensuring the achievement of the desired results (Bae, 2009). With such factors, it is important that for educators to recognize that children require adequate time to develop from one stage to another to support standard 1.2 by recognizing principle seven, Assessment for learning and development reflective (ACEQUA, 2013). How learning outcomes support educating in meeting standard 1.2 The Victorian Framework recognizes various possible outcomes among the children when the educators properly integrate effective educational systems. When give equal opportunities, children are in a position to yield quality results. The major outcomes identified by the framework include a strong sense of identity, connection, and contribution of the children to the community, strong sense of wellbeing, confidence and involved learning process, and effective communicators. Every child learns best at a particular time and in different rates since their rates of developments are never straightforward (Hutchins, Frances, & Saggers, 2009). The educators need to understand such factors and avoid putting much pressure on the children. Commitment and perseverance are important factors while learning to dealing with children (David, 2007). Support systems, learning, and development need to focus on encouraging these outcomes. Besides, children are connected and relate to their world. It is important to allow efficient interaction with others to enable development of their personal and social wellbeing. From birth, children learn through interaction with the members of the and as they undergo the development process; they need to interact with other children in a bid to expand their knowledge and improve their social knowhow (Chitpin & Simon, 2009). To ensure its effectiveness in delivering quality educational standards among the children, VEYLDF supports all the early childhood professionals to work closely with the families to ensure the achievement of standard 1.2 by satisfying learning outcome two, Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Through acknowledgement of the identity, culture and spirit, sensitivity of the responses to emotional states, the educators tend to build the confidence among the children (ACEQUA, 2013). Moreover, educators also enhance the sense well being, safety, and willingness of engaging in learning activities. Relationship development is critical for the students as it assists in the construction of identity (Hutchins, Frances, & Saggers, 2009). To form such sense of identity and strong sense of oneself, children often need to build secure relationship within their families then with the educators (Clarke, 2009). With time, opportunity, and support, the manner in which children are connected tend to rise. Participation within the community level often strengthens the sense of identity and wellbeing among children (Bae, 2009). Conclusion Early childhood education among the children is important in securing their future. However, there is need to ensure that the education systems are of high quality and integrity through availing qualified practitioners who understand the physical and psychological needs of the children(Chitpin & Simon, 2009). Each child is unique and competent education wise; however, the practitioners have to be resilient, capable, self-assured, and confident for effective development and learning of the children. Positive relationship between the children and educators is crucial for proper development of the children (David, 2007). Children can learn of their strength and potential if accorded the opportunity based on love, care, and patience in a secure relationship with involved parties (ACEQUA, 2013). The essay focussed on The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) and the manner in which it supports the development of the education based on National Quality Standard specifically the Standard 1.2. The framework outlines eight practices guiding the activities of the educators and various learning outcomes that every educator needs to consider. References ACEQUA. (2013). Guide to the National Quality Standard. 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