Portfolio: Building Inclusive Practice Within Early Childhood Education and Care Setting by Lim Samley

1) Can you tell me about your child? What are your child’s strengths and interests?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 20:58:45 UTC

I find this question as the best start to form positive relationship with the families. It shows families that the learning environment their child is in is a safe and welcoming environment, that they are valued as an expertise, being respected as their child first teacher, and help them feel that they are part of the professional community who’s help supporting their child learning and development (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Early childhood Australia 2016; Griffiths-Chandran 2012; Kuh et al. 2016). This trust building relationship with family while collaboratively working with the families is to ensure a shared decision making on pedagogical curriculum and program practices, to be inclusive to each, and every child learning’s interest, strengths, and ability (NQS 6, Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2018; and code of ethics, Early Childhood Australia 2023).

Through this question, I also role model the practice of mutual learning for a better understanding about their child to any answers that I don’t have. This suggested educators not necessary be an expertise in all areas but be an expert in choosing the right practice to maintain their maximum program practice outcomes, by open to learning, open to change, and asking from the more expertise others if in doubt (Diversity Council Australia 2023).

What is inclusion in ECEC?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:00:24 UTC

my philosophy of inclusion is about ‘rights and equity’. The rights to be, to feel safe, value, respect as an individual, and to be part of, are the core aspects of inclusion (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Early Childhood Australia 2016; Meyer 2023; Unicef Australia 2023). The rights to equal treat, equal respect, to have a voice, regardless cultural background, education, socio-economic, gender, age, social status, religious, capability and ability, marital status, or past life experiences (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Early Childhood Australia 2016; Meyer 2023; Unicef Australia 2023).

Examples of some factors that influences the inclusion practice

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:01:54 UTC

I believe many factors influence the inclusion practice, subjectively and collectively. Eg., how educators subjectively and collectively view their image, their role, and their view of the children and families, influences their thought, philosophy, behaviour, decision making, commitment, and pedagogical curriculum practice of inclusion, and the practice of anti-bias (Kuh et al. 2016).

Also, collaboration partnership with all stakeholders, especially attentive listening to children and their families helps them feel safe, connected, respected, and valued (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Early childhood Australia 2016; Fleer 2002; Griffiths-Chandran 2012). Some simple examples of this can be seen in the child-led pedagogy curriculum, opportunity for families participating in the program and free access to support services and professionals…etc.

When those simple little practices sneaked by unnoticed, the disadvantage children and families began to doubt their capability while losing knowledge about their rights. But the advantageous one develops the mis-concept of rights as a privilege, or not even know that they are receiving or practicing privilege over the rights to equity (D 2017; Morris 2015).

Language uses as an influences factor to the inclusion practice

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:03:13 UTC

Languages use is also an important component as how the words are used can be overlook and create the bias and stereotypes culture Eg., the word ‘my group, or your children’ ignores the collaborative teamwork of all educators toward children. It neglects the children’s equity that connected to and be part of the educators’ community. It neglects ‘all’ children’s rights to equal and fair care from ‘all educators’ while share the same yard during outdoor play or during combine hours in the morning and end of day.

Inclusion is not a privilege but it’s a rights Fleer (2002) and inclusive languages make everyone feel respected and valued which empowers the motivation to contribute and engage (Diversity Council Australia 2023).

Frameworks and Guidelines to help educators inclusive to the inclusion practices

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:05:19 UTC

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022, V2.0) principle stated that ‘educator who are committed to inclusion and equity recognise and challenges their own practices, others and centre that contribute to inequity and discrimination’. ‘Adult might not always aware of their practice, hence potentially model those bias behaviours and practices, unintentionally Good Run Solutions (2010).

This suggesting educators and service centre to the practice of anti-bias and inclusion as an alive practice by following the essential guidelines such as the EYLF (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0), UNCRC (Unicef Australia 2023), NQS (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2018) , Code of ethics (Early Childhood Australia 2023), children and families’ rights to their culture (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0), and the Disability Discrimination Rights (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2022) to ensure the maximum equity curriculum practice without bias or stereotypes, which supporting children learning and development to their fullest potentials (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Early childhood Australia 2016; Griffiths-Chandran 2012; Kuh et al. 2016).

2) Can you share anything special about your home culture or your talents with us? Eg., reading book in your home language, or providing your home food cooking experience to the children and staff?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:08:03 UTC

I am seeing the great benefit from this question that I advocate the respect practice of inclusion to families’ home culture, their talented and area of expertise. Not only that, I am also empowered the families’ sense of self-worth and self-confidence that they are a capable individual that can help change others, with new knowledge learned about their home culture and their expertise Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022, V2.0).

The practice of respecting families’ home culture advocates the inclusion practice that values diversity and the uniqueness of their culture and tradition which I use this strategy of inviting families to share their home culture, stories, and tradition to ensure staffs, children and the community are equipped with new knowledges and education about cultural differences and the similarity. As we all know that culture, tradition, and families’ ways of practice influences who the children are and how they learn Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022, V2.0).

3) What are your expectations form early childhood educator? And from early childhood education?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:08:45 UTC

This question is challenges me to be open to changes, open to new perspectives (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022, V2.0; Diversity Council Australia 2023) as well as allowing me to a better understanding of families’ expectations and their philosophy about the image of an educator.

This shared information, values and belief with the families help educators to better understand the children and their families’ behaviours and attitudes, and ways of learning, reacts and responding to things. It also helps educators to find the right and appropriate supports and help services to the families, on time, where needed. Getting the right supports from professionals and specialists, in time is very crucial to children learning and development.

This question helps encourage the families to feel safe and confident in using their voices to seek for help, seeking for more information and to voicing their opinion on how they want the service and the program practice to be, while helping educators improving the program practice to meet their needs for the benefit of the child learning.

1) What do you want to learn today? Or this week? Or next week?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:10:42 UTC

Here I am advocating the relationship building with the children, trust, children sense of agency through the rights of voices to be heard. I am embedding the practice of inclusion of children’s rights on their rights to decision making on what they want to learn and how they learn in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Unicef Australia 2023).

The children will feel empowered and valued as an individual being especially to those children who hardly having opportunity to express their voices and opinions even with as simple as their voice to choose what they want to play. The children will also feel a strong sense of identity as they discover more of who they truly are, what they want to do, what they can do; having a strong sense of connectedness and contribute to the world they are living in through their participation in the program practice curriculum that matters to them and their learning; and this also empower children strong sense of an effective learner (Learning outcomes 1, 2, and 5, Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0).

2) What are the same and differences about each and every one of us?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:11:17 UTC

I am asking this question in the intention of wanting to find out more on how much children understand and knowing about the differences and similarity of individual, physically, ethnicity, races, professionalism, culturalism and so on. Moreover, I want to embed respectful behaviour and knowledge about the differences, while advocating the inclusion awareness of diversity as well as bringing children attention to their own identity. Developing strong sense of identity is the foundation for children to grasp any other 4 learning outcomes, but not in isolation (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Griffiths-Chandran 2012).

To count that our pedagogy program practice is inclusive to inclusion, we need to ensure the fundamental education, practice, and knowledge and awareness of children and families about diversity (Early Childhood Australia 2016). Through this question about diversity awareness, I am also advocating children collaborative partnership with their families, community, and the use of media technology as a teaching resource tool to further explore and investigate for more information.

1) How do we individually and as a team maintain the inclusive program practice and diversity within team, and at the service level, to support the inclusion of all children learning and development? as well as inclusion to children’s family?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:13:31 UTC

I am trying to support and challenge the colleagues thinking while having collaborative team discussion to problem solves for solutions, to reflect and revisit their inclusion practice individually and collectively for rooms of improvement, to dare to challenge themselves to be open to new perspective and the many ways of practice to diversity and inclusion where every opportunity of spontaneous moment within daily practice can be an inclusion practice (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0; Kuh et al. 2016).

I am bringing the whole team to the awareness and the practice of reaching out and be inclusive to the collaboration partnership with community, families, children, and all other professionals’ stakeholders to help support the set target. Team will also need to re-visit the frameworks, code of ethic, NQS and so on and need to collaboratively put in place the pedagogy practice of inclusion as an active and alive process, in order to receive the best solution to maintain inclusion.

2) What are your strengths and talents? How will you use your strengths and talents to maximise the equity and diversity practice within the service and minimising the bias and stereotypes?

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:14:01 UTC

By having colleagues to go through deep reflection of their strengths and talents, I am trying to empower them to see the capability of themselves from within first, for them to feel confident enough to see themselves as a power of change on others’ life (Dudley 2010). I am bringing the team in to the awareness and the practice of role model themselves and inspired each other to the inclusion practice without prejudice.

Once educators see through their capabilities, educators then feel confidence in building team spirit by acknowledge, respect, open to different ideas and perspectives, and involving in collaborative team discussion honestly, using everyone knowledges and expertise to reflects and problem solve with each other for solutions to improve and maintain the rich and effective inclusion practice (Early Childhood Australia 2016). It takes everyone to take steps forward in order to create a rich diversity inclusion environment, and the effective inclusion program practice (Early Childhood Australia 2016).

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:14:47 UTC

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2022, The disability discrimination Act: What do children education and care service need to know, viewed 4 November 2023, <https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/DDA_InfoSheet_ProvidersStaff.pdf>.

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2018, National quality standard, viewed 1 November 2023, <https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard>.

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] 2022, V2.0, Being, belonging & becoming, viewed 1 November 2023, < https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf>.

Diversity Council Australia 2023, Words at work: Building inclusion through the power of language, viewed 4 November 2023, <file:///Users/sereysophealim/Desktop/BA%20ECT%20(EBEI)/20%20Feb%202023%20-%20Nov%202023/ECE3004%20Critical%20and%20contemporary%20issues%20in%20early%20childhood%20education%20/Assessment/Assessment%201/Reading/Words%20at%20work%20for%20inclusion%20practice.pdf>.

Dudley, D 2010, Leading with lollipops, online video, YouTube, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVCBrkrFrBE>.

D, P 2017, Social inequalities explained in a $100 race, online video, YouTube, viewed 30 October 2023, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5fbQ1-zps&t=1s>.

Early Childhood Australia 2016, Code of ethics, viewed 30 October 2023, <https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ECA-COE-Brochure-web-2019.pdf>.

Early Childhood Australia 2016, Statement on the inclusion of every child in early childhood education and care, viewed 30 October 2023, <https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Statement-of-Inclusion-2016.pdf>.

Fleer, M 2002, ‘Early childhood education: A public right and not a privilege’, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 1-7.

Good Run Solutions 2010, Practice anti bias curriculum in early care and education, viewed 4 November 2023, <https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1885099-ECE3004-1-2023-H2B4-154129/Practice_GRS_Anti_Bias_Curriculum_in_Early_Care_and_Education_0710.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=1EhXFLidCuOsZF8igjtMDOiDp&ou=1885099>.

Griffiths-Chandran, S 2012, Enhancing social and emotional learning by applying the early years framework to the needs of refugee children under 5, Foundation, viewed 1 November 2023, <https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20140208064849/http://www.himh.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2785/4-Enhancing-Social-and-Emotional-Learning.pdf#>.

Kuh, P, L, LeeKeenan, D, Given, H, Beneke, R, M 2016, ‘Moving beyond anti bias activities: Supporting the development of anti-bias practices’, Young Children, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 58-65.

Meyer, F, A 2023, The Human need for belonging, online video, YouTube, viewed 1 November 2023, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nlcpVAAZ0k>.

Morris, T 2015, The Pencilsword: On a plate, image, viewed 1 November 2023, <https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/the-wireless/373065/the-pencilsword-on-a-plate>.

Unicef Australia 2023, United Nations convention on the rights of the child, viewed 4 November 2023, <https://www.unicef.org.au/united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child>.

sonetasonesa — 2023-11-04 21:16:02 UTC

1) Victoria Autism Parent Social/Support Community

https://www.facebook.com/share/RQfWXQvSuBFZGhgv/?mibextid=3zE9uC

This Facebook page contains lots of great information that parents discussed share stories about their Autistic child. Parents can also post questions for help and support. There are also lots of great support tips from the OT and the SP, free workshop information that parents sharing in that page.

2) Tuff Trays Ideas & Inspiration

https://www.facebook.com/share/5zMeAxRgdeTeYfTk/?mibextid=3zE9uC

This Facebook page is one of my favourite pages as people are sharing lots of great learning activity ideas for pre-schoolers and even for children up to 8 years, with visual picture. You can post question for help with the ideas as well as can ask people for instruction on how to make the learning resources. This Tuff Trays activity ideas not necessary to always be in the tuff tray.

3) Victorian Department of Education and Training Website

https://www.vic.gov.au/children-additional-needs-early-childhood

This website has plenty of great resources for parents, educators, and professionals as it contains variety of information and resources links Eg. resource links that support children with additional need in the early childhood sector, information on how to get help with NDIS, resource links information to seek support relates to law and justice, relates to environment, relates to jobs and careers…etc.

4) Raising Children: The Australian Parenting Website

https://raisingchildren.net.au/?gclid=CjwKCAjw15eqBhBZEiwAbDomEt-CnnNPzrD668Lv2sP2iRydMPrxtjB0l7MsbMpW9_hnWZ7Koa2LthoCpF8QAvD_BwE

This website is another one of my favourites where parent can have free access to many resources including videos on the important of play-based learning, how to support young children to learn through play at home, how to support young children about racism awareness and behaviour issues…etc. This website contains support informations and resources for children age zero to teenager.

5) Starting blocks website

https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/

This website contains information about childcare subsidy, tips for parents on how to help children with transition to school and who are the involve support person, educating information about the quality rating of the early childhood service…etc.

6) FKA Children Service Website

https://fka.org.au/resources/translated-information-for-families

This website provides lots of information for parents in different language such as information about play-based learning, healthy eating, the importance of home language..etc. You need to sign up for a member to be able to access to the contents.