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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. Make relevant links to  the Early Years Learning Framework (AGDE, 2022) in your discussions.

• Discuss the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being able to see  themselves, their identities and cultures reflected in their learning environment.

• Identify why creating an intercultural space is important for all children and families?

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. 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?
• Give examples of how you can teach gender equity as part of an anti-bias curriculum that  has been outlined in the unit content, with children aged 3-5 years-of-age?
• How could you communicate the principles of an anti-bias curriculum and gender equity  with families?

Assessment Instructions

Formatting and style

APA 7 formatting is required for this task.

• Include a cover page that contains:

o The title of the task in bold

o Your name (as author) and Student ID

o Your faculty (Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University)

o The unit code and name (TCHR2002 Children, Families, and Communities)

o Your unit assessor’s name (Tracy Young)

o The due date

• Include clear headings for the topics you are responding to

• Indent the first line of each new paragraph.

• Use a 12-point Arial font.

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

Referencing

• APA 7 Referencing style is required to be used for this task. Please refer to the APA 7th Referencing Guide for this task

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

• At a minimum, your sources for this task will include the unit required text, unit readings,  EYLF (AGDE, 2022) and broader literature.

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

 

• If you have used an AI tool or technology in the process of completing your assessment (for  example, brainstorming, understanding concepts, generating examples, summarizing

readings), an acknowledgement of how you have used AI tools or technologies is required. You  can create this acknowledgement by adding a declaration at the end of your reference list. For  example: I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to brainstorm concepts ——- for this

assessment as a starting point for initial research before writing my assessment.

Assessment Submission

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

• Label your final submission with your surname and initials and the assessment task’s name,  e.g. SmithJ_PortfolioTask1.doc

• You are strongly advised to undertake your own SIMILARITY CHECK via Turnitin, PRIOR to  the due date, to identify and resolve any academic integrity issues prior to submitting – see  SCU Academic Integrity and Turnitin. You can submit up to three times and receive the  similarity match report immediately – after three attempts, you will need to wait 24 hours.

• It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted the correct file and the final  version of your assessment for marking before the due date/time.

• Turnitin does not generate an automatic email receipt. If you have successfully uploaded  your assessment, a green bar will appear at the top of the screen that says: Submission  uploaded successfully: Download digital receipt. Use the hyperlink to download your digital  receipt and store this with your assignment file.

• If you have any difficulty submitting your assignment, log a job with Technology Services by  email so you have evidence of your attempted submission. To avoid any last-minute

problems, make sure you submit well before 11:59pm on the due date.

Academic Integrity

Southern Cross University academic integrity means behaving with the values of honesty, fairness,  trustworthiness, courage, responsibility, and respect in relation to academic work. The Southern  Cross University Academic Integrity Framework aims to develop a holistic, systematic, and consistent  approach to addressing academic integrity across the entire University. For more information see  the information in Blackboard, the recorded assessment overview and refer to SCU Academic Integrity Framework.

Generative A1

For the assessments in this unit students are permitted to use Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) to:

• clarify concepts, theories, ideas, etc., discussed in class

• generate preliminary ideas for writing

• edit a working draft of the assessment

• read and summarize research and supporting evidence for the assessment

Students are not permitted to use Generative AI to:

• generate definitions or writing used in their final submission.

• produce arguments or refine thinking on their final submission

 

Any of these actions will constitute and be treated as a breach of academic integrity.

Do not post confidential, private, personal, or otherwise sensitive information into these tools. If you  use these tools, you must be aware of their limitations, biases, and propensity for fabrication. Your use of AI tools must adhere to the SCU Academic Integrity Framework, including upholding honesty,  ethics, professionalism, and academic integrity

Special Consideration

Students wishing to request special consideration to extend the due date of an assessment must  submit a Request for Special Consideration form via their My Enrolment page as early as possible  and prior to the original due date for that assessment task, along with any accompanying  documents, such as medical certificates. Please refer to the Special Consideration section of the SCU Policy

Late Submissions & Penalties

Except when special consideration is awarded, late submission of assessment tasks incurs a late  penalty in accordance with the SCU Late Submission & Penalties Policy Penalties will be incurred after the assessment submission due date/time.

• A penalty of 5% of the available marks will be deducted from the actual mark

• A further penalty of 5% of the available mark will be deducted from the actual mark on  each subsequent calendar day until the mark reaches zero.

Grades & Feedback

Grades and feedback will be posted to the ‘Grades and Feedback’ section on the Blackboard unit site using the following rubric for the marking criteria and grading standards. Please allow 7 -10 days for  grades to be posted.

Assessment Rubric

 

Description of SCU Grades

High Distinction: The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching,  analyzing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows exceptional ability to synthesize, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The student’s  performance could be described as outstanding in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Distinction: The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching,  analyzing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows a well-developed ability to synthesize, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The student’s  performance could be described as distinguished in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Credit: The student’s performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements specified, demonstrates insight and ability in researching,  analyzing and applying relevant skills and concepts. The student’s performance could be described as competent in relation to the learning requirements  specified.

Pass:  The student’s performance satisfies all of the basic learning requirements specified and provides a sound basis for proceeding to higher-level studies in the  subject area. The student’s performance could be described as satisfactory in relation to the learning requirements specified.

Fail:  The student’s performance fails to satisfy the learning requirements specified