IMPLEMENTING THE EARLY YEARS LEARNING FRAMEWORK A focus on Dr Jean Ashton Faculty of Education and Social Work Conclusive national and international research evidence shows that the first five years of children s lives are most critical for laying down the foundations for all academic and social outcomes the sensitive periods for language and the development of literacy understandings are evident at this time young children are most receptive to acquiring their first language and developing the foundations for second and subsequent languages during this period the development of literacy understandings in a quality, play based, literacy rich environment contributes significantly to the maximisation of children s literacy outcomes throughout their lives. Sydney, 2 April 2011 1
The aim of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is to Extend and enrich children s learning from birth to five years and through the transition to school. EYLF s Vision for Children s Learning BELONGING knowing where and with whom you belong - Family - Cultural group - Neighbourhood - Wider community BEING recognising the present - Knowing selves - Building and maintaining relationships - Engaging with life s joys and complexities - Meeting life s challenges BECOMING building for full participation in society - Changes in identity, knowledge, understandings - Changes in capacities, skills and relationships. Sydney, 2 April 2011 2
EYLF s Learning Outcomes Children have a strong sense of identity Children are connected with and contribute to their world Children have a strong sense of wellbeing Children are confident and involved learners Children are effective communicators A strong focus for young children Birth to Five years: takes account of the situated nature of language and literacy recognises the importance of partnership with families in the support of children s developing literacy specifically takes account of individual literacies and caters for these recognises that literacy must be embedded in all experiences across the day engages teachers and children alike in scaffolding learning. Sydney, 2 April 2011 3
created and used by people in their everyday home/community lives reflects many social and cultural contexts, many languages and dialects context influences the way meaning is negotiated and used by children and their families children experience multiliteracies in modern societies as part of their everyday lives as part of a global world, literacies include texts that are digital, multimodal and interactive as well as traditionally paper-based literacies can include popular culture with links to television programs, movies, music, computer games, internet sites, clothing and toys technologies and texts are rarely neutral in terms of social justice and diversity ideally children should become proficient users of mainstream literacies while maintaining the literacy practices of homes and communities. How does Language & Literacy fit with the EYLF? OUTCOME 1 Helping children gain a strong sense of identity in an EC setting means that: - we recognise the connection between literacy and each individual s social practice - cultural and linguistic difference is understood and respected - the role of families and communities in the support of young children s language and literacy is invaluable - children bring many understandings from home to the setting - children s home literacies must be recognised and validated - the interests of boys and girls may differ. Sydney, 2 April 2011 4
develop strong partnerships with families and communities in order to develop understanding of young children s home literacy environments encourage the maintenance of home cultural and linguistic expression to strengthen children s sense of wellbeing and belonging acknowledge that the social practices associated with literacy use, will influence the way meaning is negotiated by the individuals in families and communities recognise that while there may be mismatches between home literacies and those promoted in centres, it is the practices of home which impact on children s sense of identity challenge children to build on their funds of knowledge by offering familiar literacies alongside the preferred or dominant literacies necessary to equip them for lifelong learning and social success scaffold children s learning by offering suggestion, explanation, prompts, guidance and honest and accurate feedback and praise. OUTCOME 2 Helping children feel connected with and contribute to their world means that: we encourage them to share the way they perceive literacy and the way they use literacy in their homes and communities we explore the diversity of culture and language in genuine and sensitive ways that acknowledge and celebrate difference we must be sensitive to the possibility of limited interaction or the exclusion of families and children we must be prepared to help children critique issues around acceptance, difference, social justice and equity in early childhood settings and in a range of literacy media. Sydney, 2 April 2011 5
promote a sense of community which values all cultural and linguistic groups in the early childhood environment avoid tokenistic gestures by genuinely reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the community including play based literacy materials, opportunities and experiences across all curriculum domains and every part of children s day listen to children, and learn from them value and respect their ideas and negotiate roles and ways of being, with them reflect on our own values and ways of perceiving difference and diversity and how this is manifest in the way we promote langue and literacy and in the experiences we offer. OUTCOME 3 Helping children develop a strong sense of wellbeing means that: we show genuine affection and respect for all children we welcome all families and the way they express their culture, religion and multiple literacies we give children a sense of pride in who they are and in what they achieve we collaborate with children and their families to document their achievements and celebrate their successes we provide for children s health and physical needs as well as for their social and emotional needs. Sydney, 2 April 2011 6
document children s learning in a way that reflects their personal strengths, interests and achievements include literacy into routine areas of the day including lunchtime, rest, toileting and hand washing, sun protection and safety help children deal with the stressors in their lives through the literacies associated with music and drama and as we talk and interact with them give them a strong sense of autonomy, help them negotiate their rights with a focus on fairness introduce experiences which are designed to challenge children s literacy understandings, but which will ensure their success as learners. Sydney, 2 April 2011 7
OUTCOME 4 Helping children become confident and involved learners means we: draw on children s strengths and personal interests to promote learning offer encouragement, support and foster ideas to scaffold learning model learning behaviours and make clear our intent engage children in dialogue about the topic of their inquiry and extend their thinking build children s understanding by moving from the known to the unknown recognise the learning developed in children s homes and communities whether in English or other cultural languages offer play based experiences that engage children s curiosity and creativity and which allow them to experiment, test ideas and solve problems. incorporate popular culture and technologies into our daily planning for children recognising that these are widely used in children s homes and families bring literacy into every aspect our early learning environment, reflecting the concept of literacy as social practice in our centres, just as it is seen in our everyday lives clearly articulate a range of learning strategies with individual and with groups of children, to encourage deep understanding include games, puzzles, music, video, books and play materials that reflect the diversity of cultures and languages of the children in Australia partner with families to determine literacy learning goals for children reflect on the way children use materials (as educators and with children) and ensure that they are addressing the goals established for children s learning. Sydney, 2 April 2011 8
OUTCOME 5 Helping children become effective communicators means that we: must help children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes must offer a broad range of texts and scaffold their learning to ensure they gain meanings from these texts and strengthen their literacy understanding allow children to make choices, express their own ideas and make and demonstrate meaning using a range of paper based and digital media encourage the use of symbols, signs and other pattern systems for explicate meaning allow children to use ICT, popular culture, cultural media, and familial and community literacies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking. read, make and play with sounds, sing, use rhymes and rhythms with babies, infants and toddlers provide literacy rich environments for all children which incorporate familiar home and community based literacies as well as mainstream school based literacies for communication scaffold children s communication by talking, prompting, explicating our thinking, questioning, responding, initiating and continuing conversation model language and literate behaviours in a range of contexts and for a range of purposes embrace ICT as a familiar and valid literacy medium for learning and communication incorporate popular culture as a familiar home based literacy medium and facilitate critical thinking in young children to deconstruct taken-for-granted images and texts around gender, culture, advertising, social injustice etc. affirm children s language and literacy attempts for communication. Sydney, 2 April 2011 9