TCHR2002 CHILDREN, FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

ASSESSMENT 2: Portfolio 2024

Summary

Assessment Rationale

Early childhood professionals need to critically reflect on the diversity of issues that affect children and families in contemporary society. Working in partnership with families requires effective communication to resolve such issues 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 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 an article from a newspaper, educational journal, social media or Internet focussing on an early childhood issue for children aged birth-to-eight-years. The article can be reporting a childhood issue from any Country.

Useful sites include:

• https://theeducationhub.org.nz/ece-resources/
• https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/parents-and-parenting
• https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/eca-webwatch/
• The education section of the Conversation https://theconversation.com/au/education.
• Include a link to the chosen article in the introduction

Pay attention to the ideas expressed in the article and how they might ink 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
• It is important to make sure your article choice is appropriate for topic 2 and 3 as you will uses the same topic in all 3 topics and you may lose marks if the article is not relevant to families of young children.
• Add a hyperlink to the article and include 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.

• Include the Southern Cross University cover page and indicate 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

Referencing

• APA 7 Referencing style is required to be used for this task. Please refer to the APA 7th Referencing Guide for this task - https://libguides.scu.edu.au/apa
• Create a reference list on a new page at the end of task with a minimum of ten references, although you may use more. These are not counted in the overall word count.
• 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, summarising 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 final 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 the Turnitin draft checker, 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 summarise 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. Include your SC approval on the SCU cover sheet. Refer to the Special Consideration section of the SCU Policy https://policies.scu.edu.au/document/view- current.php?id=140 if you need further information. Add any special considerations to your cover sheet

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 https://policies.scu.edu.au/view.current.php?id=00255

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, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows exceptional ability to synthesise, 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, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows a well-developed ability to synthesise, 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,

analysing 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.