Equal Opportunity in Early Childhood Education Essay

Planning for integrity open fire be a difficult problem for other(a) minorishness educators across Australia. fit to Sims (2009), equity in primaeval puerility teaching method refers to fairness and is establish on a balance of dickens antithetical sets of account capacitys every churls effective to an opportunity to attend an untimely puerility environment and every barbarians advanced to participate and be wreaked equ all toldy within that environment. Children engage enjoyive(a) pauperisms and belong to different finishings and affable groups which results in baby birdren participating in proterozoic puerility environments differently.Childrens adit to t cardinal of voice earlier kidhood programmes which brood get bys of equity and sociable justice argon pivotal in maximising nestlingrens mesh in the learning experiences (Robinson & Diaz, 2006). fitting hazard in Early childishness statement Under the National Partnership pledge on Early childhood Education, states and territories give way committed to achieving universal gateway to primeval childhood procreation for all children by 2013 (Council of Australian Governments, 2008).The Agreement targets a childs right to abide an opportunity to attend an betimes childhood environment, by stating that by 2013 children will have access to tonus programmes organised by quad year university trained early childhood t for each(prenominal) unityers ( plane section of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2011). However by dint ofout Australia there is currently a shortfall of teachers, so will these goals be doable? While this is a affirmatory correspondence addressing each childs right to the opportunity to attend an early childhood environment, it neglects the withdraw to address each childs right to equal federation. chance alone will non mend the quality of early learning experiences provided to children. all Childs Right to enter Equality of participation is an issue in early childhood education that is interested with early childhood educators, in concert with children, creating a diverse cast off of cultural and kindly learning activities and experiences for all children to access in the early childhood environment (Elliot, 2006). Images of the child as less competent or progressed than adults bear jumper lead to a misconception that children do not have the mad or cognitive capability to arrest rational choices.This cerebration whitethorn lead to the voices of children being left out of decisions that need them, denying children their right to participate equally in their early childhood environment. More principal(prenominal)ly, this does not align with pedagogical practices fitting the coupled Nations assemblys of the Rights of the Child (The Convention) (1989). How Can Educators Ensure Equal Participation in the Early Childhood Environment? According to the Early age Learning Framework (EYLF), throug h their practices educators should honour the principles laid out in The Convention (Council of Australian Governments, 2009).The Convention states that all children have the right to participation. This includes educators involving children in decisions that directly mint them ( unite Nations, 1989). The issue of equal participation involves educators collaborating with children to the highest degree all matters affecting their lives and seeing childrens family, culture, speech and other identities by representing these diversities in fooling activities and learning experiences. Including childrens cultural and social backgrounds into the programming and planning enables children to successfully participate equally in the early childhood environment.In todays early childhood environments, a vast raiment of spaces will be available and they may change depending on the childrens interests. This can include spaces that allow children to express their friendship and understandin g of the world, by providing a range of activities within different spaces. Activities support by spaces include scarce are not limited to art reading imaginative play problem solving cater for transformation through inclusive practices acknowledges that all children have different life experiences.The early childhood environment then becomes a place for collaborative learning encouraging diversity and deflection through respecting each childs equal right to participation. Embedding practices of diversity and inclusion body in early childhood environments is a difficult tax for educators. Educators need to develop practices that promote diversity through communicating with children, their families and each other, and eer be a shinnyg themselves Who is this practice benefitting? provide for Diversity in the Early Childhood Environment.Representing each child in the early childhood environment involves more than scarce adding a range of diverse visions. This is one smal l aspect of inclusion and diversity. Resources need to be discussed and explored with children and educators need to listen and hold back how children are interacting with them. Recently, I added a ample felt world map to the preschool environment. This resource included felt animals and people from nigh the world. The children had been exploring animals and the relationship that humans have with them.My designing was for the children to explore the differences between land and ocean animals. However the children had a different explanation and as a group they intractable to place the felt people onto the rural area in which they believed they were born. Not wanting to unwrap the childrens engagement with this resource, I watched on as the childrens interests changed from animals to people and places of origin. unawares after this experience, I noticed near children kindly explaining to another child that because her skin was br give birth, she was not from Australia.Addin g this resource to the environment divine a conversation virtually diversity, but it did not encourage children to explore inclusion and equity. This resource needed to be supported with a bear on shared opinion conversation that involved educators and children in discussions about respect, diversity and inclusion within the Australian context. continue Shared Thinking Iram Siraj-Blatchford (2005) defines bear on shared thinking as two or more individuals working together in an intellectual way to elaborate a problem, clarify a concept, assess activities or extend a narrative. both(prenominal) parties must contribute to the thinking, and the ideas must develop and extend through the discussion. Addressing each childs right to participation through the practice of sustained shared thinking involves early childhood educators engaging with families and children to efficaciously work together in decree to negotiate, develop and implement learning agendas, outcomes and assessme nts for their own children. Family involvement is critical to the success of new-fashioned children in early learning environments, as each family comes from a diverse culture with different traditions, values, and belief system.In pose to effectively address the issue of equity, educators need to create mutual respectful relationships, where parents and children are heard and their ideas are included in the environment. As recognised in the EYLF (Council of Australian Governments, 2009), an image of a child that is based on children being capable and knowledgeable, requires educators to respect each childs capabilities, culture, and strange qualities. Planning for equity in the early childhood environment is important for childrens social and emotional social welfare.Each child and family bring with them a collection of diversities to the childs own learning, resulting in children experiencing a sense of belonging, being and turn differently. With each environment being differ ent in terms of philosophies, children, families and community involvement, how you include families in your unique environment will vary. Sustained shared thinking practices are one way educators can improve the issue of equity in early childhood education.Being able to include the voices of children and their families by catering for each childs diversities and encouraging a sense of wellbeing should be seen as a positive attribute of the early childhood education firmament. Something to think about childhood is giving need ? equity in earlythat children have access to ? differencesequityto be acknowledged to address in early childhood it is important ? early childhood environments that represent ?the ability to program and plan for children, with who they are children, families and communities is a strength of the early childhood sector early childhood educators need to represent children equally and diversity ? all participation to address their right ? helping children quee r difference potential to to in a supportive environment has the transform approaching societies and will increase acceptance and respect for others. Resources and References Further information about sustained shared thinking practices can be found at http//www.earlychildhoodaustralia. org. au/pdf/shared_thinking. pdf Council of Australian Governments. (2008). National partnership agreement on early childhood education. Retrieved whitethorn 18, 2011, from http//www. federalfinancialrelations. gov. au/content/national_partnership_agreements/ED005/national_partnership_on_early_childhood_ education_update. pdf Council of Australian Governments. (2009). Belonging, being and becoming the early years learning fashion model for Australia. Retrieved May 25, 2010, from http//www. deewr. gov.au/earlychildhood/policy_agenda/quality/pages/earlyyearslearningframework. aspx Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Universal access to early childhood education. Retri eved May 20, 2011, from http//www. deewr. gov. au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/ECUA/Documents/UA_ECE_Factsheet. pdf Elliot, A. (2006). Early childhood education Pathways to quality and equity for all children. Victoria Australian Council for Educational Research. Robinson, K. H & Diaz, C. (2006). Diversity and difference in early childhood education issues for theory and practice.New York Open University Press. Sims, M. (2009). Nurturing a sense of fairness in children. Retreived May 20, 2011, from http//www. earlychildhoodaustralia. org. au/every_child_magazine/every_child_index/nurturing_a_sense_of_fairness_in_children. html Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2005). Quality interactions in the early years. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http//www. earlychildhoodaustralia. org. au/pdf/shared_thinking. pdf United Nations. (1989). The convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved March.