Keely Jenkin

Assessment 1: Curriculum Discussion Paper ID: 2150783

Children’s backgrounds are an important part of their identity and how these backgrounds
are acknowledged and supported influences children’s growth and development during the
early years. As a part of society and environment studies in the school, reception classes are
presented with the “my family” activity, a questionnaire consisting of four questions, to
complete at home with parental support. As a new member of the Junior Primary team at this
school, I would not implement this activity within my class and would instead create an
alternate activity to more effectively meet the curriculum aims while also positively supporting
children’s identity and family backgrounds. I personally find the “my family” activity to be an
inadequate way of exploring and incorporating children’s family backgrounds into their
learning. The activity is rather tokenistic, as the four questions—“what is your family name?”,
“what is your first name?”, “write the names of your family members who live in your home”,
and “which country does your family come from?”—do not provide a meaningful exploration
of children’s backgrounds. The questions also do not consider the diversity in each child’s
backgrounds and how these may present themselves in different ways.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that educators should
aim to prepare children ‘for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding,
peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and
religious groups and persons of indigenous origin’ (Save the Children, 1997, cited in Hawkins,
2014, p. 726). This supports the notions shared in critical pedagogy discourse that focuses
on the importance for early childhood sites and educators to ‘develop practices and
pedagogies that address the educational injustices that plague children from historically
marginalised groups’ based on race, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, or religion
(Hyland, 2010, p. 82). Classroom practices can ‘communicate and reinforce strong, subtle,
and repeated social messages about what it and is not valued’ and these messages can
influence children’s perceptions of themselves and their place within the classroom and world
(Hyland, 2010, p. 82). It is, therefore, crucial to consider how we acknowledge different
backgrounds and the weight we place on their importance in the classroom and curriculum in
order to establish a just learning environment.

The “my family” activity only consists of four simple questions relating to family, however,
these questions, particularly the last two and the way they are worded, are quite problematic.
Question three asks children to “write the names of your family members who live in your

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home” down, without considering how the diversity of children’s family backgrounds may
contribute to variations in who they live with and who they consider “family members”. This
question does not take into account those who consider family outside of the home—e.g.
their community— those who do not live with family—e.g. in foster care—or those whose
home situations may involve split families or multiple living arrangements—e.g. separated
parents, parents who work away, or absent parents. Not all children live in a straightforward
home or family environment and for some children this question could cause confusion,
feelings of “otherness”, or emotional or mental anguish. For Indigenous Australian cultures,
kinship is a significant part of social structure and family relationships and it is important that
we considered if appropriate respect is shown for these cultures and ensure we are not
undermining these relationships by only considering “family” those who live in the same home
as a child (Grace & Trudgett, 2012, p. 11). Grace and Trudgett (2012) also acknowledge
Indigenous Australian families, may also have fears relating to being observed as it connects
to anxieties around having their children taken from them, which we know for Indigenous
peoples, is a ‘fear founded on both historical context and current practices’ (p. 11). This
could also relate to families from other vulnerable minority groups, including immigrant
families and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. These would be important thing to
consider when sending children home with the “my family” activity and is something I will
consider in planning an alternate activity.

The fourth question of the activity, “which country does your family come from?”, is also
problematic as it implies that the child or their parents may come from a different country
which could cause those from different countries or cultures to feel singled out or “othered”.
The question’s focus on country of origin, also does not address the variety of ways culture
and race may take form in children’s lives. Racial and cultural backgrounds are not always
straightforward and assuming that a child or their parents’ country of origin can give a clear
indication of either is erroneous. Additionally, Given the way the question is worded, I believe
there would be an expectation for children from families with non-white, non-Indigenous
backgrounds to give an answer that explains their skin colour. This, however, would not be an
expectation for white children, who could answer “Australia” and not be questioned on this
response. This is not only prejudice, but also perpetuates issues of racial inequality and
colonisation in Australia. It is important as educators to acknowledge that ‘all teachers and
students embody diverse ethnic identity positions, including the white ones, [to ensure that]

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educational institutions [do not continue to] silently and unwittingly reproduce racialised
inequalities’ (Taylor, 2005, p. 7). This activity should not only be about finding out children’s
family backgrounds, but also involve incorporating these backgrounds into the classroom
curriculum and thereby supporting children’s developing sense of identity and belonging
without creating feelings of “otherness”.

The “my family” activity that has been implemented in the previous reception classes at the
beginning of each year does not address family backgrounds in a deep or meaningful way.
The task itself is undertaken at home with the help of children’s families and does not seem
to require any further analysis or consideration once children complete the questions and
present them to the educators. The activity is considered a part of studies of society and
environment, and while it seems to address the Foundation Year HASS descriptor, ‘Who the
people in their family are, where they were born and raised and how they are related to each
other’ (ACHASSK011), it does not elaborate on the information collected through the
questionnaire and, therefore, does not build on children’s knowledge, understanding, or skills
(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.). Additionally, the
purpose of such an activity should connect to and follow on from learning and development
in the Early Years, and should connect to learning outcomes for children birth to five years in
the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This activity should specifically relate to Outcome
1: ‘children have a strong sense of identity’ and Outcome 2: ‘children are connected with and
contribute to their world’, however, the “my family” activity does not address these
adequately (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR],
2009). Furthermore, Hyland (2010) is correct in stating, most school curriculums in Australia
are ‘dominated by a Eurocentric or White frame of reference’ and while ‘stories and histories
of racial groups other than Whites are sporadically presented, the dominant message is that a
Eurocentric experience is the most valued and central in education’ (p. 82-83). With this in
mind, it is important to ensure that when addressing areas of the Australian Curriculum and
Early Years Learning Framework that relate to children’s backgrounds, especially relating to
race and culture, in the classroom, we do this in way that encourages and supports children’s
diversity and identity and avoids tokenism.

As I find the “my family” activity inadequate, I would implement an alternate activity at the
beginning of the year to address the Foundation Year HASS descriptors, ‘who the people in

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their family are, where they were born and raised and how they are related to each
other’ (ACHASSK011) and ‘the places people live in and belong to, their familiar features and
why they are important to people’ (ACHASSK015) (ACARA, n.d.). My aim with this alternate
activity would be to not only meet these areas of the Australian Curriculum, but also support
children’s feelings of belonging in the classroom and site as well as strengthen their sense of
identity. One task would be for children to identify the different members of their family and
create a concept map using photographs and drawings to depict these family members and
show their relationship to the child and other family members. The family members children
include may be parents, step-parents, siblings, caregivers, extended family members
(grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins), or other individuals considered family to the child
regardless of blood relation. These individuals may be a part of children’s Microsystems of
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological approach (Dowling, 2014, p. 35). The openness for children to
include people they consider their “family” allows for children with diverse backgrounds to
include individuals that may not be considered “family” from a conventional and/or white
Australian perspective. The second task would require children to find out the city or town
and country they, as well as their parents or primary caregivers, were born. For some children
this may include only one parent, more than two parents, step-parents, grandparents, or
non-related caregivers depending on their family background. As a class we would then mark
these towns, cities, and/or countries on a world map in the classroom to display and refer to
throughout our learning during the year. For Indigenous Australian children, this may mean
marking their Indigenous country or community on the map, and if possible, I would attempt
to have Australia represented on the map with both the Australian states and Indigenous
Australian countries outlined.

As an educator, it is important to incorporate and address children’s individual

backgrounds within the classroom in order to ‘scaffold an appreciation of different ethnicities
and cultures’ while also encouraging children to ‘feel proud of themselves, their backgrounds,
and their early achievements’ as it is important to build up children’s sense of identity and
respect for others (Hawkins, 2014, p. 731 & Dowling, 2014, p. 190). Additionally, educators
need to be aware of how their own ‘beliefs and biases can be seen in how they talk, act, and
look … [and how their] personalities, attitudes, and beliefs may influence interactions with
their students’ (Dewar, Servos, Bosacki & Coplan, 2013, p. 383). As a white Australian, this is
especially true, as I need to be conscious of my ‘white race privilege and of the “blind spots”

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that hold such privilege in place’ to ensure that I do not continue to uphold racial inequalities
within my classroom (Schulz & Fane, 2015, p. 140).

Through these alternate activities, I hope to be able to meet the curriculum aims while also
ensuring children have the opportunity to bring their family and cultural backgrounds into the
curriculum and classroom without worry of fear of prejudice or discrimination. While the
curriculum of the classroom at the time this activity is undertaken may not be explicitly an
anti-bias curriculum, the goals of that curriculum are goals that all classrooms should aim for
—‘children to have confidence and pride in their families and social identity; … children
becoming comfortable with difference, and making connections across boundaries; …
recognising and naming unfairness [and] acknowledging how this can hurt; … [and] learning
the skills to act, collectively and individually, against this unfairness’ (Derman-Sparks & Olsen
Edwards, 2010, cited in Andrew & Fane, 2018, p. 219 & Taylor, 2013, p. 244). My hope, as a
new member of the Junior Primary team at this school, would be that by developing an
alternate activity to replace the inadequate “my family” activity, other members of the Junior
Primary team would acknowledge and address this activities inability to meet the curriculum
aims in a substantial way nor provide meaningful inclusion and exploration of children’s
backgrounds, and also create and implement a new activity that will do so.

Keely this is expertly written. Excellent justifications for your position as to why you would

not implement this activity. You have made very good connections to the readings and

further academic literature to support your position. The alternative suggestion is excellent

and well supported by the literature and theoretical perspectives. Strong links to the

curriculum to support your alternate inquiry. Respectful inclusion of indigenous perspective

supported by the academic literature. Overall a very well-articulated paper.

High Distinction 95/100


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References:

Andrew, Y., & Fane, J. (2018). The Sociology of Early Childhood: Young Children’s Lives
and Worlds. Routledge.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.a). The Australian
Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. (2009).

Belonging, Being, becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.
Retrieved from http:// www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/ Policy_Agenda/Quality/
Documents/Final%20EYLF% 20Framework%20Report%20-%20WEB.pdf.

Dewar, B. A., Servos, J. E., Bosacki, S. L., & Coplan, R. (2013). Early Childhood Educators’
Reflections on Teaching Practices: The Role of Gender and Culture. Reflective practice,
14(3), 381-391.

Dowling, M. (2014). Young Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development (4th
ed.). London: SAGE.

Grace, R., & Trudgett, M. (2012). It's not Rocket Science: The Perspectives of Indigenous
Early Childhood Workers on Supporting the Engagement of Indigenous Families in Early
Childhood Settings. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(2), 10-18.

Hawkins, K. (2014). Teaching for Social Justice, Social Responsibility and Social Inclusion: A
Respectful Pedagogy for Twenty-First Century Early Childhood Education. European
Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(5), 723-738.

Hyland, N. (2010). Social Justice in Early Childhood Classrooms. Young Children, 65(1),
82-90.

Schulz, S., & Fane, J. (2015). A Healthy Dose of Race? White Students' and Teachers'
Unintentional Brushes with Whiteness. Australian Journal of Teacher Education,
40(11), 137-154.

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Taylor, A. (2005). 'Situating Whiteness Critique in Australian Early Childhood: The Cultural
Politics of ‘Aussie' Kids in the Sand Pit'. International Journal of Equity and Innovation
in Early Childhood Education, 3(1), 5-17.

Taylor, Y. (2013). Compelling Diversities, Educational Intersections: Policy, Practice, Parity.

Gender and Education, 25(3), 243-250.

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