TCHR5003: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
ASSESSMENT 1: Critical Review
Summary
Title Assessment 1: Critical Review
Due Date Monday 25th March 11:59pm AEDT (Week 4)
Length 1500 words
Weighting 50%
Submission 1 word document submitted to Turnitin
Academic
Integrity (See below for limits of use where GenAI is permitted) Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, may not be used for this Assessment Task. You are required to demonstrate if you have developed the unit’s skills and knowledge without the support of GenAI. If you use GenAI tools in your assessment task, it may result in an academic integrity breach against you as described in the Student Academic and NonAcademic Misconduct Rules, Section 3.
Under the Rules - Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct

Rules (Section 3) students have the right to Appeal against the Academi c
Integrity Officers academic misconduct Determination, to the Executive
Dean, with that determination being final and conclusive, and not subject to
further Appeal within the University. Students are not able to appeal against
academic misconduct via the Unit Assessor or unit staff.
Unit Learning Outcomes You will demonstrate the following Unit Learning Outcomes on the successful completion of this task:
• ULO 1: Describe and apply the key principles and practices of the Early Years Learning Framework (AGDE, 2022).
• ULO 2: Understand and analyse the importance of relationships and how to build and foster them with children, families, staff and the community respecting the diversities of their histories and backgrounds.
Task Description
You are required to develop a professional response to the three (3) scenarios described below that have occurred in early childhood settings making reference to the unit materials, the National Quality Standard [NQS] (ACECQA, 2020) and the Early Years Learning Framework [EYLF] (AGDE, 2022).
Rationale
The scenarios are based on real life events in early childhood settings and relate to the early childhood principles and practices that have been explored over the first three weeks of the unit (Modules 1-3).
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Task Instructions
Develop a professional response to each scenario below (500 words each) to demonstrate your understanding of the importance of relationships and how to build and foster them with children, families, staff and the community respecting the diversities of their histories and backgrounds. Refer to the EYLF, NQS, unit materials, and academic literature to support your points.
Scenario 1:
You are the early childhood teacher in the toddler room. Increasingly, you notice some of your colleagues have a deficit view of the toddlers in their care. Your colleagues demonstrate behaviours that suggest the toddlers are not capable of making choices and completing routines on their own.
Critically analyse this learning environment in terms of a) the need for children’s agency and b) the practices you would implement for improved children’s agency in this setting.
When synthesising your response, justify your analysis with one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature.
Scenario 2
As the early childhood teacher responsible for the Preschool room at a long day care service, you are eager to introduce a healthier eating program. Your goal is to involve both families and the community in this initiative. Your service caters to a diverse range of family backgrounds, each with unique cultural influences and dietary requirements and preferences.
How can you effectively implement a healthier eating program, considering the diverse backgrounds and preferences? Additionally, how can you ensure participation and support from both families and the broader community in this initiative?
When constructing your response, justify your answer with one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature.
Scenario 3
You are the educator in the 0–2-year-old room. You have a number of new families who are concerned about their children who become very upset at drop-off time. You are to formulate a strategy that will enable you to a) reassure the new families that their children’s behaviour is common, and b) communicate to the families the practices you undertake to settle the children each morning and build trust.
When detailing the strategy use one NQS Quality Area (ACECQA, 2020), one EYLF Principle and one EYLF Practice (AGDE, 2022) and academic literature to justify your decisions, and the importance of these for the child and family.
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Follow the steps below to complete this task:
• Create a new Word Document and save it with your surname and initial and the assessment task’s name. E.g: MillsA_TCHR5003_criticalreview
• Create a cover page with the following details:
o Student name o Student ID o Unit code
o Unit Assessor and Tutor names o Date submitted
• Complete one reference list for the entire assessment task.
• Once complete, submit task via the Turnitin link in the Assessment and Submission section of the unit site.
• Adhere to APA7 formatting guidelines
Referencing
APA7th referencing format is required with a minimum of 10 references. Sources should include relevant early childhood policy and peer-reviewed literature. Link to SCU Libguide here: APA 7 Referencing.
Task Submission
Assessments should be submitted using the Turnitin activity titled “Assessment 1: Critical Review” in the Assessments Tasks & Submission section on the Blackboard site. Only Microsoft Word documents submitted via the Turnitin portal on Blackboard will be accepted.
Special Consideration
Students wishing to request special consideration to extend the due date of an assessment task must submit a Request for Special Consideration form via their MyEnrolment 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.
Late Submissions & Penalties
Except when special consideration is awarded, late submission of assessment tasks will lead automatically to the imposition of a penalty. Penalties will be incurred as soon as the deadline is reached.
• a penalty of 5% of the available marks will be deducted from the actual mark at one minute after the time listed in the due date
• a further penalty of 5% of the available mark will be deducted from the actual mark achieved on each subsequent calendar day until the mark reaches zero.
Grades & Feedback
Assignments that have been submitted by the due date will receive an SCU grade and written feedback. Grades and feedback will be posted to “Grades & Feedback” section on the Blackboard unit site. Please allow 7-10 days for marks to be posted.
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Academic Integrity
At 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 SCU Academic Integrity Framework
NOTE: Academic Integrity breaches include the use of generative artificial intelligence tools when not permitted, poor referencing, not identifying direct quotations correctly, close paraphrasing, plagiarism, recycling, misrepresentation, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, fabricating information.
GenAI May Not be Used
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, may not be used for this Assessment Task. You are required to demonstrate if you have developed the unit’s skills and knowledge without the support of GenAI. If you use GenAI tools in your assessment task, it may result in an academic integrity breach against you as described in the Student Academic and NonAcademic Misconduct Rules, Section 3.
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Assessment Rubric
Marking Criteria and % allocation High
Distinction
+ (100%) High Distinction (85-99%) Distinction (75-84%) Credit
(65-74%) Pass
(50-64%) Marginal Fail (35-49% Fail
(1-34%) Not addressed 0%
Demonstrated
understanding of building and fostering
relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff
15 marks Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding understanding of building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff Very good understanding of building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff Good understanding of building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff Satisfactory understanding of building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff Little understanding of building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff No understanding of
building and fostering relationships with
- Children
- Families
- Community
- Staff
Professional reflective response to each scenario justifying response with reference to relevant
EYLF Principles and
Practices
15 marks Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to relevant EYLF Principles and
Practices Very good reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to relevant EYLF Principles and
Practices Good reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to relevant EYLF Principles and
Practices Satisfactory reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to relevant EYLF Principles and
Practices Poor reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with limited reference to relevant
EYLF Principles and
Practices Reflective professional response to each scenario is incomplete with no reference to EYLF
Principles and
Practices
Professional reflective response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to National Quality
Standard
15 marks Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to the
National Quality
Standard Very good reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to the
National Quality
Standard Good reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to the
National Quality
Standard Satisfactory reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with reference to the
National Quality
Standard Poor reflective professional response to each scenario justifying chosen response with limited reference to the National Quality
Standard Reflective professional response to each scenario is incomplete with no reference to the National Quality
Standard
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Assessment Brief
Academic Literacy
5 marks Demonstrates a publishable, comprehensive understanding and application of correct writing conventions, including accurate spelling,
grammar, and punctuation. The reference
list contains all the required information in the correct
APA 7 format. Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and application of correct writing conventions, including accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The
reference list contains all the required information in the correct APA 7 format. Demonstrates a thorough understanding and application of correct writing conventions by correctly using spelling, grammar, and punctuation throughout with very minor inaccuracies. The reference list contains all the required information in the correct APA 7 format, with very minor errors. Demonstrates a good understanding and application of correct writing conventions by correctly using spelling, grammar, and punctuation, with minor inaccuracies. The reference list contains all the required information, but some items may be in an incorrect format or have more than five minor errors.
Demonstrates a satisfactory understanding and application of correct writing conventions by mostly using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, with some inaccuracies. The reference list provides most of the required information, but there are some errors. Poor understanding and application of correct writing conventions, including accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation that impact readability. The reference list is incorrectly formatted or there are an inadequate number of references. Poor understanding and application of correct writing conventions, including accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation, that significantly impact readability. The reference list is incomplete or missing.
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Assessment Brief