Policy and politics in early childhood

This unit focuses on the world of policy making in early childhood within local, regional, national and international contexts. Specific attention is given to current broader education policy trends and discourses. You will examine and analyse how these current policy trends reflect current political agendas and specifically influence the early childhood policy context. You will explore and examine how your own processes of policy implementation are able to demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices that attend to issues of social justice and equity for all children. This will be done through a process of both critical workshop discussions and engagement with early childhood teachers. Engagement with early childhood teachers will occur during workshops and with early childhood teachers in the field. The unit will focus on a critical engagement with policy and will expect you to demonstrate that you are a leader in your field capable of achieving high quality outcomes for children, families and communities as you implement policy.