EDF5822 Early childhood education and practice
Faculty of Education
EDF5822 Early childhood education and practice is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Education, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
Reviews
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Requisites
Before EDF5822
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After EDF5822
No unit lists EDF5822 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Must be enrolled in D6001
Overview
The focus of this unit centres on teaching approaches through historical evolution of early childhood education and care from the work of the 19th-century pioneers to the contemporary practices and influences of today. You will explore the pedagogies and contexts to develop your emerging teaching philosophy and advance skill sets for supporting the foundations for young children’s lifelong learning and development. You will engage with key research and policy relevant to children’s life changes and transitions for the purpose of supporting children’s continuity of learning as they transition from early childhood education to formal schooling. This will include observations and critical reflection for identifying young children’s developmental strengths and challenges to establish evidence-based planning and practice. In addition, you will engage with key research and policy relevant to transition to school for the purpose of supporting children’s continuity of learning as they experience life changes and transitions in early childhood education through to formal schooling. You will examine ethical conduct and professional standards of the profession to begin developing and examining your emerging philosophy of early childhood practices and how this will be informing your emerging identity as an early childhood teacher. You will examine ethical conduct and professional standards of the profession to begin developing and examining your emerging philosophy of early childhood practices and how this will inform your emerging identity as an early childhood teacher.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus, block |
Assessment
- Presentation: critical review (2000 words or equivalent)Presentation50%
- Journaling reflective philosophy developments (2000 words or equivalent)Written50%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
investigate and describe historical and contemporary philosophies and theories in early childhood education and care and understand their implications for current practices
- 2
examine key policy trends in relation to leadership, management and administration and how they are shaping the early childhood profession
- 3
create pedagogical planning intent through observational data
- 4
demonstrate professional and ethical and professional standards knowledge and understandings that are consistent with the early childhood profession
- 5
critically reflect on your own emerging understandings of early childhood leadership and professional identity, including strengths, challenges and uniqueness and articulate what it means to be a professional.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials20 hours
- Lectures4 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study.
Usually, you can expect to engage with:
• 24 hours* of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities; and
• the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study
Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
*Subject to variation due to professional experience requirements
You will be provided with the opportunity to engage with relevant literature and resources. Further, you will be encouraged to deepen your understanding of topic areas through collegial discussion and debate, and by participating in activities designed to extend your understanding.
Learning resources
Recommended resources
Please visit the unit Moodle site for further information.
Where it fits
EDF5822 is part of 2 areas of study in the 2026 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Robyn Babaeff
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Robyn Babaeff
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for EDF5822?
EDF5822 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is EDF5822 offered?
In 2026, EDF5822 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is EDF5822?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does EDF5822 have an exam?
No. EDF5822 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include EDF5822?
EDF5822 is part of Early childhood and primary education; and Early childhood education.