CARE08059 2016 Family, Community and the Early Years Setting
This module explores the lives of children, families and communities in relation to Early Years practice. It is designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge base and skill set necessary for working with communities, carers, families and children in a range of settings across the Early Years sector. The module focus is on engaging and building collaborative relationships between carers/families, early years settings, schools and communities. A particular focus is placed on understandings of diverse contexts (the impact of poverty, educational disadvantage and cultural diversity) and the uniqueness of families and how to apply these understandings to best practice. In addition students will consider the ethics of relationship building when working with communities, children and their families/carers in the context of individual and collective work placed relations.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module the learner will/should be able to;
- Demonstrate an understanding of diversity and uniqueness among families and communities (class, gender, culture, religion, ability etc) in relation to Early Years practice.
- Apply knowledge of family, culture and community to Early Years practice in order to promote positive outcomes for children.
- Understand how to support and engage families/carers in an Early Years setting through the establishment of respectful, reciprocal and collaborative relationships.
- Experience and apply different and culturally sensitive approaches to communicating with families/carers and working with conflict.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
3 hour contact time per week
Module Assessment Strategies
Continuous Assessment
Repeat Assessments
Students will repeat relevant projects
Indicative Syllabus
Understanding Families and Communities
Demography and changes in the Irish family
Children and families in Irish society
The changing role of mothers, fathers, grandparents and extended family
Foster/Adoptive parents & families
Children without families
"New" families in Ireland
Family Support
Definition of family support
TUSLA and the Meitheal Process
Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC)
Family support initiatives in the statutory and voluntary sectors
Engaging families in initiatives to address welfare or child protection issues
Developing Culturally Safe Practices in Early Years Settings
Perspectives on diversity: intersectional approaches
Diversity in the ECCE setting
Equality and the early years: law, policy and practice
Collaborative and inclusive approaches to working with families and communities within early years settings
Family, Community and Education
The role of family and community in child development and learning
Parental/carer and community perspectives on the planning and implementation of early years practices
Social and cultural capital in early years education settings
Involving families/carers in the education of young children and establishing family-friendly early years settings
Engaging with families and carers, and community members to colloborate on issues of leadership, advocacy and shared decision making in relation to early years services
Coursework & Assessment Breakdown
Coursework Assessment
Title | Type | Form | Percent | Week | Learning Outcomes Assessed | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Project | Continuous Assessment | Project | 50 % | Week 7 | 1,2 |
2 | Project | Continuous Assessment | Project | 50 % | Week 13 | 3,4 |
Full Time Mode Workload
Type | Location | Description | Hours | Frequency | Avg Workload |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lecture | Not Specified | Lecture | 2 | Weekly | 2.00 |
Tutorial | Flat Classroom | Tutorial | 1 | Weekly | 1.00 |
Module Resources
Alvarado, C., Derman-Sparks, L. and Hoffman, E. (1999) In Our Own Way: How Anti-Bias Work Shapes Our Lives. Redleaf Press.
Baldock, P. (2010) Understanding Cultural Diversity in the Early Years. Sage Publications.
Ball, J. (2002) “The Challenge of Creating an Optimal Learning Environment in Childcare: Cross-cultural perspectives.” in Enhancing Caregiver Language Facilitation in Childcare Settings.
Ball, J. and Pence, A. (1999) “Beyond Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Developing Community and Cultural Appropriate Practice.” in Young Children International.
Bragg, S. and Kehily, MJ (2013) Children and Young People's Cultural Worlds. OU/Wiley
Buckingham, D. (2007) Beyond technology: Children's learning in the age of digital culture. Polity Press
Buckingham, D. and Sefton-Green, J. (2003) Gotta catch 'em all: structure, agency and pedagogy in children's media culture. Media, Culture and Society 25:160
Buckingham, D. (2007) Childhood in the Age of Global Media
Buckingham, D. and Tingstad (2010) Childhood and Consumer Culture
Byram, M., Nichols, A., and Stevens D. (2001) Developing Intercultural Competence in Practice: Language and Intercultural Communication for Education. Multilingual Matters Publications.
Clark, A. (2013) Childhoods in Context. OU/ Wiley Press
Connolly, L. (2014) The 'Irish' family. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis.
Corsaro, W. (2005) The Sociology of Childhood
CSO [Central Statistics Office] (2013) Survey on income and living conditions (SILC) 2011 and 2010 revised results.[cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/silc/2011/silc_2011.pdf]
Davis. A (2012) Modern motherhood: Women and family in England 1945-2000. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
DCYA (2014) Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the national policy framework for children and Young People 2014-2020. Dublin. Stationary Office. http://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/cypp_framework/BetterOutcomesBetterFutureReport.pdf
Devarakonda, C. (2013) Diversity and inclusion in early childhood: An introduction. London: Sage.
Devine, D. and Kelly, M. (2006) 'I just don't want to get picked on by anybody' Dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in a newly multi-ethnic Irish primary school. Children and Society 20
Fahey, T. & C. Field (2008) Families in Ireland: An analysis of patterns and trends. Dublin: Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Fearon K. and E. Mearns (2012) 'The Media initiative for children: using early years programmes to tackle sectarianism and racism'. International Journal of Diversity 11(5) [www.early-years.org/mifc/docs/mifc article.pdf]
Foley, P. and Leverett, S. (2011) Children and Young People's Spaces
Hilliard, B. (2007) 'Family'. In S. O'Sullivan (ed) Contemporary Ireland: A sociological map. Dublin: UCD Press.
Hughes, P. and MacNaughton, G. (2001) Fractured or Manufactured: Gendered Identities and Culture in the Early Years. In Grieshaber, S. and Cannella, G. Embracing identities in early Childhood Education. Teacher's College Press
Jandt, F.E. (2016) An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. Sage Publications.
Konstantoni, K., Kustatscher, M. and Emejulu, A. (2014) Children's Rights, Social Justice and Social Identities in Scotland: Intersections in Research, Policy and Practice. Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series Report. Scottish Universities Insight Institute.
Kurylo, A. (Ed.) (2013) Inter/Cultural Communication. Sage Publications.
Lindon, J. (2012) Equality and inclusion in early childhood. Oxford: Bookpoint.
Lutz, H. (2011) The new maids: Transnational women and the care economy. London: Zed.
Marsh, J. and Bishop, J. (2014) Changing Play: Play, media and commercial culture from the 1950s to the present day. OU Press
Mindell, A. (1995) Sitting in the Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict and Diversity. Lao Tse Press. U.K.
Murray, C. (2012) A Minority within a Minority? Social Justice for Traveller and Roma Children within ECCE. European Journal of Education. Vol. 47 (4)pp. 569-583
Nagata, A.L. (2004) “Promoting Self-Reflexivity in Intercultural Communication” in Journal of Intercultural Communication (8)139-167.
Office of the Minister for Children (2006) Diversity and equality guidelines for childcare providers. Dublin: OMC. [www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/childcare/diversity_and_equality.pdf]
O'Nions, H. (2010) Divide and teach: educational inequality and the Roma. International Journal of Human Rights. Vol. 14(3) pp.464-489
Phillips, G. (2012) 'What is family support anyway?' In A. Jackson & C. O'Doherty (eds) Community development in Ireland: Theory, policy and practice. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.
Share, P., M. Corcoran & B. Conway (2012) 'Gender, sexuality and the family. In Sociology of Ireland. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.
Stoeklin, D. and Bonvin, J.M. (2014) Children's Rights and the Capability Approach: Challenges and Prospects. Heidelberg, Springer
TUSLA Child and Family Agency (2015) Meitheal: a national practice model for all people working with children, young people and their families http://www.tusla.ie/uploads/content/TUSLA-Meitheal_Toolkit.pdf
Lawrence Lightfoot, S. (2003) The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other. Ballantine Books
Mac Greil, M. (2011) Pluralism and Diversity in Ireland: Prejudice and Related Issues in Ewarly 21st Century Ireland. Columba Press.
Waldren, F. and Ruane, B. (2011) Human Rights Education: Reflections on Theory and Practice. Liffey Press.
- http://www.cypsc.ie/
- http://www.tusla.ie/
- Marte Meo - Working with children [www.earlychildhoodireland.ie]
- Irish Qualitative Data Archive (2012) New Perspectives on Family Change in Ireland [presentations from conference] [www.iqda.ie/content/new-perspectives-family-change-ireland-presentations]