Critical Reflection in Early Childhood Education (10176.2)

Required texts

Required readings will be identified on the unit Canvas site. There is no prescribed textbook for this unit.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, a standard late penalty of 5% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day until the assignment is made accessible.

Late submission of assignments without an approved extension will result in a penalty of 5% reduced marks from the total available, per calendar day late. An assignment submitted over 7 days late will not be accepted.  Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

Special assessment requirements

In order to pass the unit, you must successfully meet the requirements for your professional experience placement, submit all assessment items and achieve a minimum total mark of 50. 

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Indicative workload for this unit:

7 hours online lectures

14 hours workshop participation 

20 hours workshop preparation 

70 hours assessment preparation

40 hours professional experience (clinical /professional practice)

Participation requirements

Attendance at all scheduled sessions in this unit is compulsory and absences could result in a fail. All absences need to be supported by appropriate documentation (e.g. medical certificate).

Successful engagement with all learning activities in this accredited Initial Teacher Education course is necessary to demonstrate that you have met the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011).

It is recognised that sometimes absence is unavoidable. If you are absent for more than two sessions, however, your engagement with the unit could be considered unsatisfactory.

Successful completion of the professional experience component is critical to success in the whole unit.  Refer to assessment (5a) on the Canvas site for further details. Students must make themselves familiar with the processes and policies of professional experience.

Required IT skills

Basic computer skills are assumed.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves 40 hours professional practicum and therefore additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in section 6. The 40 hours of professional experience for this unit are in addition to any further hours required by other UC Early Childhood units. For example, if a student is completing a full time study load of 4 EC units, the total hours of professional experience will be 4 x 40 hours. 

Students enrolled in the joint course will be allocated placement by CIT placement coordinators and must abide by CIT standards and requirements for professional experience. A copy is available on Canvas.

Students who have a pre-exiting Diploma, ie those who are not currently enrolled in the joint course, will be allocated placement under advisement of the course convenor. 

Work-place learning requires strict professional practice principles and ethics. Child and family confidentiality must always be maintained, including for assessment items, such as obervational reocrds. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation at all learning activities (lectures, practicals etc if scheduled - see section 3) for the successful completion of this unit (also see section 6c). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g. timetable clash), it is recommended that you meet with your Course Convener to schedule this unit for a future teaching period. 

You must have a Working with Vulnerable People Check to undertake placement. You are responsible for arranging your own checks through the ACT Office of Regulatory Services. 

Additional information

Provision of information to the group

Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only).  Students should ensure they check their student email regularly.  The Canvas discussion forums will be checked by staff regularly.

Use of student email account

The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes".  Therefore, all unit enquiries should be sent by email using a student university email account. Students should contact the Service Desk ( servicedesk@canberra.edu.au ) if they have any issues accessing their university email account.

Theoretical Foundations

This unit examines the praxis of critical reflection in early childhood education and is informed by theories of childhood and anti-bias approaches.

• Semester 2, 2021, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (201901)
• Winter Term, 2020, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (199093)
• Semester 2, 2019, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (186887)
• Semester 2, 2018, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (182466)