(EYLF) EARLY CHILDHOOD PEDAGOGY cont.

Different theories, world views and knowledges inform early childhood approaches and practices to promote children’s learning, development and wellbeing. Educators draw upon a range of perspectives in their work which may include: 

• developmental theories that focus on describing and understanding the influences on, and processes of children’s learning, development and wellbeing over time. For example, attachment theory explains children’s formation of trusting relationships with important adults; social learning theory focuses on how children observe and imitate the behaviour of others; cognitive theory describes thought processes and how this influences the ways children engage with and understand their world 
• socio-cultural theories that emphasise the central role that families and cultural groups play in children’s learning and the importance of respectful relationships, and provide insight into social and cultural contexts of learning and development 
• practice theories, such as affordance theory that asks educators to think, for example, about the possibilities for activity that the physical environment offers children. The theory of practice architectures invites educators to think about their sayings (understandings of their practice), their doings (the ways in which they practice) and their relatings (how they relate to others in their practice) 
• ancestral knowledges are ways of knowing and understanding shared through history and culture, in the written, oral and spiritual traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 
• place-based sciences that foster community connections in ways that build on local (children, families, communities and educators) funds of knowledge (experiences and understandings) that assist in building thriving learners and communities 
• critical theories that invite educators to challenge assumptions about curriculum, and consider how their decisions may affect children differently 
• feminist and post-structuralist theories that offer insights into issues of power, equity and social justice in early childhood settings. 

Drawing on a range of perspectives and theories can challenge traditional ways of seeing children, teaching and learning, and encourage educators, as individuals and with colleagues, to: 

• investigate why they act in the ways that they do 
• discuss and debate theories and other perspectives to identify strengths and limitations 
• recognise how theories, world views and other knowledges assist in making sense of their work, but can also limit their actions and thoughts 
• consider the voices of children, their families and their communities in their decision-making 
• consider the consequences of their actions for children’s experiences
• consider who is included and who is excluded or silenced by ways of working 
• find new ways of working fairly, justly and inclusively 
• consider the ecosystems in which children live and learn.