The National Quality Standards (NQS) as part
of the Australian National Quality Framework were de￾veloped in 2011 and included several references to the
organisation of small and large groups within early
childhood settings (ACECQA 2013). The NQS act in
tandem with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
(DEEWR 2009) and are the basis by which early child￾hood centres are assessed for accreditation in Australia.
This paper draws upon current research with early child￾hood educators as they struggle to understand the new
concept of ‘intentional teachers’ within this new regime.
There also appears to have been a dramatic shift in the
understanding about how large and small groups operate
within centres. As the accreditation process unfolds, some
early childhood centres have been advised to abandon
large or whole group work. At the core of the EYLF are
the notions of ‘being, belonging, becoming’, locating
young children as part of a community of learners within a
democratic society. It therefore appears that tensions and
contradictions are emerging between the fundamental
principles of the EYLF as they are juxtaposed against the
requirement of the NQS. Critical Pedagogy of Place pro￾vides a theoretical framework in which to interrogate the
ways some early childhood educators interpret intentional
teaching both in terms of the organisation of spaces in
early childhood centres and the organisation of the chil￾dren as they inhabit those spaces (Gruenewald 2008). This
paper argues that the possible abandonment of large group
experiences runs the risk of disconnecting children from
their communities and the relationships they form as social
participants. Furthermore, it is argued that whole group
experiences are crucial elements that facilitate a child’s
identity and active citizenry.

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Perpustakaan FITK Pusat

Tersedia

• Group Time Experiences: Belonging, Being and Becoming Through Active Participation Within Early Childhood Communities

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