EUN664 Language, Literacies and Communications in Early Childhood

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

The focus of this unit is to help you to understand recent research-based practices for learning and teaching literacy and language in early childhood education contexts. Emphasis is placed on a definition of literacy as a critical social, material and cultural practice, and a balanced approach to literacy teaching and learning is fore grounded. The unit highlights the importance of all children becoming active participants in a society, and of knowing and engaging in a range of literacy and language practices. You will have opportunities to consider the importance of providing high quality literacy and language instruction for all students as a basic foundation of a socially just or high equity education system. You will engage in addressing current issues and debates, and in understanding the research research evidence and professional practices that underpin literacy and language learning and teaching in prior to school and early years of schooling.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. The ability to draw on a body of knowledge related to literacy, language and English, including understanding recent developments in the field, to argue for a research-based, theoretical and practical position on teaching and learning literacy in the current education context. (CLO 1.1)
2. The ability to apply cognitive and critical reflection skills to demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and professional practice or scholarship (CLO 2.1)
3. Demonstrate technical and communication skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments that contribute to professional practice or scholarship in the field of literacy (CLO 2.4, 3.1)
4. Demonstrate application of knowledge and skills to interpret data and report on understandings (CLO 3.2)

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit you will learn in a blended learning environment and will engage in a variety of learning activities including:

• seminar discussions;
• lectures;
• engagement with online study materials;
• discussion forums; and
• guided and independent study and research.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive feedback from peers and teachers by participating in the opportunities to meet and discuss via face-to-face or online means. You will have the opportunity to gain formative feedback on your academic writing skills and understandings in the first assignment which will help you to complete the second assignment.  Summative feedback will also be provided on the two pieces of submitted assessment.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment tasks are designed to allow you some choice to follow individual interests, while enhancing your understandings of relevant theory, research literature and professional practices in the field of early childhood language, literacies and communication.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: A critical response to a current debate in the field of languages, literacies and communication in early childhood education contexts.

You will select a current debate relevant to the field of early childhood literacies and language teaching and learning. You will engage critically with that debate and a diverse range of perspectives and evidence, and present your position on the issue in a critical essay.

Relates to learning outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
CLOs 1.1, 2.1, 2.4

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Responding to how young children produce and engage with multimodal texts

In this assessment you will:

You will consider how young child(ren) engage with multimodal text by drawing on the knowledges and understandings that you have gained from your engagement in this unit. You will present your interpretations and analysis in a multimodal text.

Relates to learning outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
CLOs  2.4, 3.1, 3.2

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Woods, A., & Exley, B. (2019) Literacies in early childhood: Foundations in equity and quality. Aus: OUP.

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit does not pose any risks beyond those usually expected as part of attending university to study.