This portfolio will be a professional resource available to early childhood educators working with children birth to five years and their families, in five family and community contexts: economic; social and cultural and diversity; health and wellbeing; crisis & emergency. It is used in conjunction with the digital portfolio which shares all the content with navigation tabs, visuals and embedded media.
Every context is organised in the following way: understanding the context and the family types chosen; likely effects of the issue on children and families; Australian social policy relevant to the issue; five evidence-based strategies for practice, five community and professional partnerships; and resources for educators and children (four websites/programs, four storybooks, four videos/shows/podcasts). The policy content assumes that it is for a New South Wales early childhood service.
The writing style is intentional strengths-based. The circumstances within families outlined here, such as financial difficulties, with or without a secure place to stay, cultural and migration backgrounds, health issues, and crisis and disaster experiences are considered contexts that impact the daily life of a family and their interactions with an education and care service and not as indicators of a child's outcomes or judgements on parenting. The discussion of risk also includes the protective factors and strengths of family relationships and resilience that are also identified by research findings and policy.
The five contexts at a glance
| Context | Family types examined | |
|---|---|---|
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1. Economic | Families experiencing poverty; families experiencing housing stress and homelessness |
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2. Social | Single-parent families; geographically isolated families in rural and remote NSW |
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3. Cultural and diversity | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families; refugee and newly arrived families |
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4. Health and wellbeing | Families with parental mental health challenges; families experiencing grief and bereavement |
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5. Crisis and emergency | Families affected by bushfires, floods and extreme weather; families affected by family violence |
Economic Contexts
Families experiencing poverty; families experiencing housing stress and homelessness
Context 2Social Contexts
Single-parent families; geographically isolated families in rural and remote NSW
Context 3Cultural and Diversity Contexts
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families; refugee and newly arrived families
Context 4Health and Wellbeing Contexts
Families with parental mental health challenges; families experiencing grief and bereavement
Context 5Crisis and Emergency Contexts
Families affected by bushfires, floods and extreme weather; families affected by family violence