My girlfriend has recently finished her Graduate Diploma in Childcare and is looking to become an ECT.

Is Seek the best option? I also found an aggregator page on the Victorian Department of Education and Training's website.

Are there other places good for childcare roles? Is contacting a centre you want to work for a good strategy?

This is a handy little resource for planning experiences or provocations in regards to literacy skills.

This is a useful primer to start thinking about how theories exist within the work we do.

• Developmental 
• Socio-cultural 
• Socio-behaviourist 
• Post-structural 
• Critical

These are 5 ways to break down ECE theory. Here’s a brief overview on what they may look like when applied.

Developmental theory focuses on how the child develops, physically and mentally. We focus largely on stages and broad milestones.

Socio-Cultural theory looks at how society affects the growth of a child. What does their family and community impart on them as values.

Socio-behaviourist theory is a focus on stimuli and interactions with environments. We might look at structured routines and positive or negative reinforcement.

Post-Structuralist theory is about challenging our own understandings. What is really best, is eating with cutlery a goal to achieve when at home a child’s household may use their hands more for meals. How do our own cultural values impact a child’s.

Critical theory seeks to challenge our power structures. Are we dictators of children’s development or do we value their input? Should social constructs be enforced or should we challenge them?

What are your views on them? Do you value any over the other, do you incorporate all these things into your practices?

I just stumbled on this new community. Having a young child, I figured I should join and learn! I also noticed that the Lemmy instance has a .au domain. I’m sure the theories and ideas will apply globally; but what about information regarding law, school systems, etc? Is this community intended for Australian info? Or is it acceptable that I ask questions specific to the US?

Got any concerns or questions you'd like to discuss? Share them here and I (we? please join me I'm so lonely) will do our best to answer them.

Do you use theory in any of your documentation or planning?

I personally find myself using Parten's model a lot, although I find a lot of the stages can occur differently depending more on a child's personality than their age. But it is useful for thinking about what sort of play the children may be engaging in.

I'm very much against the fully committing to one method, such as you see in Montessori or Steiner schools. Children need a much more holistic approach, using elements from everywhere.