| CODE | EPE5030 | ||||||
| TITLE | Adopting Inclusive Practices in the Early Years | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Early Childhood and Primary Education | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | By the end of the study-unit, students will have developed the critical thinking skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to promote inclusivity, address inequality, and design learning environments that empower all children to thrive. Early intervention is key to supporting individuals with developmental delays or disabilities, focusing on enhancing learning and resilience during the most impactful stages of childhood. These services involve collaboration among healthcare, education, and family support systems to build a strong foundation for developmental progress. Essential elements of inclusive practices include person-centered approaches, self-determination, and quality of life. Embracing a socially just ECE philosophy requires educators to provide a safe and equitable space for the children in their care. They need to acknowledge how the diverse identities of their students - their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, faith, race, dis/ability and socio-economic status - impact their experience of the world. More importantly, educators must acknowledge how these identities intersect, leading children to experience privilege, disadvantage or marginalisation. Educators' heightened awareness of how a socially just classroom environment can impact students' learning ensures that they provide children with their just educational entitlement. This part of the study-unit investigates how social identity and vulnerability, including factors such as migration, socio-economic status, and LGBTIQA+ identity, shape children's educational experiences. Students will critically examine issues of inequality and exclusion in both educational settings and society, exploring how socio-cultural and economic advantages and disadvantages impact children's access to quality education. By analysing these dynamics, students will gain a deeper understanding of how to create equitable learning environments that support all children, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. This part of the study-unit explores the importance of multiliteracies, emphasising the integration of both Maltese and English to enhance communication and comprehension among diverse learners. Together, these literacies support learners from varied backgrounds by providing multiple avenues for understanding and expression, fostering inclusivity in the classroom. Early intervention is key to supporting individuals with developmental delays or disabilities, focusing on enhancing learning and resilience during the most impactful stages of childhood. These services involve collaboration among healthcare, education, and family support systems to build a strong foundation for developmental progress. Essential elements of inclusive practices include person-centered approaches, self-determination, and quality of life. Study-Unit Aims: - Critically explore the concepts of diversity, equality, and inclusion in early childhood education; - Analyse historical and contemporary issues related to diversity and inequality; - Investigate the challenges and opportunities in creating inclusive learning environments; - Examine social identity and vulnerabilities; - Develop inclusive strategies for multicultural and multilingual contexts; - Promote an understanding of diversity across various dimensions, including gender, special educational needs and disability (SEND), giftedness, and early intervention; - Create a commitment to social justice and equity in education. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically analyse the historical and contemporary issues surrounding diversity, inequality, and inclusion in early childhood education; - Discuss the role of power relations and how they manifest in schools and classrooms; - Examine and evaluate theoretical concepts of diversity, equality, and inclusion; - Describe the complexities of social identity and vulnerability, including the specific challenges faced by children from marginalised groups; - Develop a strong understanding of multiliteracies (including Maltese, English, and digital literacy) and their importance in supporting learners in multicultural and multilingual early childhood education contexts; - Identify and analyse diverse dimensions of inclusion, and early intervention strategies, and their significance in fostering inclusive learning environments. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply critical thinking skills to question dominant narratives and assess how societal, political, and economic factors contribute to inequality and exclusion in early childhood education; - Design and implement inclusive teaching strategies, adapting classroom practices to meet the diverse needs of children; - Develop and apply inclusive planning processes that consider diversity in terms of gender, SEND, multilingualism, and multiculturalism; - Demonstrate the ability to create inclusive learning environments, addressing social justice, equality; - Communicate effectively with children, families, and colleagues in multicultural and multilingual contexts; - Advocate for social justice and equity within early childhood education settings. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Camilleri, R.(2021). Learning, potential and identity construction in Maltese early years settings. In R. Willis, M. de Souza, J. Mata-McMahon, M. Abu Bakar, & C. Roux (Eds.), The Bloomsbury handbook of culture and identity from early childhood to early adulthood: perceptions and implications (pp. 105-119). Bloomsbury Academic. - Dai D. Y. (2020). Assessing and accessing high human potential: A brief history of giftedness and what it means to school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 57(10), 1514鈥�1527. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22346. - Rapp, A. C., & Corral-Granados, A. (2021). Understanding inclusive education 鈥� a theoretical contribution from system theory and the constructionist perspective. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(4), 423鈥�439. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1946725. - Shonkoff J., Meisels S., (2000). Handbook of early childhood intervention. (2nd ed.) Cambridge University Press. - Spiteri, J. (2021). Position statement on teachers of the gifted and talented in Malta. Malta Review of Educational Research, 15(1), 129-136. Supplementary Readings: - Adair, J. K. & Sachdeva S. (2021). Agency and power in young children's lives. Young Children, 76(2), 40-48. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27095173. - Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014) Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice.CAST. - Sutherland, M. (2012). Gifted and talented in the early years: Practical activities for children aged 3-6. (2nd Ed.) Sage Publications. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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