The changing landscape of early childhood curriculum: empowering pre-service educators to engage in curriculum reform

This chapter focuses on the changes that have occurred in early childhood education (ECE) in Victoria, Australia. This is because unlike most other states in Australia, early childhood (EC) teachers in Victoria had no experience prior to 2009 in implementing a set curriculum framework. These teachers experienced the introduction of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF), (DEECD & VCAA, 2009) and the national curriculum document, the Early Years Learning Framework: Being, Belonging, Becoming (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009) simultaneously. The VEYLDF has since been updated (DET, 2016). The simultaneous introduction of the state and national curriculum frame works may have led to greater confusion within the Victorian EC context, as educators and services attempted to understand these documents and translate them into their practice (Garvis et al., 2013). Although the content of the two documents are similar, the VEYLDF utilises language that is reflective of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2016). In addition, the EYLF focuses on children from birth to five years of age, whereas the VEYLDF focuses on children from birth to eight years of age. As such, the VEYLDF is often used in the early years of the primary sector. Although this chapter refers to the Victorian EC context, it provides relevant information for all pre-service educators, as changes are visible through-out the country and across the EC, primary and secondary sectors. In addition, children enter ECE prior to attending primary and secondary school and it is therefore important for educators across all sectors to have some understanding of the sectors in which they are not teaching.