16.6: A Closer Look at the Outcomes
The five outcomes are designed to capture the integrated and complex well-being, development and learning of all children. They:
- Are broad and observable
- Acknowledge children in care have choices and opportunities to collaborate with other children and educators
- Recognize that children lean in a variety of ways and vary in their capabilities and pace of learning
- Respect that children engage with increasingly complex ideas and learning experiences, which are transferable to other situations
- Are influenced by
- Each child
- Educators’ practices
- The environment
- Engagement with the family and community (including the school)
- Are achieved in different and equally meaningful ways
- Provide for collaboration between children educators
Let’s look more closely at each outcome and ways that educators may support this outcome through their curriculum planning.
Table 16.1: Outcome 1 - Children Have a Strong Sense of Identity. Belonging, being and becoming are integral parts of identity.
Points |
Educators facilitate this in their curriculum when they |
Children feel safe, secure, and supported |
spend time interacting and conversing with children, listening and responding sensitively as they express their ideas and needs
acknowledge the importance of opportunities for children to relax through play and recreational
|
Children develop their autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency |
encourage children to make choices and decisions
maintain high expectations of each child’s capabilities
motivate and encourage children to succeed when they are faced with challenges
provide time and environment for children to engage in both individual and collaborative pursuits
|
Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities |
acknowledge and understand that children construct meaning in many different ways
maintain and build on the knowledge, languages and understandings that children bring
share children’s successes with families
|
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect |
organize environments and spaces in ways that promote small and large group interactions and meaningful play and recreational
|
Table 16.2: Outcome 2 - Children Are Connected with and Contribute To Their World
Points |
Educators facilitate this in their curriculum when they |
Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation |
provide opportunities for children to investigate ideas, complex concepts and ethical issues that are relevant to their lives and their local communities
scaffold children’s opportunities to participate and contribute to group activities
plan opportunities for children to participate in significant ways in group discussions and shared decision-making about rules and expectations and activities
|
Children respond to diversity with respect |
plan experiences and provide resources that broaden children’s perspectives and encourage appreciation of diversity
explore the culture, heritage, backgrounds and traditions of children within the context of their community
|
Children become aware of fairness
Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment
|
analyse and discuss with children ways in which stereotypes are portrayed
provide children with access to a range of natural materials in their environment
embed sustainability in daily routines and practices
discuss the ways the life and health of living things are interconnected
|
Table 16.3: Outcome 3 - Children Have A Strong Sense of Well-Being
Points |
Educators facilitate this in their curriculum when they |
Children become strong in their social and emotional well-being |
provide time and space for children to challenge and practice physical prowess
collaborate with children to plan and document their achievements and share their successes with their families
|
Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical well-being |
collaborate to plan energetic physical activities, including dance, drama, movement, sports and games
provide a range of active and relaxing experiences throughout the day
adjust transition and routines to take into account children’s needs and interests
|
Table 16.4: Outcome 4 - Children Are Confident and Involved Learners
Points |
Educators facilitate this in their curriculum when they |
Children develop dispositions such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity |
provide environments that are flexible and open-ended
encourage children to engage in both individual and collaborative explorative and reflective processes
model inquiry processes, including observation, curiosity and imagination, try new ideas and take on challenges
|
Children use a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating |
plan environments with appropriate levels of challenge where children are encouraged to explore, experiment and take appropriate risks
provide experiences that encourage children to investigate ideas, solve problems and use complex concepts and thinking, reasoning and hypothesizing
encourage children to communicate and make visible their own ideas and theories
collaborate with children and model reasoning, predicting and reflecting processes and language
provide opportunities for children to initiate and lead activities and experiences
|
Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another |
support children applying their learning in new ways and talk about this with them in ways that grow their understanding
support children to construct multiple solutions to problems and use different ways of thinking
plan for time and space where children discuss and reflect to see similarities and connections between existing and new ideas
|
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials |
provide opportunities for choice and collaboration
create possibilities for peer scaffolding
introduce appropriate tools, technologies and media and provide the skills, knowledge and techniques
provide resources that encourage children to represent their thinking
|
Table 16.5: Outcome 5 - Children Are Effective Communicators
Points
|
Educators facilitate this in their curriculum when they
|
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
|
include real-life experiences and resources to promote children’s use of literacy and numeracy
allow children to direct their own play experiences with their peers
|
Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts |
provide opportunities for children to follow directions from everyday texts such as recipe books, instructions for craft, rules for sports or games.
read and share a range of books, magazines and newspapers with children
provide a literacy-enriched environment including display print in home languages and English
|
Children collaborate with others, express ideas and make meaning using a range of media and communication technologies |
build on children’s family and community experiences with creative and expressive arts
provide a range of resources that enable children to express meaning using photography, visual arts, dance, drama and music
|