The Early Years Learning Framework is made up of 8 EYLF Principles, 7 EYLF Practices, and 5 EYLF Learning Outcomes.
The EYLF Learning Outcomes are designed to capture the learning and development of all children from birth up until 5 years of age. They are:
EYLF Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
EYLF Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
EYLF Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
EYLF Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
What Is EYLF Outcome 2?
From birth, children live and learn with others in a range of communities - families, local communities, early childhood settings and more. EYLF Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world is built on the idea that they can exert agency in many ways that make a difference and build a foundation for civic and democratic participation.
Educators should assist children children to explore the sustainability and what they can do to make a difference, include a focus on fair/equitable access to resources, conserving resources, and reducing consumption/waste.
Becoming active contributors to their world is boosted by a positive sense of identity and experiencing respectful, responsive relationships. When children move to early childhood settings, their experiences as participants in different relationships and communities is broadened.
Children increasingly connect and participate with others. For very young children, participating looks like smiling, moving, imitating, gesturing and making sounds to show interest. Developing more complex ways of communicating and connecting as they grow, older children show interest in how others regard them and develop their understanding of friendships.
Children also learn that their actions affect others' feelings or experiences of belonging, which includes people, Country, place and communities where educators assist children to explore values, traditions and practices of their (and others') families and communites. These feelings strengthen children's conection with and active contribution to their world.
Educators should create environments where children can experience mutually enjoyable, caring and respectful relationships with people and the environment. When this happens and children respond in positive ways, they can participate collaboratively in everyday experiences, have opportunities to contribute to decisions, and learn to live interdependently.
Different ways of belonging and connecting with people, Country and communities is the gateway for learning ways of being, reflecting the values, traditions and practices of families and communities.
Children increasingly connect through digital contexts - sharing and communicating information through digital technologies. Educators should use evidence-based knowledge to asist children and families to connect in safe and healthy ways.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are strongly tied to land, and cultural expectations/considerations may transform how children interact with others and the environment. Educators should be sensitive to this and build trusting relationships with families, Elder and communities. This ensures histories, stories, languages and local knowledge of how the Traditional Owners care for the land are shared with ALL children.
The 4 Key Indicators of EYLF Outcome 2
EYLF Outcome 2 is made up of 4 key indicators:
Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens
Children respond to diversity with respect
Children become aware of fairness
Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment
Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens
Evidence of children developing a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens:
Identifying themselves as being part of family and community groups
Beginning to recognise there is a diversity of cultures, traditions and family structures
Beginning to recognise that they have a right to belong and contribute to many communities
Cooperating with others and negotiate roles and relationships in play episodes and group experiences
Taking action to include and assist children to participate in social groups
Broadening their understanding of the world in which they live
Expressing an opinion
Contributing to decision-making and action taking in matters that affect them
Building on their own social experiences to explore other ways of being
Participating in reciprocal relationships
Gradually learning to ‘read’ the feelings and behaviours of others and responding appropriately
Demonstrating a sense of belonging and comfort in their environments
Being playful and responding positively to others, reaching out for company and friendship
Advocating for their own rights with the adults that care for them
Beginning to understand and use sustainable practices in their settings and communities across all dimensions of sustainability
Becoming aware and using the 7Rs of sustainability: reduce, reuse, recycle, respect, repair, reflect and refuse as part of economic and environmental sustainability
Engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and diverse cultural community members to explore their own and others’ connections to the community
Using digital technologies, with assistance, to explore solutions or assistance to community issues.
Educators can promote this learning by:
Promoting a sense of community within the early childhood setting
Building connections between the early childhood setting and the local community
Creating opportunities for open and authentic partnerships with all families, communities and organisations, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, and those from culturally diverse backgrounds
Providing opportunities for children to investigate ideas, complex concepts and ethical issues that are relevant to their lives and their local communities
Modelling language that children can use to express ideas, negotiate roles and collaborate to achieve goals
Supporting and building children’s skills to participate and contribute to group play and projects
Inviting grandparents and ‘grandfriends’ to assist in planned experiences such as storytelling, and to engage in play
Planning opportunities for children to participate in meaningful ways in group discussions and shared decision-making about rules and expectations
Investigating and exploring cultures, traditions and heritages to broaden children’s understanding of the world
Modelling practices that create a culture of inclusion and social justice within the setting and community
Challenging children to explore the natural and constructed environments
Investigating the dependence between people, animals, plants, lands and waters
Building partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations that are genuine and sustainable
Building children’s awareness of the 7Rs of sustainability: reduce, reuse, recycle, respect, repair, reflect and refuse as part of economic and environmental sustainability
Using digital technologies and the internet with children to explore solutions or assistance to community issues.
Children respond to diversity with respect
Evidence of children responding to diversity with respect:
Showing respect for others
Showing interest in and exploring the diversity of cultures, heritage, backgrounds, traditions and families
Becoming aware that diversity presents opportunities for choices and new understandings
Becoming aware of connections, similarities and differences between people
Exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s kinships systems, their relationships, and connections that they have built with their own community
Listening to others’ ideas and respect different ways of being and doing
Practising inclusive ways of being with others and achieving coexistence
Noticing and reacting in positive ways to similarities and differences among people
Becoming aware of their own and other children’s linguistic and cultural events, e.g. Diwali, Easter, Harmony Day, Chuseok, NAIDOC, Sorry Business
Participating in or celebrating community and sporting events such as the Paralympic Games
Investigating other cultures around them.
Educators can promote this learning by:
Reflecting on their own responses to diversity
Planning experiences and providing resources that broaden children’s perspectives and encourage appreciation of diversity, including disability, family diversity, cultural and linguistic diversity
Exposing children to different languages and dialects, and encouraging appreciation of linguistic
diversity
Encouraging children to listen to others and to respect diverse perspectives
Demonstrating positive responses to diversity in their own behaviour and in conversations with children
Engaging in interactions with children that promote respect for diversity and value distinctiveness
Ensuring representations of diversity authentically reflect local community experience, e.g. displays and resources
Exploring the culture, language, heritage, backgrounds and traditions of each child within the context of their family and community
Exploring with children their ideas about diversity
Ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources are genuine and appropriate
Providing experiences connecting children with the community and environment beyond the early childhood setting with appropriate adjustments to ensure the participation by all children with additional needs/disability
Using creative forms of expression to explore diversity and emotions
Using digital technologies to find answers to questions and document discoveries.
Children become aware of fairness
Evidence of children becoming aware of fairness:
Appreciating the connections amongst people
Beginning to understand expectations, setting rules and the rights of others
Becoming aware of ways in which people are included or excluded from physical and social environments
Understanding what it means to be treated fairly and to treat others fairly
Developing the ability to recognise unfairness and bias and the capacity to act with compassion and kindness
Making choices and problem solve to meet their needs in particular contexts
Considering and think critically about fair and unfair behaviour
Understanding and evaluating ways in which texts construct identities and create stereotypes
Appreciating and respecting different ways of knowing, being and doing
Investigating the cultural and linguistic diversity represented in their community through a range of creative expressions
Participating in negotiation of decisions affecting them
Engaging with concepts of citizenship, social justice and equity, e.g. taking action to help communities in distress following fires, floods and drought
Showing empathy for those unfairly treated.
Educators can promote this learning by:
Noticing and listening carefully to children’s concerns, and exploring diverse perspectives on issues of inclusion and exclusion, and fair and unfair behaviour
Providing materials, texts and resources that are inclusive of gender, ability, ethnicity, culture, language and family diversity
Providing equitable opportunities for children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children who have diverse capabilities, to contribute positively to their world
Analysing and discussing with children the ways in which texts may construct a limited range of identities and reinforce stereotypes
Drawing children’s attention to issues of fairness in the early childhood setting and community
Building cultural partnerships in their environment
Seeking guidance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and community members about local processes and protocols, history and culture
Providing materials, texts and resources that provide opportunities to analyse and challenge unfairness
Providing clear, accessible information for families and communities about the service’s policies, including child safety and wellbeing, Code of Conduct, record keeping practices, and complaints and investigation processes.
Children become socially responsible and show respect for theenvironment
Evidence of children becoming socially responsible and showing respect for the environment:
Using play to investigate and explore nature and the natural environment
Recognising they are part of ecosystems and caring for local biodiversity
Participating with others to identify and address environmental challenges and problems, and contributing to group ideas and plans
Demonstrating an increasing knowledge of, and respect for, natural and constructed environments
Caring for Country and connecting with animals, plants, lands and waterways
Learning and using Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander names for the land, local plants and animals
Expressing their views about important topics and work together to problem solve and enact solutions within their communities
Exploring, inferring, predicting and hypothesising in order to develop an increased understanding of the interdependence between land, people, plants and animals
Developing an awareness of the impact of human activity on environments and the interdependence of living things, e.g. marine debris and potential impact on marine life
Exploring the basic needs of living things and how to protect them
Connecting through language and culture with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country
Observing and describing elements of weather and changes in weather and climate
Begin to use local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander names for seasons, e.g. Noongar summer seasons - Birak - First summer (December-January); Bunuru - Second summer (February-March); Djeran - Autumn (April-May); Makurur - Winter (June-July); Djilba - First spring (August-September); Kambarang - Second spring (October-November).
Educators can promote this learning by:
Providing children with access to a range of natural materials in their environment
Modelling respect, care and appreciation for the natural environment
Finding ways of enabling children to care for and learn from the land
Considering the nature of children’s connectedness to the land and demonstrate respect for community protocols
Sharing information and providing children with access to resources about the environment and the impact of human activities on environments
Embedding social, economic and environmental sustainability in daily routines and practices, e.g. inclusion, sharing of resources and reducing waste
Supporting children to build relationships with each other based on peace, equality and human rights
Looking for examples of interdependence in the environment and discuss the ways the life and health of living things are interconnected
Sharing information and examples of how the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people cared for and sustained the land
Visibly and verbally acknowledging connection of language and culture to Country and Traditional Owners
Providing experiences for children to care for Country and connect with animals, plants, lands and waterways in the local community
Providing children with access to their local outdoor spaces, e.g. local bush, coast, desert etc
Investigating with children environmental challenges and explore solutions to problems using digital technologies and the internet
Providing opportunities for children to learn about the interconnected dimensions of sustainability, e.g. recycling bottles and donating funds to local charities and community groups.
What Next for Understanding EYLF Outcome 2?
Using these examples in accordance with EYLF principles and practices ensures that educators are assisting children in achieving EYLF Outcome 2.
But it's also important to show evidence. So here's 2 ways to help your team when it comes to educating children:
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Get some more resource on the EYLF from ACECQA.
Download the EYLF Outcome 2 Sheet below, so you always have this on-hand ⬇️
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