Empowering children, families, and communities for a better future

Following the ecological systems theory of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979, as cited in Grace & Baird, 2022), this portfolio acknowledges the fact that the development of a child cannot be examined without taking into consideration the surrounding systems. The financial state of families, social connections, culture, health and well-being of children and their exposure to emergency situations are factors that define the child's current situation but are also influenced by the bigger context of policies, communities, and structures. The contexts are not considered separately and disconnected issues but rather as interconnected aspects of modern Australian family life.

The portfolio covers five family and community contexts including Economic Contexts, Social Contexts, Cultural and Diversity Contexts, Health and Wellbeing Contexts and Crisis and Emergency Contexts. In this resource, the sociological theory and current Australian research associated with each context will be considered, along with the effect on child development and parent involvement in early childhood services.

Policy interventions are discussed and evidence-informed strategies, partnerships and educator resources suggested supporting children and families in each context. Information contained in this portfolio is informed by the prescribed textbook Children, Families and Communities (Grace, Bowes and Woodrow, 2022), and current information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Unless otherwise stated, the information from ABS is based on figures from the latest national census conducted in 2021, with the next census to take place in 2026; recent modeled and survey-based data was also used to keep the portfolio up to date.

Finally, this portfolio attempts to provide early childhood educators with the essential knowledge and skills required to support all children and families effectively and sensitively.