Program detail
- Priority area: Communication
- Primary audience: Educators
- Delivery mode: Resources (books, kits, manuals)
- Strength of evidence: Not applicable
- AEDC sub-domains:
- Communication skills and general knowledge
- Language and cognitive development – Basic literacy
- Language and cognitive development – Interest in literacy/numeracy and memory
- Item cost: No upfront cost
Program description
Educators are among the key people to identify communication difficulties in young children. This resource aims to strengthen shared understanding across and within services about communication development. It documents research that underpins and defines communication for children from birth to 8 years, outlining the trajectory of children's communication development, and the different modes and components of language.
The resource includes a comprehensive list of 10 assessment tools spanning all aspects of children's communication. It also describes 7 principles for assessing children's communication.
Detailed cost
Not applicable.
Implementation considerations
Target population: early childhood educators working with children from birth to 8 years.
Program/practice descriptions and details: the resource has 4 sections:
- How are children defined as effective communicators from birth to 8 years of age?
- Principles for assessing children as effective communicators
- Summary matrix of tools for assessment of children's communication in early years (0–8 years)
- Evaluation of existing tools for assessing children's communication skills
Factors to consider: this resource gives educators knowledge and resources to support assessment practices related to children's communication development. Teams of educators can use the resource to inform decisions about communication assessments. The resource can also be shared with speech pathologists to support a shared understanding of the VEYLDF context.
VEYLDF alignment
Item uses these practice principles
- Reflective practice
- Partnerships with families
- High expectations for every child
- Respectful relationships and responsive engagement
- Equity and diversity
- Assessment for learning and development
- Integrated teaching and learning approaches
- Partnerships with professionals
Item responds to these sub-outcomes
- Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
- Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media
- Children engage with a range of texts and get meaning from these texts
- Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
Updated