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Edf3038 Case Study Analysis
Edf3038 Case Study Analysis
Edf3038 Case Study Analysis
Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
Assignment One Case Study
Introduction
The case study that is going to be analysed in the following paper will be based in an early childhood
centre, with a focus on how an educator should approach a particular situation concerning a childs
safety. The case study will include the involvement of the main educator of the room, the childs
parent and the child himself, and the issue which is being analysed will be based upon child abuse
and what should be done in order to help the child. A discussion will be included which will have a
look at the procedure of how this situation should be handled by the educator professionally, and what
political and ethical guidelines should be followed to help solve the problem. The key factors which
had an influence in determining the solution to the case, will then be further evaluated in regards to
how they had an impact on the educators professionalism and decision-making skills.
Case/Scenario
The setting of the situation is based in an early childhood centre in the pre-kinder room for 3-4 year
old children. The childcare is based in a low-socioeconomic local suburban area with a majority of
Australian family residents and a few other different cultural family residents (Indian, Chinese,
Sudanese). Most of the children in the centre are from this local suburb whilst others are from other
close surrounding areas. The child in this case is from an Australian family of three (mother, father,
and himself) who reside in a small unit in the local area.
The child who is involved is a boy who is only 4 years old and attends the centre three days a week
with his mother who drops him off at approximately 8:30am every morning, and picks him up at
around 5-6pm every night. The child started attending the childcare a year ago, and a few weeks into
the new year, his educator started to notice a few bruises on the childs arms and legs. When
questioned about it by his teacher, the child would either ignore or run from the teacher to avoid
answering the question, or sometimes he would simply answer by saying that he had fallen.
This continued for about two weeks, and during these two weeks the teacher noticed that the bruises
were not healing normally and that new ones were forming on other places of the childs body. The
teacher then decided that it was time to intervene and questioned the mother about what was
happening with her child. The mother had told the teacher that her child was very uncoordinated and
clumsy at home always running around and bumping into things and falling over a lot, however this
did not match up with the childs personality in the centre. In the classroom the child was always
quietly playing in a corner with himself or with others, and was quite well behaved. The teacher was
starting to suspect a few possibilities of what the causes of the problem might be, however she did not
Under the Code of Ethics, it is her responsibility to ensure that she will act to the best
interests of the child and respect their rights, as well as assist them in maintaining a safe
Through the Code of Conduct, she must know how to treat the child with dignity and
courtesy (Principle 1.2). This includes protecting the children from any harm, respecting the
childs privacy matters unless needed to prevent them from further harm, and refraining from
discussing the childs personal issues without confidentiality. Furthermore, their relationships
with families are respectful and courteous and they work in collaborative ways with the
families, children, and communities (Principles, 1.6 and 1.7) (Victorian Institute of Teaching
[VIT], 2015).
The APST will also help in the ways that she will engage professionally with parents/carers
and the community. In regards to standard number 7, the teacher will deal with the situation
meeting professional and ethical guidelines and responsibilities, she will learn to comply with
the legislative requirements of the case, and maintain collaborative and respectful
relationships with parents/carers regarding to the childs learning and wellbeing (VIT, 2015).
The NQS is another government document that the teacher may use to help guide her in
dealing with the situation in a professional manner. From the standards, the teacher needs to
address quality standards 1 and 2. These state that she must develop a good and trusting
relationship with the child, and also ensure that the child is protected at all times, (this
includes the responsibility to act upon a child at risk of abuse). The teacher must also work to
address standard number 6, which is the collaborative partnerships with families (Australian
Childrens Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQUA, 2016).
By following what these documents have stated, it will help in guiding the teacher into how to
approach the situation in a professional manner. Ensuring that her practices are professional would
also relate to the quality aspect in early childhood, which has the rights and interests of the children as
their highest priority (Rodd, 2013). Through these documents, the teacher will work to ensure that the
child is safe by reporting her suspicions to her manager about the child, as well as know how to
respectfully and cautiously address the situation with the mother of the child, ensuring her that the
child will be safe and looked after in the best way.
REFERENCES
Australian Childrens Education & Care Quality Authority. (2016). Quality Areas. Retrieved from
http://www.acecqa.gov.au/Quality-Areas
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2015). Child abuse and neglect statistics. Retrieved from
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/child-abuse-and-neglect-statistics
Early Childhood Australia. (2016). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from