This unit is designed to build on and deepen your understandings of national and international debates the thinking and understandings of pedagogy as studied through Unit One.

Each of the three encounters will enable you to: critically examine and debate the principles and practices of important elements of a pedagogical documentation approach to early learning continually revisit and question your own pedagogical base explain and ensure the visibility of the agreed pedagogical base in the daily life of your setting (or settings in which you work).

Purpose
The purpose of this unit is to: explore and deepen understandings of:

• the influences on decisions to follow a pedagogical documentation approach to early learning
• democracy and participation of children
• children as learners
• the visibility of pedagogical documentation – content, process and practice,

thereby ensuring that children are central to their own learning which is made more visible within a culture and ethos that reflects the pedagogical base of the setting and a pedagogical documentation approach to early learning support early years’ educators in:

• making sense of their pedagogical role
• being confident to respond to the individual needs of children, families and the priorities within early years’ settings
• enabling others to create learning environments inside and outside, which support children’s early learning and development
• developing a pedagogical approach to early learning through which children see that they are valued as key members of the learning community
• reading further about the issues raised within the unit
• engaging in professional dialogue with colleagues
• reflecting on their own thinking, development and practice through their professional journal, thereby developing their knowledge base, taking account of ethical issues as they transfer their knowledge and understanding to others and to their practice, applying key cognitive and intellectual skills.

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