To reflect on and express your level of awareness and understanding of the diversity of ‘family’ in contemporary times from an early years context. You will also present the implications for the early years educator in providing an inclusive environment that caters for the diversity of all families and supports all dimensions of learning and development for their children. This task aims to develop: • An understanding of the diversity of family within contemporary times • An ability to demonstrate knowledge of relevant learning theories • Research skills, including how to locate useful and appropriate materials • An ability to articulate theoretical knowledge into practical application • Writing skills (essay format, organizing ideas within paragraphs, clarity and accuracy of sentences) You will write an essay that explores ‘family’ in contemporary times. You will present your knowledge of the diversity that is ‘family’ in today’s society supported by further exploration of 2 relatable topics (provided for you below). You will refer to relevant theoretical perspectives and early years frameworks that connect with the importance of ‘family’ for the developing child. You will respond to the implications for the early childhood educator in providing an inclusive environment within diverse family contexts, in order to partner with families to support the learning and development of their child. Consider the following layout in your essay. Remember to balance your word count throughout the three sections of the essay. Introduction The introduction will include your reflection on your own personal experience of ‘family’. You will introduce the changing structure of ‘family’ in contemporary times from an early years context and the continuing importance of the role of family in the lives of the developing child. Introduce here the topics x 2 that you will explore further in your essay. Body You will research and present the compulsory topic and one other topic of your choice (see the list below). Topics • Compulsory topic – • The influence of cultural background on family units. Consider multicultural contexts including indigenous perspectives. • Choose ONE of the following topics • Provide an historical perspective of ‘family structure’ and its adaptations over the past two decades. • Explore the diversity of family descriptors and the influential factors that have and can continue to contribute to the changing context of family structures e.g. nuclear family can become single parent family, to same--sex couple family, to blended family. • Ideological perspectives of family – traditional versus contemporary models and the impact that family structure has on family functioning. • Consider developments in gender stereotypes of the family roles of men and women. • Interracial families and their consequent diversity within a single--family unit. • ESL families living within Australian society. You will include reference to; • The early years learning frameworks/National Quality Framework • Socio--cultural theoretical perspectives • A minimum of 2 peer reviewed articles Conclusion In summarizing your body of information you will present the implications for the early childhood educator in working in partnership with diverse family contexts. You will identify the challenges/benefits that you see in providing an inclusive environment for all families. You will state how theoretical perspectives and contemporary frameworks will guide your professional practice in partnering with families and communities, to support the learning and development of every child in your early years setting. Include a reference list as per APA style.