A think tank has warned toddlers could be indoctrinated into activism and identity politics due to the federal government’s new childcare teaching curriculum.
The Institute of Public Affairs has sounded the alarm claiming many parents would be unaware of the ideology being promoted in the Early Years Learning Framework.
Analysis by the conservative think tank found diversity, inclusion and equity is mentioned 149 times, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and reconciliation is mentioned 96 times, and mother, father or parent is not mentioned at all.
Dr Bella d’Abrera, who is director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation program at IPA, said parents should be concerned.
‘These centres should be where children play in sandpits, draw with crayons and have afternoon naps, not be inducted into the cults of social justice, identity politics and sustainability by activist educators,’ she said.
‘Parents should be very concerned that the federal government supports young children being exposed to very adult themes such as gender, sexuality, race, culture and the environment, years before it is appropriate.’
The federal government’s learning framework for childcare centres has been criticised for including activist content on race, gender, culture and the environment (stock image)
Dr Bella d’Abrera, from The Institute of Public Affairs, said kids should be allowed to be kids and that most parents would be unaware of the mandatory learning guide
The federal government’s childcare regulator, the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, oversees applying the Early Years Learning Framework, which is titled ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’.
The regulator suggests children perform a daily Acknowledgement of Country and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are displayed in childcare centres.
Learning materials recommended by the regulator include ideas that children should be ‘understanding and exploring gender’ and that ‘colonial understandings’ should be ‘disrupted’.
‘Similar to the National Curriculum, Australia’s early learning framework begins the process of indoctrination by introducing infants and toddlers to radical gender and social justice theory, rather than allowing children to simply be children,’ Dr d’Abrera said.
‘As Australia’s education system has shifted away from the acquisition of knowledge towards activism and social justice, results have continued to slide compared to other nations.
‘By focusing on division rather than age-appropriate, fact-based education, we are setting another generation up for failure.’
There are concerns children are being exposed to political ideology in childcare centres via the federal government’s learning curriculum (pictured: a Voice to Parliament rally in 2023)
The childcare regulator also suggests daycare centres hold daily Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies (stock image)
A childcare insider told the Herald Sun there was no backlash within the sector to the framework and individual centres had room to apply the principles as they see fit.
‘Some services in inner Melbourne will have a very different interpretation of what is needed compared to those in regional communities,’ the insider said.
The Belonging, Being and Becoming framework, introduced in 2009, was updated in 2023 and made compulsory for 2024.
A spokesman for the federal Department of Education said approved learning frameworks had ‘always included respect for diversity and the ongoing learning and the sharing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures’.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Education Department for further comment.
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