Build on the knowledge from your primary teaching degree with our early childhood teaching course and you’ll gain specialist skills to advance your career.
You’ll study philosophies, principles and practices of early childhood teaching, and learn how teaching and learning in discipline areas of language and literacy, mathematics, arts, science, health and well-being are integrated across early childhood education play-based programs.
Once you’ve completed our early childhood teaching course, you’ll be able to register as an early childhood teacher and hold dual teaching qualifications (primary and early childhood), which means you’ll be ready to teach across a range of primary school and early childhood settings. This course has national accreditation with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), and is recognised by the Victorian Institute of Teaching for registration as an Early Childhood Teacher on graduation.
Classes take place on evenings and occasional weekends. Every subject starts with one weekend intensive of Saturday and Sunday in Lilydale only from 9am-4pm, followed by 4 Tuesday evening tutorials from 6-9 pm at Elgar or Lilydale campus. Additionally, there are 8 Saturday practical workshops in Lilydale from 9am-4pm scheduled throughout the year to assist you to transform the theory being learned into a practical application, that is to ascertain what does this theory look like in an early childhood service? Over the 8-week duration of each subject, you'll also be required to complete approximately 15 hours of online tutorial tasks at a time that suits you.
You will undertake 60 days of practical placement in a range of early childhood settings. If you have 5 or more years of continuous experience working in an early childhood service, your practicum requirement may be reduced to 45 days.
Applicants who have completed a Bachelor of Education in Primary Teaching are eligible to apply for this course.
You must also successfully complete a face-to-face selection interview of approximately 30 minutes. This interview will assess your aptitude for early childhood teaching through a series of verbal questions including analysing a given scenario.
This course is only available to applicants who have completed a Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching).
The Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching provides you with an early childhood teaching qualification. On completion, you will register with the Victorian Institute of Teaching as an early childhood teacher.
Completion of 8 core subjects and 3 compulsory practicum placements subjects with a total of 60 days of placement required.
There are no pre-requisites for any of your 8 core subjects. However, you must complete certain subjects prior to commencing any practicum placements.
You will complete 30 hours of face-to-face class time in lecture, tutorial and workshop format, and approximately 15 hours of online activities for each subject.
Class sizes are small, typically capped at a maximum of 20 students.
As this is postgraduate study, you’ll be expected to operate at Australian Qualifications Framework level 8 or above.
In this subject you will critically examine the development and learning of children in the infant, toddler, and pre-schooler period. You will also study the development and learning of the 5-8 period to help establish a context for examining factors that support children’s learning across the early years. This also provides a foundation to preparing transition plans that encourage continuity for learning across the early years. You will be encouraged to adopt multiple theoretical perspectives in building your educational philosophy and approaches to curriculum development and program delivery. Sociocultural, constructivist, post structuralist and post-modern influences will be explored in contemporary approaches to early childhood curriculum.
The importance of establishing nurturing environments, through the amalgamation of care and education and effective partnerships with parents and families will be stressed. There will be an emphasis on developing inclusive environments.
Contact hours are 9 hours lecture, 15 hours tutorial, 6 hours workshop, 15 hours online tutorials.
This subject examines theoretical perspectives on organisational demands and higher-level approaches to management in the early childhood centre. The subject aims to enhance managerial competence through applied management principles and practices that create sound, effective management of children service organisations in the current and emerging context. Students examine theories and their application to organisational policies and procedures supported by the legal and industrial frameworks relevant to early childhood centres. Additional management themes to be explored include: managing staff including industrial awards, human resource policy and practice, meeting occupational health and safety responsibilities, evaluating and managing performance to exceed industry standards, implementing quality assurance, maintaining self and colleagues’ currency and connection to the wider early childhood and educational community. Specific management considerations, including responsibilities related to the implementation of the National Quality Standards and other initiatives of the reform agenda will be examined for both child care and stand-alone kindergarten services.
In this subject students examine the role of the early childhood teacher in developing and maintaining positive learning environments in early childhood education. The subject focuses on how resilience and well being are promoted through constant attention to children’s social and emotional development and increasing level of skill in responding to situations. Students identify possible causes of behaviours that they are finding difficult and develop strategies to apply.
This subject relates to the preschool practicum where the training early childhood teacher will demonstrate their ability to create constructive learning environments and positively guide the behaviour of individual preschool children and groups of preschool children.
This subject is to deepen your understanding of and engagement with the educational philosophies that have shaped and are shaping policies and practices in the delivery of early childhood services. The subject explores the foundations of early childhood education and care service provision. The history and development of programs is explored in relation to the cultural, social, economic and political contexts surrounding children, families and communities and early childhood education. Challenges to the previous divide between education and care are examined within the contemporary contexts of amalgamated service delivery models and the recent reform agenda for early childhood services. You will examine a range of diverse approaches to curricula and programs that have arisen out of differing philosophical approaches and changing views of childhood. The practices and principles of current delivery will be explored in reference to guiding documents that are driving the reform in early childhood education. You will develop a sound working knowledge of contemporary early childhood teaching through analysis of the Early Years Learning Framework ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming', the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Framework, other related literature and government policy documents. You will be required to develop your own philosophical position on early childhood education and teaching.
In this subject the pre service early childhood teacher will examine the principles and practices of early childhood program delivery. The early childhood pre service teacher will consider how holistic programs that align with the practice principles of the Early Years Learning Frameworks are implemented in complex, dynamic early childhood environments. Pre service teachers explore their own philosophy and how teaching and learning are integrated across delivery. The critical role of play in pedagogy and the interface between play and intentional teaching is evaluated. This subject is firmly embedded in the practicum experience where the pre-service early childhood teacher demonstrates their ability to develop integrated programs – including mathematics, science, environmental studies, ICT, the visual and performing arts through the integration of play and intentional teaching across the early childhood curriculum.
This subject investigates a range of approaches to assess, record and report on children’s learning to inform teaching practice and meet organisational requirements. The subject will examine authentic assessment design and implementation principles that relate to early childhood contexts and inform early childhood teaching practice.
This subject extends the pre service early childhood teacher’s personal and professional skills to establish reflective practice as a core factor in informing their early childhood teaching. As a practice principle of the Early Years Learning Framework it provides them with a tool to refine their teaching skills in an early childhood environment and assists them to establish an identity as an early childhood teacher.
In this subject students will examine and analyse theories and issues of leadership within the dynamic organizational context of early childhood education. Students are required to engage in leadership roles and reflect on the meaning of leadership in the context of professional practice, ethics, identity and relationships. The five faces of leadership will be used as a construct for student’s to analyse their own leadership capacities across the multiple roles that early childhood teachers adopt in their professional practice. Contemporary issues of leadership within a reforming work environment, and the implications for change, advocacy and effective and ethical governance will be examined. Students will also explore how the early childhood teacher assumes the role of effective pedagogical leadership across the range of programs and partnerships operating in the early childhood service.
The practicum is designed to enable the students to apply the theoretical knowledge introduced in the lectures and tutorials of the preceding units of study. As the students develop knowledge at increasingly complex levels during the course, the practicum placements reflect this development and require the student to engage in more complex tasks and environments. This is achieved by the sequence of and the specific requirements of each practicum experience.
In this first practicum unit, students undertake two separate component placements. The first component is an observation practicum, which requires students to observe and reflect on the role of an early childhood teacher across a range of service types. The aim of this is to help students gain experience in the broad early childhood sector and the multifaceted role of early childhood teaching.
During this practicum the student extends their understanding of knowledge and skills required for effective early childhood teaching. Students are supported to achieve the aims of this practicum through the delivery of units that address issues of provision of early childhood services in the current contexts of reform and the role of the early childhood teacher in these reforming services. Through observation and analysis of the role of the early childhood teacher in targeted services, such as early intervention and maternal and child health services, students are supported to build an increasing understanding of the importance of partnerships across the sector to improve outcomes for children and their families. Further, students explore how networks and communities of practice are developed, maintained and operate across a range of services, and applied to their current and developing role. The notion of developing critically knowing communities within the strength of the plethora of ideas and perspectives is introduced for examination.
The second part of the practicum is a fifteen-day placement with 0-3 year old children in an early childhood service. The aim of this is to build on the students' knowledge and experience and requires that they apply their increasing understanding of early childhood pedagogy to curriculum development, documentation, implementation and evaluation across a range of specific tasks. Early childhood pedagogical practices related to these tasks are delivered previous to the practicum period. Support for developing sound pedagogical practice is also provided through lectures and tutorials, on creating challenging learning environments, learning and teaching theories and play. In this practicum students are also expected to demonstrate their increasing ability to design experiences, based on assessment and focussed on learning outcomes. Students share with staff the rationale and implementation strategies required to achieve the identified outcomes. The students reflect on their teaching practice and identify areas for improvement.
The practicum is designed to enable the students to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the lectures and tutorials of the preceding units of study. As the students develop knowledge to more complex levels during the course the practicum placements reflects this development and requires the student to engage in increasingly more complex tasks and environments. This is achieved by the sequence of and the specific requirements of each practicum experience.
In this unit, pre-service teachers undertake the preschool practicum. Pre-service teachers are required to demonstrate their ability to assume the role of an early childhood teacher in a sessional preschool environment. This includes the ability to create a positive learning environment, and encourage strong learning dispositions for children.
In this practicum, pre-service teachers are to bring together all the knowledge gained in units studied to develop and maintain safe and challenging learning environments for children. Under the guidance of the mentor teacher pre-service teachers are to assume responsibility for the planning, delivery and evaluation of the preschool program for a sustained period (minimum three consecutive weeks). This includes assessment, documentation, program planning, and teaching across all aspects of the program, and communication with families, and staff. Pre-service teachers are responsible for the professional climate and running of the program, ensuring compliance with regulations, and adherence to national quality standards and service policies. Pre-service teachers will be expected to reflect on the role of manager, team leader or preschool director to gain a clearer understanding of the management role assumed by teachers, particularly in stand-alone kindergarten or preschool programs. Support for understanding legal and ethical responsibilities, including compliance and management will be delivered in preceding units.
Models of assessment, program development documentation, and teaching theories will be heavily drawn on throughout this placement. Pre-service teachers are also supported by tutorials, workshops and individual supervision sessions specifically aimed to assist them to apply the theoretical aspects of their course work to the practicum requirements.
The practicum is designed to enable the students to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the lectures and tutorials of the preceding units of study. As the students develop knowledge to more complex levels during the course, the practicum placements reflects this development and requires the student to engage in increasingly more complex tasks and environments. This is achieved by the sequence of and the specific requirements of each practicum experience. This practicum has two components to it: transition practicum of 5 days and a preferential practicum of 10 days.
In this professional experience placement the aim is for students to gain an increasing understanding of the multiple roles of preschool teachers. It is hoped that they are to gain rich insights into the impacts of the transition period for young preschool children and their families. Further, through analysis of the collaboration processes in place between the preschool and primary school teachers they reflect on the transition period from multiple perspectives. This placement also provides the opportunity to identify considerations for preparing a child for a smooth transition to the next phase of formal education and critically examine the role of transition plans in action. This will also be used to nurture their own skills in writing transition plans. It is envisaged that students will undertake this practicum in a range of ways that reflect the children's individual situations and the arrangements in place in both the preschool and receiving school. It is expected that the student will actively participate as is appropriate in the transition program. The student has been allocated 5 days to undertake this practicum.
This placement is of the student's own choice in collaboration with BHI to ensure that proper supervision can be provided. Appropriate placements include early intervention services, specialist placements such as an educational unit at a hospital, zoo or museum, council, or other early childhood education programs for specific populations. The aim of this practicum is to provide students with the opportunity to extend their specific interests in early childhood teaching, management or administration in a supported teaching environment. Students may also choose to complete this practicum interstate or overseas if participating in a study tour.