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Welcome to the Office of Early Childhood Education
The OECE is a national organisation for the ECE sector and public adviser, championing high-quality education and care for every child
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- Provides membership support to ECE services, teachers, researchers, and community partners
- Actively contributes to sector analysis, research, and policy development
- Advances evidence-based best practices that prioritise children’s interests and wellbeing
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Teacher Member Posts
Playdough Recipes and Play Variations
Here we’ve got an all-time favourite recipe of early childhood teachers for cooked playdough.
We also include recipes for:
– uncooked playdough
– special playdough suitable for shaping into Christmas tree ornaments and gifts to be painted later when hardened.
Playdough is great fun but when the novelty wears off children can become bored and their creativity declines. So we give you some ideas to keep the playdough fun alive, and invite you to contribute your favourite recipes and ideas too.
First, you may wish to consider cultural concerns on the use of food ingredients and how you may mitigate these concerns.
Woodwork Tables, Tools, Gender Issues, and Rules
Woodworking in ECE is easier than you might think, and this guide shows you exactly what tools to get, how to set up the space and how to support children safely and confidently. Discover the huge developmental benefits of woodwork – from problem‑solving to coordination – and why even teachers with no carpentry experience can enjoy learning alongside the children.
Multi-Cultural Activities
Multi-Cultural Activities.
Most early childhood education services include bi-cultural elements in their teaching and learning, but with New Zealand becoming an increasingly multicultural country it can be interesting for children to learn about other cultures as well, particularly if there are children from these cultures within their communi
ICT Digital Technology Use in ECE and Questions
ICT in Early Childhood Education: Questions, Issues and Planning Considerations.
Technology is part of every child’s life and at some point, children are almost certain to want to use and may get hooked on technology – a phone, iPad, or digital camera.
While there are some that would say pre-school years are too early to be introd
Service Provider Member Posts
ECE Employer Guide to Employing and Managing Staff
The ECE Employer Guide is for all managers and persons who employ or are involved in the recruitment and employment of staff. It is a comprehensive resource with detailed information on employment matters as well as on managing your team.
Dismissal Letter
EXAMPLE LETTER OF DISMISSAL.
Below is a general draft letter of dismissal to assist you in learning how a letter can be constructed, and what things you need to consider including in it,
Private and Confidential
DATE:
Dear <Insert Name>
Termination of your employment
This letter is to formally advise you of the termi
Union Rights and ECE Service Provider Duties
Union rights.
Whether your early childhood service is party to a collective agreement or not – you need to know the ins and outs of the law on rights and duties in dealing with unions.
There are also obligations you must meet in respect of new staff appointments. Keep reading below to find out more.
You may also be interested in reading&
Caring for Yourself When Managing or Leading an ECE Service/s
Caring for yourself when managing a service or in the role of a leader. And, the responsibilities that owners and governance committees must meet in regard to supporting the manager and leaders.
Introduction
There seems to be the perception and expectation that managers and leaders should be able to face difficulty in their role and �
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Call for Papers for the 2026 New Zealand International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal Special Issue
Theme: “Quality Begins with Teachers: Workforce Challenges in Early Childhood Education”
High-quality early childhood education begins with a skilled, supported, and sustainable workforce. This special issue calls for paper that explore the central paradox of our sector – the significant responsibility placed on teachers despite the systemic challenges that threaten their professional sustainability.
In this 2026 issue of the NZIRECE Journal, we aim to examine the complex realities educators navigate and the resilient practices they use to maintain high standards of care and education. We invite submissions from both New Zealand and international scholars that address the essential links between workforce wellbeing and pedagogical excellence. Papers from different perspectives are welcomed
Children as Teachers: Creating Opportunities for Children to Share Expertise with their Peers
In early childhood centres young children have the opportunity to interact with their peers in a play based environment. Play takes a central role and is a way by which children may challenge and extend each other’s thinking. Current accounts of how children learn and develop recognise the importance of peer interactions in this process. The stud
Moving Beyond the Environment Towards a Multi-Pillared Approach: Early Childhood Teachers Understanding and Practices of Education for Sustainability in Aotearoa NZ
Full reference: Maxwell, A., Hohaia-Rollinson, F, and Woolston, D. (2025). Moving beyond the environment towards a multi-pillared approach: Early childhood teachers understanding and practices of education for sustainability in Aotearoa New Zealand. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 69-82.
Login to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: The future health, wellbeing and sustainability of our planet and those living upon it is in urgent need of transformational change. Early childhood education (ECE) settings in Aotearoa New Zealand are an important part of the national education infrastructure that can be transformational in bringing about this change. The early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017), provides an important bicultural and sociocultural framework that can support ECE settings increase the national consciousness when education for sustainability (EfS) knowledge, understanding and pedagogies are embedded in everyday practice and apply a place-based education approach. This article shares findings from a research project that investigated ECE teachers’ current understandings and practices of EfS in Aotearoa New Zealand and the influence of local community and context on EfS practices. The results discussed in this article contributes to the EfS discourse and critical global conversations in relation to EfS to facilitate with more urgency transformational change.
Key words: Education for sustainability (EfS), localised curriculum, environmental education (EE), kaitiakitanga/guardianship, pillars of sustainability, place-based education.
Wellbeing Literacy and Early Childhood Education
Research on child wellbeing and insights into wellbeing gains for children in early childhood education. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
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