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Welcome to the Office of Early Childhood Education
National and public adviser on ECE, the OECE is a sector body representing teachers and all types of licensed services driving safer, higher‑quality education 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
The Learning Story Narrative Approach to Child Assessment
Narrative Approach to Child Assessment.
While our country’s youngest children are not assessed with end of year tests or other formal assessments, the Ministry of Education does require early childhood education (ECE) services to be ”informed by assessment, planning and evaluation (documented and undocumented) that demonstrates an understandi
Teaching Overseas or Coming to NZ? Don’t be Disadvantaged
Returning to Teaching in NZ or Going Overseas to Teach.
This article covers key things to be aware of, plan for, do, and get evidence of, to reduce the possibility of disadvantage upon your return to NZ.
Working in an early childhood overseas can be an enriching experience and a good way for teachers to continue their
Death of a Child, Parent or Other Adult
In the event of the death of a child or person known at your service, the impact will be extensive on children, yourself, members of your team and your community.
You should be open and honest with your service leader and discuss the option of seeking professional help and support for yourself, in order to be able to adequately support children
Autism
Children with Autism ASD in Early Childhood Education.
How often have you seen a child acting inappropriately in social situations, appearing to ignore what others say, or over-reacting to loud noises?
Children with such behaviours are often thought to be naughty or treated as a ‘problem’. Some early childhood services have policies tha
Service Provider Member Posts
Toddler Left in Car Seat Died
Unexplained absence.
A 16-month-old was found dead after his mum went to work, accidentally leaving him sleeping in his car seat in her car parked at work. She had not realised he was still in the car and had forgotten to drop him at the early childhood centre. Tragically the toddler died from heatstroke. There can be other situations t
Redundancy and Making a Position Redundant
Redundancy and the process for making a position redundant.
There may not be the work for an employee because child enrolments have dropped, your service is restructuring, or you can not longer afford to keep an employee on.
Whatever the reason, there are certain processes to follow to ensure you do not run into legal problems.
This arti
Ways to Be the Best – Paths to Quality
Five Paths to Quality Improvement.
Do you want to grow and develop a service that is unique?
Would you like to see parents shouting from the rooftops about how great your service is?
Would you like to future-proof your service to help it continue to be one of the best in your local community, or even in the whole of NZ?
Aim for
Mandatory Reporting of Teachers
Here’s information on mandatory reporting of teachers includes for not meeting the required level of competence, dismals and resignations, possible serious misconduct, and criminal convictions.
Should a confidentiality agreement be put in place as part of the settlement of an employment grievance, this may not over-ride the legal obligation to
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Beyond Partnerships with Parents in ECE: A Legacy of Adult Experiential Learning in Playcentres
FULL REFERENCE: Jenkin, C., Stover, S., Hill-Denee, D. and Reid, R. (2022). Beyond partnerships with parents in early childhood education: A legacy of adult experiential learning in Playcentres. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 24, pp. 4 – 15..
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: Within early childhood education, the role of parents is a contested space. While collaborative relationships are emphasised as part of the curriculum, the structure of most early childhood services positions parents as ‘consumers’ who buy a ‘product’ or commodified service that they do not make themselves. In the case of early childhood education, they are purchasing the ‘care and education’ of their children. In New Zealand, this has not always been the case.
This article is based on a recent qualitative study that the authors conducted through semi-structured interviews with participants who attended Playcentre with their children and subsequently developed careers in early childhood programmes in tertiary institutions. The findings showed that sustained parent participation in early childhood settings produced experiential learning that led to new career trajectories for them as individuals. While all the participants in the study had deep involvement in the parent co-operative Playcentre, opportunities for parents to learn through shared responsibility in early childhood were not unusual. A historic review of the role of parents in early childhood settings shows that major changes occurred in 1990 throughout the sector with the introduction of the first national standardised ‘quality’ indicators set by governments. Subsequent policy documents have reinforced the importance of respectful collaborative relationships between parents and teachers.
However, looking back at their years in Playcentre, the participants in this research recognised that working in partnership with other parents was a key driver for them as adult learners. Sharing responsibilities with other parents – adult learners alongside very young child learners – led them into new capabilities and shaped their approach to their subsequent careers in early childhood teacher education.
KEY WORDS: Early childhood education, Playcentre, semi-structured interviews, collaboration, adult experiential learning.
INTRODUCTION
The place of parents learning alongside their children and alongside other parents is the space that Playcentre has championed since the 1940s in Aotearoa NZ.
As the doyen of Playcentre, Gwen Somerset wrote in 1972:
When a mother participates or becomes involved in [early childhood education] where she can observe and work with children of many different environments, not only does she share in the early education of her child, but she is involved in adult education at the fundamental level of personal relationships. Adult education is integrated with early childhood education (Somerset, 1972, pp. 31-32).
While apparently excluding fathers and other caregivers from her vision, Somerset’s positioning of mothers as adult learners reflected the realities of her times, and was a strongly feminist position. Mothers of very young children were capable of, perhaps even were required to change as part
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2008, Vol 11
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 11, 2008 are shown below. To view
Public-Professional Barriers to Breastfeeding
Drawing on lived experience within the ECE sector, this reflection reveals how public‑professional attitudes can undermine breastfeeding despite clear developmental and equity benefits. It’s a must‑read for anyone shaping research, policy, or system‑level change in early childhood education.
Advanced Empathy in the Early Years – A Risky Strength?
FULL REFERENCE: Hodgkins, A. (2019). Advanced empathy in the early years – a risky strength? NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 22(1), pp. 46-58.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: Empathy is commonly accepted as an essential skill for early childhood practitioners and the importance and benefits of empathy are widely understood. However, there is evidence to suggest that the use of advanced empathy techniques can lead to stress and ‘compassion fatigue’ in some practitioners; thus, it can be a ‘risky strength’. The aim of this study was to identify the use of advanced empathy among practitioners and to then identify the emotional impact of this work on their lives. This small-scale research suggests that there is indeed an emotional cost to practitioners and that many practitioners are struggling to find a work-life balance. Although the participants described a wide variety of coping mechanisms there is clearly still a need for focussed and consistent support within the profession. There is also a need to include emotional resilience education in training and professional development courses.
Key words: Empathy; early childhood; professionalism; compassion; stress; coping.
Introduction
The ability to empathise with others has long been accepted as a valuable aptitude for those working with people. Empathy has positive consequences for successful social interactions and relationships (Panfile & Laible, 2012) and it enables us to build supportive relationships with others. Empathy is one of the ‘core conditions’ illustrated by Carl Rogers (2004), along with ‘congruence’ and ‘unconditional positive regard’. Rogers (1980) described empathy as the “sensitive ability and willingness to understand the client’s thoughts, feelings and struggles from the client’s point of view” (p. 85). Being able to understand how another person may be feeling, to ‘see the world through his/her eyes’, to ‘walk a mile in his/her shoes’ is acknowledged as contributing to successful relationships. This ability to recognise how people feel is important in all aspects of personal and professional life (Akers & Porter, 2003, p. 66) and there is much literature about the use of empathy in nursing, social work and teaching (Cameron & Maginn, 2007; Hoisington, 2003; Irving & Dickson, 2004; Morse, Bottorff, Anderson, O’Brien, & Solberg, 2006; Pierce, 1982) not solely in counselling therapy. The requirement for students/trainees learning to ‘demonstrate empathy’ in the profession they aim to join is found across these disciplines.
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