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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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Teacher Member Posts

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boys and girls happy
Gender in Play and Learning

Boys Liking Feminine Things

Gender expectations on boys.

Young boys can love pretty and feminine things. They like to dress up in pretty clothes and be princesses, fairies, and play female roles.

But parents may worry that it could be an early sign of femininity and see that teachers who allow boys to dress-up in girls’ clothes are setting them up for ridicule. 

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male early childhood teachers and teacher supply in NZ
Book Reviews

Men who Teach Young Children: An International Perspective by David Brody

In “Men who teach young children: An International Perspective” author Dr David Brody provides a penetrating look at the lives and personal beliefs of male early childhood and kindergarten teachers. He also reviews the cultural values and conditions that have shaped and influenced the path they travel.

Gender equality is viewed internationa

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Child tells the story of the hungry caterpillar to friends at ECE centre
Assessment of Learning

Assessing Reading Readiness

Assessing Reading Readiness – 7 Signs a Child is Ready to Go from Listening to Reading.

How can you tell if a child is ready to go from listening to stories to reading stories? The best way to know is to look at the behaviours, skills, and interests which indicate that a child is ready for reading.  The checklist can be useful also as

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growing_plant_in_water
Learning Activities - Outside the Box Ideas

Indoor Plant and Growing Activities

Children Indoor Plant Growing Activities.

Here are 7 ideas for how to do some fun growing activities and keep children busy.  Activities include an onion person, a Humpty Dumpty potato or swede, an egg shell garden, wheat people and more. 

Young children will be able to do many of these growing activities themselves – they ju

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Service Provider Member Posts

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NZ early childhood service managers
Advertising and Marketing / Promotion

Successful Networking

Networking in Early Childhood Education.

Ever felt nervous getting in touch with someone in an important position, or in a room full of people knowing that you are unable to say anything or not knowing what to say? 

Successful networking is an essential key to getting ahead and staying ahead.

This article covers:

what networking ispr

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home visit visiting teacher
Parent Forms and Complaint Handling

Visiting Teacher Forms for Home Visits

The Visiting Teacher forms we have provided here in sample format are for you to modify according to your service and community. The forms include:

To make a record of a child observation. A letter to thank the child for your visit. Evidence of the home visit and supervision of the educator (the administration record).

Child Observati

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Early childhood education financial and money matters
Policies and Procedures

Fees Policy

Use and adapt this fees policy and procedures to suit your ECE service. Procedures may cover late payment of fees and debt collection, charging for public holidays, 20 Hours ECE, the WINZ subsidy, late pick-up fee and other charges.

Early childhood services have three main sources of revenue:  parent fees, government subsidies and grants,

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job description for early childhood teacher educator manager staff
Employer Guides and Staff Management

Job Description for a Centre Manager or Home-based Coordinator

Here is a template you can use and adapt for a manager job description – or centre supervisor, or home-based coordinator who is responsible for one group of visiting teachers.

If you would like more guidance and ideas go to the main article about writing JDs.

Service name or Logo

Position description

POSITION/ROLE:
E.g. Manag

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Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles

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NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education journal
2019 NZIRECE Journal, No. 1

Supporting Parents to Use Schema Theory to Understand and Manage Challenging Behaviour in the Home

Research on how teachers can share schema theory with parents for managing the challenging behaviour of children with special needs and with disabilities. 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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NZIRECE Journal early childhood education research
2012 NZRECE Journal Articles

Solo Fathers with Young Children and their Social Needs

Solo fathers are an ‘invisible’ group in society, although Census data suggests they make up almost 5% of families in New Zealand. No research other than a review of Census data in 1999 has been done on this family type in New Zealand, and there is also very little published research overseas, especially where it includes young children. This i

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NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education journal
2017 NZIRECE Journal, No. 1

Creating an Early Childhood Curriculum Pathway for Sustaining Indigenous Knowledges

Practices of equality and diversity in terms of early childhood education curriculum are examined. ECE is a transmitter of Western knowledges to Indigenous Fijian people and the research participants perceived young children to be the most affected by these knowledges. 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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Two children playing with Duplo blocks at early childhood centre.
2023 NZIRECE Journal

Children Learning about Same-Sex Families

Research on parents’ perceptions of children’s understanding of same-sex families and inclusion in ECE. 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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What We Do

The Office of ECE drives high-quality care, learning and teaching for all infants and young children and high-quality working environments for teachers and service providers.
Teacher supervising infant and young child playing in playground at ECE centre.

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