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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
View our positions
- 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
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
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Membership Services and Support for:
Teacher Member Posts
Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education & Care Postmodern Perspectives
Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education & Care Postmodern Perspectives by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss & Alan Pence. This review was first published in the NZJES journal, 34(2), 1999, pp. 368 – 369. Reviewed by Dr Sarah Alexander.
Beyond Quality challenges the discourse of early childhood education and over two decade
Making Pet Rocks
Making Pet Rocks.
This is a fun activity for ages 2 – 102 – so its highly suitable to involve parents and grandparents in doing too alongside their children.
This can be done inside or at an outside table. , to produce something that reflects the personal style of the creator.
Brilliant for building imagination and creativity, leadin
Can a Male Teacher Be Fired For Not Being ‘Man’ Enough?
“Our male teacher is not what we expected when we employed him. Can we fire him?
“He provides nothing particularly male that is different to our female staff. He’s not interested in doing carpentry and construction with the children. His interests are in music, creative play and cooking. He said he wasn’t interested in doing any main
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Children with ADHD in ECE.
ADHD is a biological disorder which is most often seen in school age children but can also be present in toddlers, pre-schoolers and adolescents and adults.
ADHD is usually broken down into three sub-categories: ADHD predominantly inattentive, ADHD predominantly hyperactive and ADHD combined type.
Children with
Service Provider Member Posts
Financial Sustainability
Early Childhood Service Financial Sustainability.
Unless as much or more money is coming in than is going out, your service could come to be at risk. Here are some strategies for financial sustainability and increasing your revenue stream when necessary. What strategies you agree with and disagree with will depend on your values and the reasons
Health and Safety at Work Act Requirements
This is an easy to read summary and early childhood friendly perspective on the Health and Safety at Work Act. It also points to specific implications for centres, home-based and franchised ECE operations of the new H&S Act.
Expectations
This Act means that ECE owners/directors/managers/senior leaders can’t escape from being accountable
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
Privacy Policy
Preparing a policy on privacy, what to put in your privacy policy, why, and what else to consider so you don’t miss anything.
Early childhood services must meet the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020. Understanding and implementing the Act’s requirements allow services to protect and respect the privacy of children, their family whānau, and
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Generic or Specific? Deciphering the New Zealand Approach to Professional Standards for Early Childhood
Research exploring why NZ has taken the approach to professional standards for early childhood teachers that it has – generic to the primary and secondary sectors. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
We’re All in This Together: Approaches to Inclusive Early Childhood Education for Disabled Children in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States, and What We Can Learn From One Another
Full reference: McAnelly, K., Purdue, K., Hall, L.J., Odom, S.L., & Hall, E. (2025). We’re all in this together: Approaches to inclusive early childhood education for disabled children in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States, and what we can learn from one another. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 1-16.
Login to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT:
Research from Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States continues to explore disabled children’s right to an inclusive early childhood education (ECE). In this article we examine ECE provision, key legislation and policy, and research on inclusion in our two countries. We also look at how initial teacher education and professional learning and development programmes help to strengthen inclusive practice in our respective countries. There is a lot that each country can draw on and learn from the other in relation to supporting disabled children’s inclusion in ECE. Drawing on insights from our cross-country comparisons, we offer recommendations aimed at amplifying disabled children’s rights to inclusive ECE.
Key words: Disability, inclusion, children’s rights, teacher education, cross-country comparison.
Supporting Participation of Indigenous Families in Early Childhood Education
Supporting Participation of Indigenous Families in Early Childhood Education.
Elizabeth Corridore. Australia.
Full Reference: Corridore, E. (2014). Supporting participation of indigenous families in early childhood education. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special Issue: Early Childhood Policy,17, 147-160.
Embedding Literacy in an Early Childhood Education Programme: A Look into Montessori
Children begin school with a range of pre-literacy skills that serve as the foundation for later reading achievement. These skills include phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge and vocabulary. The New Zealand early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki is non-prescriptive in terms of literacy and allows for early childhood centres to develop their
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