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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
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
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Teacher Member Posts
Are Learning Stories Working? Educators Share their Views
It is now some years since the Learning Stories approach to assessing children’s learning caught on and was widely and uncritically adopted by early childhood professionals in NZ.
Here we open up discussion and reflect on the use of the Learning Story approach to child assessment and how well it is working for teachers and children.
There
What’s all the Fuss About Playdough?
Playing with playdough is an everyday occurrence at many ECE services, but the humble activity is subject to frequent debate with suggestions that playdough and other food based play ideas are culturally insensitive.
The debate is not new – it is revived every few years and has been around for at least the past 30 years.
One debate was
Bullying by Children as Young as 2 Years
Bullying by Children as Young as Two.
Children bullying another child is not uncommon, and it happens in early childhood centres and homes. Around one in ten children experience being bullied or picked on as a consistent experience from age two years, according to findings of a longitudinal study.
Here we will look at: Should a child be called a bully? What is bullying? Examples of bullying. What’s normal and how adults can stop bullying from developing in the first place
Winter and Rainy Day Activities
Winter and Rainy Day Children’s Activities.
When the children are getting restless and the noise levels are going up and up and you are thinking about how to get through the day, it’s time to bring in some new ideas and fresh activities.
Here’s help. Below are lots of teacher ideas of experiences you can give to children and activities t
Service Provider Member Posts
Social and Emotional Competence Policy
Promoting Social and Emotional Competence Policy and Procedures.
Rationale:
This policy and accompanying procedures will help us to ensure our curriculum and teaching practice supports the development of children’s social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour in our service.
Regulations and key references:
T
Getting Men to Apply for Your Staff Vacancy
Male job applicants.
We are advertising for a teacher and have received some quality applications so far, but no applications from males. We would love to have a male applicant or two – any ideas of how we could achieve this?Service provider
Dr Alexander replies:
Finding male staff can be difficult because there are disproportionat
Interview Questions for Teaching Job Applicants
This article goes over the broad areas to cover when interviewing an applicant and questions interviewers have found work.
When interviewing for a teaching position try to cover at least the following broad areas:
Prior work experience and reasons for any gaps in the applicant’s work record.Qualifications, when, where, how, areas of
Power Cut – No Electricity
A power cut – oh no! What do you do? Should you send children home?
If the power goes off again, what can you do to be better prepared?
How can you make the best out of a nuisance situation?
Here are some answers.
When there is no danger to children and adults there is no need to evacuate.
A power cut is not norma
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Beyond Partnerships with Parents in ECE: A Legacy of Adult Experiential Learning in Playcentres
Research on adult learning in ECE settings and outcomes for parents of being involved. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Masters Thesis Directory
This is an education masters thesis directory. It shows NZ masters theses on research, policy analysis and/ or theory relevant to young children’s care, health, and teaching and leaning. The education masters thesis directory includes M.A., M.Ed., M.Phil, M, Health Science theses.
An education doctoral thesis directory is also available if yo
Contents – NZ International Research in ECE Journal, 2021, Vol 23, No. 1
This issue brings together research on critical reflection, emotional labour in early years practice, SENCo influences, equity‑focused policy work, toddlers’ emotional literacy, and teacher education during COVID‑19.
Contents – NZ International Research in ECE Journal, 2018, Vol 21, No. 2
This issue examines emergent literacy across socioeconomic contexts, strengths‑based approaches for supporting vulnerable families, school‑starting age debates, early literacy perspectives for children under three, professional standards in ECE, and inquiry‑driven STEM learning.
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