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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
Nappies – The Options and What’s Best in ECE
As professionals, teachers are often presented with situations that require them to consider what is important to the families of the children they are teaching, while ensuring that they are working in an environment where they are comfortable and where their training and experience is valued and appreciated.
In deciding how to approach the reus
Boys Educational Underachievement
This article looks at arguments around boys and educational underachievement and proposes that early childhood teachers should take education to where the boys are at. UK education expert Tim Kahn, gives an example of how an early childhood teacher put aside her initial feeling to forbid boys from following their play interest and en
Beach Trip
Taking children for a trip to the beach can offer opportunities for all kinds of learning – from discovering creatures to practising building skills. Just check first that you have prepared safety plan for the excursion, including sun protection, and have more than sufficient adults to the number of children.
Try these ideas when you take a t
Under-5s Rugby
Teaching Rugby to Children in Early Childhood Education. This fosters a sense of belonging, pride, and achievement.
Rugby is part of NZ’s culture and central to our cultural identity. (See another article on following and celebrating the Rugby World Cup with children
It is a great sport to introduce to children from about 2 years of a
Service Provider Member Posts
Glossary of Financial and Accounting Terms
Accounting and Financial Terms Explained for ECE Service Providers.
Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable: See “Ledger” below.
Accounting Reports: See definitions below for each of:
Balance Sheet – same as Statement of Financial Position
Cash flow report
Flow of Funds
Income and Expenditure Repo
Shade and Outdoor Planning for Sun Protection
Below are tips and recommendations for creating and maintaining effective and acceptable shade in outdoor play areas. This is important in conjunction with other methods for protecting children’s skin and eyes from the harmful effects of the sun over summer.
Attention is drawn here to different problems such as tree branches breaking and falli
Advice on Responding to a Parent Who Does Not Want Child to Have a Male Teacher
Parent does not want Male Teacher.
An early childhood centre manager asks:
After informing our parents that 2 new teachers had been appointed for the start of term, a mother said she did not want one of these teachers, a man, to have any contact with her daughter and that she must never be in the same group with him. We agreed to her
Arrears in Fees: Managing the WINZ Childcare Subsidy
Managing arrears in fees can be a headache for service providers, and especially when parents are on the WINZ subsidy. Several centre and home-based service providers have mentioned a problem they have when parents who are receiving a WINZ subsidy do not inform them that their income has lifted and so they are no longer eligible for the subsidy.&nb
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Retaining Early Childhood Teachers: What Factors Contribute to High Job Satisfaction?
The results of a study on why early childhood teachers leave their jobs and factors such as better adult-to-child ratios that contribute to satisfaction in the workplace.
FULL REFERENCE: Jones, C., Hadley F., & Johnstone, M. (2017). Retaining early childhood teachers: What factors contribute to high job satisfaction in early childhood settings in Australia? NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal: Special Issue “Educators and their Work”, 20(2), 1-18.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: The Australian early childhood sector is grappling with high teacher turnover rates in a climate where the demand for teachers is higher than ever due to regulatory increases in qualifications and an influx of centre based services. The necessity to understand what inspires those teachers who remain in the sector and the factors enhancing their job satisfaction is pertinent in the current context. This article reports on a study of teacher job satisfaction while examining the potential of Deci and Ryan’s (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a mechanism for understanding this phenomenon. The study consisted of two phases. Phase one included 229 teachers completing an online survey measuring job satisfaction, intention to turnover, extrinsic factors as well as a major component of SDT (the three Basic Psychological Needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence in the workplace) with the W-BNS. In phase two, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten teachers who reported high levels of job satisfaction in their current workplaces from phase one. The ‘voices’ of these teachers support the findings from phase one by echoing the importance of meeting the three basic psychological needs in the workplace. This paper discusses the potential of SDT as a framework for understanding early childhood teacher job satisfaction and implications for policy and practice are also explored.
Key words: Job satisfaction; self-determination theory; early childhood teacher; staff turnover; long day care; retention.
INTRODUCTION
For this study, job satisfaction was defined as how satisfied a teacher is in their current workplace, and how happy they are in the overall Early Childhood (EC) profession. While job satisfaction in prior to school settings has been studied quite extensively (Bloom, 1986, 1988; Stremmel, Benson, & Powell, 1993; Whitebook & Sakai, 2003) there is limited Australian specific research and much of what is available is quite dated (Lyons, 1996, 1997; Rosier & Lloyd-Smith, 1996). This is problematic as the Australian EC sector is undergoing substantial growth requiring more teachers in prior to school settings (Productivity Commission, (PC), 2014; Sims & Waniganayake, 2015),
In the past decade (2003-2013), the number of approved EC services increased by 58%, with Long Day Care (LDC) services comprising just under half of this figure (PC, 2014). LDC centres are defined as providers of care for children from birth to school age, are open for at least ten hours per day, five days a week, and for at least 48 weeks per year. The introduction of the National Quality Framework (NQF), the regulatory system for EC organisations has also seen an emphasis on increased educator qualifications (Australian Children’s Education and Care Authority (ACECQA), 2011). The expansion of services has subsequently increased the number of educator positions (those who are employed to work directly with children); and the NQF regulations have increased the number of teachers (a person who holds an approved early childhood teaching qualification from a university) to meet the legislative requirements (ACECQA, 2016). This overall increase of EC teacher positions in the past decade has added further pressure to a sector already grappling with issues of retention and turnover (Bretherton, 2010; OECD, 2013).
Negotiating Policy-Driven and State-Mandated Expectations of Leadership: Discourses Accessed by Early Childhood Educators in Australia
FULL REFERENCE: Thomas, L., & Nuttall, J. (2014). Negotiating policy-driven and state-mandated expectations of leadership: Discourses accessed by early childhood educators in Australia. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special Issue: Early Childhood Policy, 17, 101-114.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: This paper draws on two recent studies of educational leadership in early childhood education to examine the ways in which educators draw on a variety of discourses to articulate concepts of ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ in the present early childhood policy context in Australia. The specific focus is on leaders’ responses to expectations of leadership within the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Age Care [NQF] in Australia (Council of Australian Governments [COAG], 2009a), which promotes leadership focused on curriculum and pedagogy rather than on management and administration (COAG, 2009b). A poststructuralist lens is used to analyse the ways in which concepts of leadership embedded in the NQF work to mobilise various discourses of leadership. We argue that educators’ accounts indicate possibilities for new ways of theorising leadership in EC settings, to find ways to hold together seemingly opposite discourses of ‘leadership for management’ and ‘leadership for learning’ in response to current policy shifts.
KEY WORDS:
Educational leadership; early childhood education; education policy; Australia; discourse analysis.
Field-Based Early Childhood Student Teachers – Who Are They and What Challenges Do They Face?
This research examines the demographic characteristics of students who choose to do field-based early childhood education teacher training and identifies challenges they face in relation to gender, career choice and academic expectations.
FULL REFERENCE: Dunham, N. (2017). Field-based early childhood student teachers – who are they and what challenges do they face? NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Special Issue: Early Childhood Teachers and their Work, 20(2), 50-65.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: In Aotearoa New Zealand, early childhood teachers practice within a contestable landscape in which their value and worth is regularly questioned. Early childhood education (ECE) is associated with discourses of women’s work, quality and career choice. The perception within such discourses being that ECE is a female dominated field, with few men entering the work force as early childhood teachers. In addition, changes in the credentialing of early childhood teachers in New Zealand is associated with issues of quality and professionalisation, which have been significantly influenced by calls for pay parity with primary school counterparts, and associated challenges in minimal qualification requirements. Finally, as a career choice, ECE is associated with rates of high attrition and poor working conditions, which impact on quality provision. This paper draws on the findings from PhD research into student academic identity. The paper specifically focuses on the student demographic and associated challenges facing students of early childhood field-based initial teacher education. Using an interpretive qualitative research design, data was collected from students, teacher educators and associate teachers involved in early childhood field-based initial teacher education. Data from open-ended surveys, focus groups and individual interviews was analysed using thematic analysis informed by the principles of grounded theory. Documentary analysis associated with the wider socio-political context of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand was also undertaken. The findings highlight challenges in relation to gender, career choice and academic expectations in early childhood education.
KEY WORDS: Field-based; early childhood; academic identity; credentials; characteristics.
INTRODUCTION
The credentialing of teachers in the early childhood sector in Aotearoa New Zealand has faced a turbulent history, which remains unsettled. Participation in quality early childhood education is politically regarded as critical to building firm foundations for children’s later learning and development (Ministry of Education, 2002). Credentialing of early childhood teachers is seen as a contributing factor to this quality provision (Ministry of Education, 2002). However, this credentialing remains open to the whim of Governmental preferences. The aim of this paper is to discuss the student teacher demographic and associated challenges facing the field of early childhood education. Attention will be given to teacher credentials, with particular attention to field-based programmes of study and student academic identities.
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2004, Vol 7
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 7, 2004 are shown below. To view
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