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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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- 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
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
Asking for More Pay – Negotiating and Pay Reviews
Asking for More Pay.
In this article we discuss:
Getting over your fear to ask for a pay rise. What your employer’s obligations are. Preparing to negotiate and what you can expect.
Getting over fear to ask for a pay rise
If you do not ask you may not get. If you believe you are due a pay rise there is no harm in asking. 
Gun Play?
Do You Allow (Or Even Encourage) Gun Play? By Tim Kahn.
Tim Kahn writes his thoughts about the superhero and weapon’s play that is often indulged in relentlessly by a small group of boys – and less persistently by another group of boys and a few girls.
Starting with the child
Effective learning for young children starts from their i
Sleep – How Much and Meeting Parents’ Wishes
Sleeping During the Day at ECE.
Nap, sleep and rest times have led to tensions and stand-offs between teachers, parents and children in some centres and home-based services.
Perhaps instead of asking who should decide whether a child has a sleep or nap, when, and for how long, we should work toward solutions that please and best suit everyon
Service Provider Member Posts
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
Building the Real Quality of Your ECE Service
Beyond Regulatory Standards and Expectations to Building Quality.
There seems to be so much to do in trying to provide a quality service, does there not?
Is all your work worth it or could a change in focus and method achieve better results?
To help you to think critically on this consider the following:
Who defines what quality is? A
How to write a policy
How to write a policy on anything or topic for your early childhood service.
What needs to be included in a written policy.
Answers to your questions such as how often you need to review policy.
Creating Financial Reserves
ECE Service Financial Reserves.
The Ministry of Education does not mind if a service builds up financial reserves. It will not affect funding. Non-profit services can however face a dilemma – should they be spend the money earnt or build up wealth? But note that community-based services are in a less strong position compared with compa
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2007, Vol 10
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 10, 2007 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
Children’s Views of their World
Freda BriggsUniversity of South AustraliaNZRECE Journal, Vol. 10, 2007, pp. 3 – 1
Characteristics of Optimal Early Childhood Centre Outdoor Environments: Spaces and Places in which Children and Adults Want to Be
The purpose of this project was to investigate what teachers deemed optimal in their provision of an outdoor environment. This research involved 46 teachers from 15 early childhood centres in the North Island of New Zealand. The findings reported in this paper will enable those responsible for outdoor design and provision to better understand the c
Children’s Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction as Curriculum
Children’s Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction as Curriculum.
Dian Fikriani* and Jane Bone** * Gadjah Mada University Indonesia. **Monash University Australia.
Full Reference: Fikriani, D. & Bone, J. (2014). Children’s participation in disaster risk reduction as curriculum. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Spec
How to Search and Find Readings on Early Childhood Topics
Researching for Information on a Particular Topic.
We receive requests from many people seeking to know what research is available on a particular topic.
First do a thorough word and article search of our website.
Take a look at all the articles published in the NZ-International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal
Then check
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