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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
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
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Teacher Member Posts
When Your Service is Not Meeting Adult-Child Ratio Minimums
Not meeting adult:child ratios.
There are various ways that adult-child ratios can become a problem.
For example, does your manager or boss tell you that it is okay to go under ratio and not replace you when you go on morning-tea breaks and on other occasions provided you are still in the building or on the grounds?
Ratios
Ko Tau Rourou Ko Taku Rourou ā Kua Mārama Shared Understandings and Reflection on Wairua
Reflections on Wairua. By Ngaroma Williams and Michelle Anderson with peer-review by Dr Mere Skerrett.
We came to write this article through asking questions, seeking clarification, providing each other examples of our own experiences, and then highlighting what these experiences look like using teaching and learning narrative approaches
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
Dress guidelines for people working with children in ECE services (staff of all genders)
Rarely do early childhood teacher education texts contain guidance on appropriate teacher dress and physical appearance. One exception is Maria Montessori who wrote that the teacher of young children: “must be attractive, pleasing in appearance, tidy and clean, calm and dignified. These are ideals that each can realise in her own way. The
Service Provider Member Posts
Optimal Outdoor Environments
By Cheryl Greenfield.
Young children have the right to inhabit optimal early childhood outdoor environments.
Optimal outdoor environments have the potential or power to promote and sustain meaningful relationships.
The location of spaces and equipment, and how welcoming the outdoor area is for adults, along with the aesthetics are highly influential on what children do. Poorly designed and maintained environments can be detrimental to children’s development.
This article focuses on the characteristics of optimal outdoor environments within a New Zealand context.
It is based on the findings of the qualitative research I have done over the years on early childhood outdoor environments.
Indoor-Outdoor Spaces and Room Layout
Early Childhood Centre Design Ideas.
We show, with photographs, a different design and approach to using space for supporting small group and project work. The design comes from a bilingual kindergarten, called a ‘Kita’ in Hamburg, Germany.
The photographs were taken, by Sarah Alexander, during a guided tour of the facility for
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,
Home-based Service Start-Up Story and What’s Worked Well
Home-based Service Start-Up.
We profile a successful private Home-based Early Childhood Education Service based from Christchurch, and talk with the co-owner about the ins and outs of a home-based service start-up.
Veronica Kidd is the co-owner of a Home-based Early Childhood Education service.
She has a Diploma of Teaching (ECE) and i
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Cultural Components of Early Childhood Teacher Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
Research on the cultural components of early childhood teacher education. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
“It is a Risk, But it is a Risk Worth Taking”: Early Childhood Teachers’ Reflections on Review of Practice Using an Approach of Practical Philosophy
“It is a risk, but it is a risk worth taking”: Early childhood teachers’ reflections on review of practice using an approach of practical philosophy.
Anne Grey. AUT University, NZ.
Full reference: Grey, A. (2015). “It is a risk, but it is a risk worth taking”: Early childhood teachers’ reflections on review of practice usin
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2003, Vol 6
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 6, 2003 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
The Growth of an Early Childhood Research Culture: Implications for Future Directions in Early Childhood Research
Joy Cu
Making Inclusion Happen in Early Childhood Settings
Research on family and whānau and teacher perspectives and practices of inclusion in early childhood education settings in Aotearoa NZ. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
What We Do
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