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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
Different Ways to Write a Learning Story
Learning stories remain the most commonly used assessment approach, yet the way they are written can differ widely between settings. Even though teachers and home‑based educators understand the general purpose of learning stories, many still wonder what the best practice looks like and how to do them well.
Rocket Making and Launching Rockets
The children were showing interest in aliens, rockets and space. Teacher, James had a water bottle rocket launcher at home, which he brought in. Sadly, this rocket only survived a few launches before the rubber seal broke and could not be replaced.
A week or two later James was reading about an air rocket made from a wine cork and car valve.
“You pump the bottle up until the pressure in the bottle was greater than the friction holding the cork in and in a reverse of a champagne cork the plastic bottle shoots off.”
James then thought about water being in-compressible, so if we fit a hose pipe to the wine cork, the water would flow in and compress the air inside the bottle until the friction failed and launched the bottle.
Making Volcanoes
Making Volcanoes with Children.
Children find volcanoes intriguing.
Here are some key facts and simple information to share with children about volcanoes and geysers, along with a ‘recipe’ for making your very own fun miniature demonstration volcano. Introducing knowledge and understanding of volcanoes is a common part of teaching and
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
Service Provider Member Posts
Union Rights and ECE Service Provider Duties
Union rights.
Whether your early childhood service is party to a collective agreement or not – you need to know the ins and outs of the law on rights and duties in dealing with unions.
There are also obligations you must meet in respect of new staff appointments. Keep reading below to find out more.
You may also be interested in reading&
Pay Reviews – Why, When and How
Regular annual pay reviews can help in developing and retaining a high-skilled and loyal staff. Reviewing staff pay is also a useful exercise to ensure that each member of staff is receiving pay that is appropriate and all legal obligations continue to be met.
Contents
What are employer’s legal responsibilities and moral obligations?Whe
Being Inclusive of LGBT Teachers
Equality and acceptance of LGBT teachers in the New Zealand education system is still far from established.
Discrimination can be subtle, such as whispering the word ‘gay’ so that the children can’t hear, but can also be obvious and inappropriate through direct discrimination and exclusion.
Teachers, and particularly leaders, in early c
Job Description for Unqualified Teaching Staff or Student Teacher
How to Write a Job Description for Unqualified Teaching Staff and Students.
Unqualified staff or teaching assistants can be employed to provide support to qualified teaching staff. Often services will have an additional position for a person-in-training.
Below is a template you can use and adapt for a job description for unqualified t
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2008, Vol 11
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 11, 2008 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
Making Choices: Contradictions and Commonalities in the Valuing of Caring and Working by Government Policy and First Time M
Contents – NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2014, Vol 17
This issue brings together international perspectives on early childhood policy, from country‑specific analyses in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland to research on disaster‑risk‑reduction curriculum, parental childcare choices, trust and quality in ECE, leadership expectations, early intervention, Indigenous family participation, and bilingual children’s school‑entry outcomes.
Early Childhood Teacher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Research on student teacher learning during Covid-19 restrictions, with key themes being invaluable experience, inadequate preparation for teaching and working with families. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Focus Group Methodology
Focus Group Methodology and its Usefulness in Early Childhood Research. By Claire McLachlan. Published in NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2005, pp. 113-123.
Abstract.
Focus groups are increasingly being used by researchers as a method of qualitative data gathering in educational contexts. The history of the focus group started with the ‘foc
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