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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
Daylight Saving is here – what you need to know to support tamariki over this period
Losing an hour of sleep can be hard on your body clock.
So it’s no surprise that young children can seem particularly grumpy and out of sorts at the start of the daylight saving period.
In Aotearoa, daylight saving begins on the last Sunday of September, when 2am becomes 3am.
Can a Male Teacher Be Fired For Not Being ‘Man’ Enough?
An employer asked whether they could dismiss a male teacher simply because he didn’t match their assumptions about what “men” should do in ECE. This article unpacks the issue, shares expert guidance, and offers thoughtful replies to help services understand their obligations and support all teachers well.
Two Curriculum Paths -Te Ara Whānui and Te Ara Māori
Regardless of what your service chooses to implement, as a teacher its very useful for you to know and have an understanding of the differences in Part A and Part B of the Curriculum Framework. Te Ara Māori or Te Ara Whānui.
‘Learning Notes’ – An Alternative to Doing Learning Stories
Learning Notes.
In most early childhood education (ECE) settings children’s learning is assessed using the Learning Story technique.
Dr Ken Blaiklock
However there has been criticism of this form of assessment with some people arguing it does not give an adequate picture of a child’s development.
In contrast to Learning Stor
Service Provider Member Posts
Safety Checking of Staff and Others under the Children’s Act
Safety checking is required of every person who has or may have access to children as part of their work, such as cleaners and cooks at early childhood services, must be safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 before being allowed to start work. The fine to the early childhood service of failing to do this is up to $10,000 upon c
Sun Protection Measures and Responsibilities
Management of Sun Protection.
Responsibilities to Staff and Staff Responsibilities to Themselves.
Staff must practise recommended sun protection behaviours for their health and wellbeing too. Tell staff that they are never too old, and it’s never too late, to begin to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the sun.
Requirem
Playground Risk Assessment
When the Health and Safety at Work Act was brought in concerns were expressed by the education sector. For example, does the Act mean children can’t climb trees in ECE anymore?
Then there’s NZS 5828: Playground Equipment and Surfacing to think about.
Well the good news is that it’s pretty much all good news.
In this article we’ll look at how risk assessment, the HSW Act and NZS 5828 can combine to develop safety approaches that recognise the goal of Te Whariki: To grow up as competent, confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit.
Waiver Forms
Waivers and Indemnity against theft or damage to a child’s belongings, injury, or death.
An early childhood service may choose to include a waiver or disclaimer for parents to sign at the time of enrolment. This may be included in the enrolment form or as a separate form.
The service may ask the parents/caregivers of a child with a serious
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
We’re All in This Together: Approaches to Inclusive Early Childhood Education for Disabled Children in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States, and What We Can Learn From One Another
FULL REFERENCE: McAnelly, K., Purdue, K., Hall, L.J., Odom, S.L., & Hall, E. (2025). We’re all in this together: Approaches to inclusive early childhood education for disabled children in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States, and what we can learn from one another. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 1-16.
ABSTRACT: Research from Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States continues to explore disabled children’s right to an inclusive early childhood education (ECE). In this article we examine ECE provision, key legislation and policy, and research on inclusion in our two countries. We also look at how initial teacher education and professional learning and development programmes help to strengthen inclusive practice in our respective countries. There is a lot that each country can draw on and learn from the other in relation to supporting disabled children’s inclusion in ECE. Drawing on insights from our cross-country comparisons, we offer recommendations aimed at amplifying disabled children’s rights to inclusive ECE.
KEY WORDS: Disability, inclusion, children’s rights, teacher education, cross-country comparison.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Introduction
The provision of equitable and inclusive early childhood education (ECE) for disabled children differs from country to country, based on each country’s values and imperatives. Although direct adoption of other nations’ approaches is not advisable, countries can learn from each other and improve their own inclusive ECE practices.
A review of literature highlighted for us – early childhood researchers from Aotearoa New Zealand, hereafter, Aotearoa, and the United States (US) – a lack of cross-national comparative studies on equitable and inclusive ECE for disabled children and their families. As a step towards addressing that gap, we compared approaches to inclusive education in our respective jurisdictions. We agreed that comparative research could offer fresh insights into how inclusive ECE can be conceptualised and enacted in ways that uphold the rights of disabled children.
Advocating Anti-bias Practices in Early Childhood Education
FULL REFERENCE: Harper-Hooper, W. (2025). Advocating anti-bias practices in early childhood education. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 43-55.
ABSTRACT:
This article examines the integration of anti-bias education, multicultural pedagogy, and Social Learning Theory within early childhood education, with a focus on fostering inclusive, equitable, and socially just learning environments. Grounded in the view that bias is socially constructed and learned, anti-bias education offers a critical framework for supporting children’s identity development, empathy, and engagement with diversity from the early years. Informed by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, the paper explores how young children internalise inclusive values through observation, modelling, and guided interaction. Play-based learning is identified as a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive approach for embedding these values within everyday practice. Through intentional role-play, storytelling, and collaborative exploration, children are supported to examine difference, challenge stereotypes, and develop inclusive ways of thinking and relating. The paper outlines practical strategies, including inclusive curriculum design, culturally sustaining resources, family and community engagement, and educator reflection, that contribute to equitable learning experiences. It also presents assessment approaches that capture children’s understanding of diversity and inclusion through observation, artefacts, and caregiver input. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context and globally, where increasing diversity and persistent inequities shape the early childhood education landscape, this article underscores the educator’s role as a reflective, relational, and intentional agent of change. It concludes by advocating for ongoing professional learning and collaboration to advance transformative early childhood education practices rooted in equity, belonging, and social justice.
KEY WORDS: Anti-bias education, pedagogy, play-based learning, multicultural education, social learning theory.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
INTRODUCTION
Anti-bias education is a dynamic, intentional pedagogical approach aimed at addressing the systemic roots of prejudice, discrimination, and social inequity. Rather than promoting passive notions of tolerance, it encourages critical reflection, sustained dialogue, and transformative action, all directed toward dismantling structural bias and advancing social justice. At the heart of anti-bias education is the understanding that biases are socially constructed and learned, thus, they can be consciously unlearned through deliberate and reflective educational practices.
Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2020) emphasise the critical role of early childhood education in shaping young children’s developing attitudes toward identity, diversity, and inclusion. When early childhood education environments actively affirm children’s diverse backgrounds and challenge stereotypes, they support the development of positive self-identities and foster empathy and respect for others (Murray & Nakkula, 2021). Embedding anti-bias principles into curriculum design and daily practice enables educators to create inclusive spaces where all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, or socioeconomic status, feel a sense of belonging, affirmation, and agency.
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
The Act and Art of Noticing, Wondering, Searching for Meaning, And Remaining Open to Beauty
FULL REFERENCE: Füss, M. (2026). The act and art of noticing, wondering, searching for meaning, and remaining open to beauty. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 28(1), 1-5.
ABSTRACT: This commentary explores aesthetic education as a way of being within contemporary early childhood education. Drawing on Maxine Greene’s philosophy of aesthetic education and reflections from Priscilla, an experienced artist-educator, it considers how attentiveness, curiosity, imagination, and creative expression might sustain educators within professional contexts increasingly shaped by standards, accountability, and measurement. Priscilla’s stories illuminate aesthetics not simply as engagement with the Arts, but as an ongoing openness to experience, possibility, relationship, and becoming. The commentary argues that aesthetic education begins with educators themselves: with cultivating the capacity to notice, wonder, search for meaning, and remain open to beauty within everyday life. Rather than calling for dramatic transformation, it invites educators to attend to what may have grown quiet within their own lives and practices.
In doing so, aesthetic education offers a way of reconnecting with the curiosity, expression, and sense of possibility that educators seek to nurture in children.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
KEY WORDS: Arts, aesthetic education, teaching practice, creativity.
INTRODUCTION:
When was the last time you danced? Not for an audience or an event, but simply because the pulsating rhythms welled up within you and compelled you to move. Perhaps it was yesterday. Perhaps you have not truly let loose on a dance floor in years.
Early childhood educators are known for their pedagogical skills in nurturing children’s creativity, imagination, and capacity for expression within their early childhood programmes (Giamminuti, 2013; Karaolis & Little). Through carefully chosen phrases, glances, and expressions, educators can encourage the children in their care to dance as if no one is watching. Yet I wonder, as you read these words, whether you genuinely consider the place of such experiences or expressions in your daily life as professional practice?
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