Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Initiate teaching and learning practices that foster learner engagement in complex contexts and foreground Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoints in early childhood education.
2. Critically reflect on different ways of knowing, being, and doing founded on the view of children and families as capable contributors to conceptual and pedagogical decision-making in learning and teaching.
3. Design teaching practices that reflect an ability to contextualise, question, resist, rethink, and act towards equity and the public good.
4. Exhibit a broad and coherent body of knowledge of pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in relation to the changing nature of education in a rapidly-evolving global context.
5. Critically review and articulate a range of oral and written communication techniques, including in the use of Information and Communication Technologies, to engage and connect with students, their parents/carers and the wider community,
6. Design learning opportunities that embrace a rich and varied curriculum, ensure that learning and teaching approaches are based on sound ethical principles and foster reciprocal relationships in early childhood settings.

Studying at VU means taking advantage of our strong connections with community centres, local councils, childcare settings and kindergartens.

Your 80 days of supervised teaching experience includes:

• 10 days in the unique VU playgroup program
• 15 days with infants and toddlers in a childcare centre
• 55 days with 3–5 year olds in a childcare centre or funded kindergarten.

In our ‘VU Play’ pop-up play spaces, you’ll create and maintain play spaces that encourage children to engage in self-directed play, using loose parts and various materials. You’ll work within the concept of ‘playwork’ to observe, reflect and analyse the children playing and intervene or make changes when needed. This program runs permanently at Footscray Nicholson campus and many other suitable locations.

Find out more about our practical programs in early childhood education.

Experience a range of cultures, histories and early childhood teaching styles to broaden your perspective. As a VU student, you’ll have access to our:

Study tour to Malaysia: complete a three-week placement in a Malaysian early childhood centre, enjoying a rich cultural immersion experience to learn different approaches to early childhood education.

Student exchange with Karlstad University in Sweden: spend six months in Sweden studying and completing practical placements that count towards your course, learning European approaches to early childhood education and broadening your cultural awareness.

Placements in the Northern Territory: spend four weeks in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory, experiencing a rich culture and perspectives to inform your approach to early childhood teaching.

If you have already completed a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, enjoy guaranteed entry into the second year of this course and skip first year.

If you’re eager to finish your degree even sooner after your diploma, join our accelerated program to study continuously over summer and winter and graduate in just 18 months. The accelerated program is available in online real-time or online self-paced, so you can study at night after work. 

As soon as you graduate from this course, you’ll meet the requirements to register as a teacher with Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and Victorian Institute for Teaching (VIT), the Victorian body for Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).