Master of Teaching (Early Childhood)

These two streams commence with a common PGDT (Early Childhood) which prepares graduates with a qualification for pre-school teaching after 150 points of study. Like the secondary stream the PGDT may be completed as an accelerated program in 12 months or a reduced program in 24 months. The final Master of Teaching semester may be completed as a Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) with options for induction, an internship, research preparation or further specialist studies in early childhood. Alternatively the final semester may be completed as a Master of Teaching (Early Years) which will prepare graduates to teach in the first two years of primary school and provide a qualification for registration to teach.

On completion of this course graduates will have the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to:

• Be highly-skilled teachers, with the theoretical frameworks and practical ability to produce effective learning for each individual student.
• Be engaged intelligently and passionately in the educational venture, and have the ability not only to adapt to, but also to lead change.
• Articulate a coherent set of beliefs about learning and teaching, based soundly on leading-edge theory and evidence-based research.
• Display a solid understanding of discipline knowledge and knowledge about education, and of how they interact in effective pedagogy.
• Understand the links between planning, teaching and evaluating for learning.
• Plan for students' teaching and learning bringing to bear an informed awareness of child and adolescent development.
• Generate and interpret the classroom data to enable individualized programming of developmental learning for each student.
• Respond flexibly in catering for the different learning needs of individual students, including those with special needs.
• Utilise a range of teaching approaches that foster both independent and cooperative learning.
• Structure their teaching to provide rich and creative learning environments.
• Develop in their students the capacity for vigorous but respectful critique and for curiosity in learning.
• Demonstrate an awareness of cultural diversity and its implications for society and education.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of written and spoken language as fundamental to education.
• Utilise a variety of technologies in the classroom to assist learning.
• Function effectively across the various relationships involved in the professional life of a teacher.
• Demonstrate the level of competency in literacy and numeracy expected of the teaching profession.
• Be leaders and advocates in education, responsive to legislation, policy and the global human rights issues of participation, access and inclusion.

Students undertake 150 points of compulsory subjects in the first three semesters, and then fifty points of elective subjects in the final semester. The final fifty points will normally be a coherent optional program in itself, but students may also take subjects from the range of Master of Education subjects offered by the Faculty.

The first three semesters in the Early Childhood/Early Years streams, leading to the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood) are built on four strands:

• Professional Practice
• The Developing Learner
• The Developing Curriculum
• The Developing Professional

Students take a subject in each strand in each semester

Professional Development Option

Students may undertake 50 points of further specialist study in Early Childhood in a standard 50-point specialist program eg. Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Studies ( Early Childhood Intervention) or they may choose individual subjects for Early Childhood according to their interests and needs.

• An undergraduate degree

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

100% attendance is mandatory in all Professional Practice subjects.

The program is built on the premise that students coming into the program will have a firm foundation of disciplinary knowledge and analytical skills, and will bring with them a diversity of educational and life experiences. The program will emphasise the importance of the research evidence base as a foundation for excellent educational practice, as well as developing further the students' capacity for critical inquiry and professional reflection. Underpinning the program is a strong partnership with early childhood settings and schools and with educational systems that will support the intelligent engagement in professional practice at an advanced level. Special emphasis will be placed on the students' capacity to teach the diverse range of students, and to promote equity in education. Students will have the opportunity to undertake teaching practice in international settings, which will enhance their cultural awareness and expand their understanding of global education. They will understand the policy landscape and the processes for making policy at school and system level, so that they can intervene and justify producing change.

• Develop in-depth knowledge of the complexity and diversity of child development (0-8 years) so that they are able to individualize and contextualize for each child.
• Shape and construct responsive curricula and pedagogy for children, families and communities.
• Have the capacity to be a self-reflective early childhood analyst who can work constructively and innovatively through relationships with parents, colleagues and community services across a range of multidisciplinary contexts.