BEd programme structure

Discover the programme structure and courses for the Bachelor of Education (Teaching) Early Childhood Education.

Two preschool aged boys holding sticks watching a male ECE teacher do something

The programme consists of 360 points. Student teachers participate in 19 courses across three years of the programme. Our Living as Treaty Partners Framework gives expression to Te Waharoa and the standards across the three years of the programme. The framework consists of four strands:

  • Te Reo Māori Hei Whaiora (TRMHW).
  • Ako (A).
  • Te Ao Hurihuri (TOA).
  • Tātaimarau (T).

Each of the four strands emphasises commitments of the Ngā Tikanga Matatika | Code of Professional Responsibility, and enlarge and enrich the knowledge, skills, dispositions and capabilities related to the elaborations for each standard.

The framework has been designed to support student teachers’ critical, reflective and strategic capacities regarding the integration of te reo me ōna tikanga as well as relationship building and advocacy with tamariki, whānau and communities throughout their work as a teacher. The knowledges, attributes and skills fostered through the four strands enable student teachers to deliver high quality, inclusive, and culturally responsive programmes as well as contribute to community transformation in line with human rights, sustainability and social justice.

Tuatahi: Te Reo Māori Hei Whaiora

This strand gives substance to Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership and embodies the holistic aims of Te Whāriki. Mātauranga-a-Iwi, Mātauranga Māori and Māori values/world views are foundational to this strand. The strand focuses on what it means to be a professional early childhood kaiako in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Tuarua: Ako

This strand focuses on what it means to be a professional early childhood kaiako in Aotearoa New Zealand, emphasising relational pedagogical approaches to children’s learning, and practices that enhance the wellbeing (including spiritual wellbeing) of mokopuna, whānau and colleagues. It introduces students to policy and regulatory frameworks and kaupapa Māori approaches. Particular priority is given to the role of inquiry, the importance of collaboration, advocacy, care and inclusivity, and to working ethically, reflectively and with criticality.

Tuatoru: Te Ao Hurihuri

This strand enables students to gain an understanding of tamariki and whānau learning and growth. Students reflect on the historical and theoretical frames that have impacted on contemporary education and consider the role of Indigenous and cultural models of education. They develop the skills, confidence, and competence to engage collaboratively within diversity and across communities of learners, in increasingly complex ways.

Tuawha: Tātaimarau

This strand enhances students’ knowledge of, skills, and attitudes to the ‘100 languages of children’ across curriculum domains. It draws strongly on contemporary creativity and innovation research to foster ethical approaches to creativity and maximising good practice in relation to people, places, and things. The strand reflects the integrated nature by which infants, toddlers and young children and adults explore, discover, and create their worlds.

Each course supports student teachers’ progress towards meeting the Ngā Paerewa | Standards for the Teaching Profession (in a supported environment). Courses also support student teachers to engage with four cross programme priorities that align with current government policies, initiatives and guidelines:

  • Mātauranga-a-iwi
  • the Digital Age Educator
  • Education for Pacific Peoples
  • Inclusive Education.