Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Studies)

Edith Cowan University

About

This course is dedicated to producing quality graduates ready to take up employment across the early childhood education sector, including teaching children aged 0-3 years, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, pre-primary and years 1-3 in a primary school.

Dealing specifically with children aged 0-8 years, Early Childhood Studies focuses on the care and education of children in this age group in partnership with families and communities.

A variety of flexible admission options is available to suit applicants with different needs, all of which are required to demonstrate competency in literacy and numeracy, as teachers require these skills to support the development of students.

The course also includes the opportunity to complete a fast tracked final year and achieve eligibility for employment in schools from term 4 of that year.

A key feature of this course is the equal emphasis given to both the theoretical groundings of early childhood education and the practical application of knowledge and skills in a wide range of early childhood settings.

A coordinated program of professional practice experiences at key points throughout the course allow students to make the connection between theory and practice, while building both professional and generic employability skills in real care and education environments.

In addition, students have the opportunity to tailor their learning experience by specialising in curriculum areas of particular interest.

Structure

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
LIT1200 Personal Literacy
NUM1200 Personal Numeracy

Students must complete the above two units LIT1200 (Personal Literacy) and NUM1200 (Personal Numeracy) to satisfy the requirements of the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE). All students who enrol in an accredited pre-service teacher education course (undergraduate and graduate) from 1 January 2017 will have to successfully complete tests about their personal levels of literacy and numeracy to graduate. Students who enrol in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Studies) will need to complete successfully both components of the personal Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) to enrol beyond 240 credit points within their course.

Year 1 - Semester 1

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
AED1240 Drama Arts in Early Childhood Education 15
ECS1240 # Becoming an Early Childhood Educator 15
ECS1250 Learning and Learners 15
LAN1009 Communication Skills for Teaching and Learning 15

Year 1 - Semester 2

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ECS1265 Young Children's Learning and Development 15
LAN1265 English 1: Oral Communication 15
ECS1245 Play and Pedagogy 15
IPP1260 # Inquiry in Professional Practice (Child Care) 15

Year 2 - Semester 1

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ECM2260 Early Childhood Mathematics 1 15
ECS2240 Guiding Children's Behaviour in Positive Learning Environments 15
MUE2240 Music Arts in Early Childhood Education 15
SCE2240 Early Childhood Science and Technology Education 15

Year 2 - Semester 2

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ECS3260 Assessing and Evaluating Young Children's Learning 15
HPE2260 Health and Physical Education for Young Children 15
LAN2266 English 2: Literacy Learning in the Early Years 15
IPP2260 # Inquiry in Professional Practice (K/PP) 15

Year 3 - Semester 1

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
AED3245 Visual Arts in Early Childhood Education 15
EDS3240 Including Children with Special Educational Needs 15
LAN3246 English 3: Literacy in the Junior Primary Years of School 15
SSE3260 Social Science Education in Early Childhood 15

Year 3 - Semester 2

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ECM3260 Early Childhood Mathematics 2 15
EDF3201 Teaching Indigenous Australian Students 15
LAN3260 English 4: Planning and Differentiating the English Curriculum in Early Childhood 15
IPP3260 # Inquiry in Professional Practice 3: Junior Primary 15

Year 4 - Semester 1

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
IPP4350 # Assistant Teacher Program 30
TPA4100 # Teaching Performance Assessment 15
Unit from Specialisation x 1 15
OR
Elective Unit x 1 15

Year 4 - Semester 2

Students are required to select one of the following four options:

Option 1

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ECS4330 Leading in Early Childhood Settings 15
Unit from Specialisation x 3 45

Option 2

Unit Code
Students may wish to diversify their elective choices and develop a broad body of knowledge relevant to early childhood education. If this option is preferred, students must complete ECS4330 and ECS4261 as well as any two (2) units from any of the five areas of specialization, or from the additional electives listed below. If students select this option, no specialisation will be recorded on the academic transcript.
LAN4228 Literacy Coaching in Junior Primary 15
LIT4260 Children's Literature in the Classroom 15
SCE4270 Teaching Integrated Science in Junior Primary Years 15

Option 3

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
EDU4226 School-based Project 60

Option 4

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
EDU4227 Internship 60

# Designated Unit - a Unit or Unit of Competency which a School has designated as a fundamental course requirement and may only be attempted once unless otherwise determined by Board of Examiners.

Unit sets that can be studied as part of this course

Entry requirements

Admission requirement (Band 3)

All applicants must meet the academic admission requirements for this course. The indicative or guaranteed ATAR is as published (where applicable) or academic admission requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

  • AQF Cert IV;
  • Successfully completed 0.25 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent);
  • Special Tertiary Admissions Test;
  • University Preparation Course;
  • Indigenous University Orientation Course;
  • Aboriginal University Readiness Assessment; or
  • Experience Based Entry Scheme.

English Language requirement (Band 5)

International students must attain an IELTS Academic with an average level of 7.5 or more, across the four components of listening, speaking, reading and writing; no score below level 7.0 in any of these components; and, a score of 8.0 or more in the components of speaking and listening. Internationally schooled applicants may also be required to meet this requirement.

Minimum English standard requirements for this course may also be satisfied with one of the following:

  • Year 12 English ATAR/English Literature ATAR grade C or better or equivalent;
  • Special Tertiary Admissions Test;*
  • Successfully completed 1.0 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher in the UK, Ireland, USA, NZ or Canada;
  • University Preparation Course;
  • Indigenous University Orientation Course;*
  • Aboriginal Student Intake Test;*
  • AQF Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree; or
  • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent).

Note: If secondary education and degree studies were completed within a period of 2 years before applying for registration in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, applicants do not need to provide proof of English competency.

Applicants who have completed their secondary education in South Africa in English and have an undergraduate degree taught in English from a South African University are deemed to have met English language requirements.

Applicants from the Seychelles:

Successful completion of the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) grade C or above, PLUS a completed 4 year National Diploma.

Course Specific Admission Requirements

All applicants are required to satisfy non-academic criteria, in addition to satisfying academic entry criteria. Applicants' non-academic capabilities will be assessed based on completion of a Non-Academic Requirements for Teacher Entry (NARTE) online questionnaire.

Learning outcomes

  1. Apply broad discipline knowledge to a range of theoretical and practical early childhood situations.
  2. Think critically to analyse, interpret and conceptualise complex early childhood problems.
  3. Think creatively to anticipate challenges and generate discipline specific solutions/responses.
  4. Use digital technologies and literacies to access, evaluate and synthesise relevant information from multiple sources.
  5. Communicate early childhood knowledge and values in professional and public contexts.
  6. Demonstrate a global outlook with respect for cultural diversity, including Indigenous cultural competence.
  7. Work collaboratively and demonstrate initiative to implement social, sustainable, and ethical values.
  8. Demonstrate autonomy, accountability and judgement for own learning and professional practice.

Institution