Early Childhood Education

Course Components

Teacher Identity

This module aims to help the students understand the concept of ‘self’ and the development of strong teacher identity as a foundation for good teaching.

The module will then proceed to help students understand expectations of professional practice for a competent teacher/educator. The students will develop familiarity with the New Zealand Teachers Council dimensions for a satisfactory teacher, Desirable Objectives and Practices as outlined in Quality in Action, and use these MOE documents to identify expectations of professional codes of ethics.  The students are encouraged to reflect on own experience and values in relation to expectations of early childhood professional practice.

Finally, the students are to, throughout the course, their own individual philosophy of early childhood professional practice.   This philosophy is to incorporate the student’s own values and beliefs as well as the expectations of early childhood professional practice.

The students are also to develop skills in reviewing and further developing own philosophy of early childhood professional practice in the context of a specific early childhood setting.  The review should demonstrate ongoing development in own professional practice, own philosophy is reassessed and appropriate strategies are identified for further development in own professional practice.