Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

VU course code: EBEC | CRICOS: 096869G | Level of study: Undergraduate

Duration

3 years

Delivery mode

In person, Online Real Time

Fees

Tuition fee per semester : AU$15,500

Location

City Campus, Footscray Nicholson, Online Real Time, VU Brisbane, VU Sydney

Next start date

29 July 2024

View all start dates

Overview

Become an in-demand early-childhood teacher, equipped with effective skills and practical experience, with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education at Victoria University (VU).

Be part of the massive future growth expected in early childhood education, with over 10,600 new jobs expected to be added in the next five years.

Now’s the time to kickstart your career as an early childhood teacher, with Victorian Government scholarships and financial incentives available to early childhood students and teachers.

Your Bachelor of Early Childhood Education will prepare you for a rewarding career nurturing the development and wellbeing of children from birth to five years. As a degree-qualified early childhood teacher, you’ll:

support young children with the important foundations to set them up for success in life
develop techniques for involving families as important contributors to the learning process
set children up for effective transitions to school.

At VU, you will learn to support children to feel capable and confident. You’ll build a strong sense of social justice, understand child development in the early years and develop ethical professional teaching practice that includes Indigenous perspectives.

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

Initiate teaching and learning practices that foster learner engagement in complex contexts and foreground Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoints in early childhood education.

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.

Design teaching practices that reflect an ability to contextualise, question, resist, rethink, and act towards equity and the public good.

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.

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,

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.
: For your first year of bachelor-level study, you’ll enjoy the supportive experience of our VU First Year College® program in the heart of Melbourne in-person at our City Campus.

For years two and three, you can choose from three flexible study options:

in-person at Footscray Nicholson campus

online in real-time via Zoom, three nights per week

online self-paced, with one weekly support session.
: 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).

Celebrating Early Childhood Educators

Celebrating Early Childhood Educators - transcript

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a related course or unit(s). We call this a ‘pathway’.

If you've completed a qualification where English was the primary language of instruction, you may be eligible for an exemption of English-language requirements.

In some cases, there may be additional entry requirements.

Learn more about entry requirements for international students.

Entry criteria

Credit & Entry pathways into this course

If you don’t meet the entry requirements for this course, there may be an alternative study ‘pathway’ to achieving your goal. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study or work experience, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

You’ll find information about any pathways to higher qualifications that may be available to you after completing this course under the ‘careers’ section of this page.

Find out more about pathways at VU.

: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course.

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

96 credit points

Diploma of Education Studies

96 credit points

Diploma of Teacher Education Preparation

24 credit points

International Foundations at VU

Guaranteed entry only
: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Bendigo Kangan Institute, Australia | 96 credit points

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Melbourne City Institute of Education, Australia | 96 credit points

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

The Gordon, Australia | 96 credit points

Diploma of Sport

SEDA Group, Australia | Guaranteed entry only
: If you have completed study with another university or institution you may be eligible to receive credit for skills and past study.

Use our credit calculator to find out what credit you may be eligible for based on your previous studies.

Note that if your previous study can’t be found through the credit calculator, you may still be eligible for credit.

calculate your credit

Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course Structure

To attain the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students will be required to complete:

288 credit points of Core studies

Students also undertake practical placements that include 80 days supervised professional experience.

Units

Fees & Scholarships

As an international student at Victoria University, you will be required to pay your tuition fees up front each semester.

There may be additional materials fees throughout your studies, depending on your chosen course, as well as an administrative fee as part of your course.

Victoria University is proud to support our international scholarship recipients and sponsored students.

Fees

Scholarships

CAREERS

Take advantage of the high demand for bachelor-qualified early childhood teachers with funded three-year-old kindergarten rolling out across Victoria and an expected 21.6% growth in childcare jobs by 2026. With this nationally accredited degree, you can work around Australia in:

public or private kindergartens
long day care centres
early childhood centres in Australia
policy development with government bodies.

Thanks to the essential experience you’ll get from teaching in childcare settings and kindergartens during your placements, you’ll be ready to register as a teacher as soon as you graduate.

Enjoy the rewards that come with nurturing the next generation and expect to earn above-average wages.