Become an early childhood teacher
Teach Aotearoa New Zealand’s tamariki (young children) to love learning, and give them the start they need for their future hauora (health) and success.
With this three-year degree, you’ll learn how to provide quality education and care to tamariki. You’ll learn about Te Whāriki, Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood education curriculum, and how the concept of play-based learning helps our children learn. You’ll gain the skills to create healthy, safe learning environments for tamariki, their caregivers, and whānau.
By taking this programme, you’re making a professional commitment to the teaching profession, and to children and their whānau. Once you graduate, you’ll be ready to work in early childhood education services like kindergartens, childcare centres, and Pasifika language nests. You can formally register as a teacher and apply for a Provisional Practising Certificate with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study Education
What you’ll learn
We teach the BEd(Tchg)EC degree in four main parts:
- Te Whāriki curriculum—Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum framework
- culture
- professionalism
- Ako—practical teaching experience.
You’ll discover the importance of wellbeing and explore the concept of play as a valuable approach to learning. You’ll also gain the skills to create healthy, safe learning environments for children, their caregivers, and whānau.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te reo Māori
Aotearoa New Zealand teachers live the values of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and use te reo Māori. During your studies, you will strengthen your knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership and practice using te reo Māori in everyday and classroom situations.
Choose from two study options
You can complete the BEd(Tchg)EC programme in two ways: on campus, or based in an early childhood education (ECE) centre.
Both options include professional practice placements where you work directly with children in ECE centres like kindergartens, early childhood centres, and Pacific Island language nests.
In either option, to take courses in Year 3 of your degree, you need to have completed your professional practice placements in Years 1 and 2.
If you want to transfer between the on-campus option and the centre-based option, you can do so at the start of Trimester 1 or 2 each year.
On-campus option
If you study on campus, you’ll:
- study in classes at the University for two days each week
- complete 24 weeks of professional practice placements in early childhood centres across your degree, in full-time blocks.
ECE centre option
This is a good choice if you’re already working in an early childhood centre. Your ‘home centre’ must be fully licensed, and there must be a qualified and fully certificated teacher to act as your associate teacher.
If you choose to study in a centre, you’ll:
- study in classes at the University for two days each week
- work in an early childhood centre and complete at least 15 hours each week in your home centre throughout Trimesters 1 and 2 in each year of your degree
- complete two four-week blocks of professional practice placements—one in Year 1 and another in Year 2.
Professional practice placements
Campus-based students complete five full-time placement blocks: a one-week and four-week block in year 1, five-week and six-week blocks in year 2, and a six-week block in year 3.
Centre-based students work 15 hours a week in their home centre, plus two four-week placements in years 1 and 2.
Placements take place in kindergartens, Pasifika language nests, and early childhood centres, and are mandatory for some courses. The Education Professional Practice and Partnerships Office arranges all placements for you.
Year breakdown
Year 1
In your first year, you take seven courses in a range of subjects that give you a foundation in the practices and principles behind quality early childhood education, including a focus on creativity and learning te reo Māori.
You'll study:
- the theories behind the way children learn, and get an introduction to teaching practices in Aotearoa New Zealand
- the history and philosophies of early childhood education and care around the world
- Te Whāriki—the Ministry of Education's early childhood education curriculum framework—and examine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori in relation to teaching in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Year 2
In your second year, you go deeper into how young children develop. For example, you learn different ways to connect with them and facilitate their development. You also learn to:
- use the curriculum to support children's wellbeing and learning, and examine the different teaching models and the debates around them
- work with pēpi me tamariki (infants and toddlers), learning to be creative and expressive with children
- use diversity and inclusive education principles and practices in your teaching.
Year 3
While you continue to develop your teaching skills in your third year, you also get more involved in the teaching profession.
You learn your professional responsibilities and the demands of teaching in Aotearoa New Zealand. You also learn to think critically about your teaching and to promote understanding and support for the needs of tamariki and whānau.
After graduation
By the end of your degree, you’ll be eligible for teacher registration and provisional certification with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
You’ll also:
- be able to confidently manage the learning and development of children
- know how to develop skills and knowledge in each part of the curriculum.
Degree support and advice
We can help you match your interests and career goals with the right course of study.
If you’re a new student, talk to a Future Student Adviser.
If you’re already studying with us, talk to Tītoko—Student Success.
How our degrees work
Flexible, or structured? Learn more about the different types of undergraduate degrees at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for domestic students
- Requirements for students who completed secondary school in:
If you live in New Zealand and are a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand or Australia, you're considered a domestic student.
Some citizens of the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau may automatically hold New Zealand citizenship.
Diplomatic residents living in New Zealand are also regarded as domestic students.
To be accepted into this qualification, you need:
1. To enter the BEd(Tchg)EC degree, a candidate must meet entry requirements, which include the ‘good character’ and ‘fitness to teach’ requirements of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Qualification requirements
Excerpt from the regulations for the BEd(Tchg)EC
Complete at least 360 points, of which:
- Include the following courses at 100 level:
- Te Ao Hurihuri 1: Te Tiriti—History and transformative education (EDUC 102)
- Te Ao Hurihuri 2: Ngā Auahatanga—Innovations in Care and Education (EDUC 103)
- Te Ao Hurihuri 3: Ngā Ariā—Theories of growth and learning in context (EDUC 104)
- Te Reo Māori 1: Hei Whaiora (TCHG 102)
- Ako 1: Ngā Anga—Care and education frameworks and pedagogies (TCHG 103)
- Tātaimarau 1: Te Whāriki (TCHG 104)
- Tātaimarau me Te Reo Māori 2: Kia Rere—The '100' Languages of Children (TCHG 105)
- Include the following courses at 200 level:
- Ako 2: Te Tirohanga Whānui - Approaches to EC curriculum, assessment and planning (TCHG 220)
- Ako me Te Reo Māori 3: Kia Tika - Being a kaiako with infants, toddlers and their whanau (TCHG 221)
- Tātaimarau 3: Ngā Torohanga—Modalities for understanding lifeworlds (TCHG 222)
- Te Ao Hurihuri me Te Reo Māori 4: Kia Māori—Inclusive teaching in diverse communities (TCHG 223)
- Ako 4: Kia Mataara—Intentional pedagogies in local contexts (TCHG 224)
- Ko te reo: Kia Whaimana (TCHG 226)
- Tātaimarau 3: Te Toi Waihanga: Creative Lifeworlds (TCHG 227)
- Include the following courses at 300 level:
- Te Ao Hurihuri 6: Kia hurihia— Advocacy with children and communities (EDUC 315)
- Te Reo Māori: Kia Ora (TCHG 308)
- Ako 5: Te Aro - Professional and inquiry-based ECCE practice (TCHG 309)
- Tātaimarau 5: Tuituiā – Integrating the Arts and Sciences (TCHG 382)
- Ako me Te Reo Māori 6: Ki te Wheiao—Bringing it all together (TCHG 383)
- Tātaimarau 6: Kia Kōkiri – Empowering creativity (TCHG 384)
Future careers
The BEdTchg(EC) prepares you for a career as an early childhood teacher. Once you graduate, you’re eligible to register as a teacher and apply for a provisional practising certificate with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
A teaching qualification also opens up careers in youth work, advocacy, policy, and the not-for-profit sector.
More career information
Find out more about careers in Education.
The government careers website, Tahatū, offers more information about jobs, salaries, and current opportunities.
Scholarships
You may be able to get a scholarship to help fund your studies.
We have first-year and school-leaver scholarships available, as well as specialised scholarships for different groups and subject areas. If nothing fits right now, something may suit you later.
We encourage you to apply. It’s a straightforward process, and it could make a real difference.
TeachNZ scholarships
You can also apply for a TeachNZ Scholarship. These are awarded based on specific areas where teachers are needed.
Scholarships for Education
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The fund, which was established at the time of the renovation of the C3 lecture theatre, is to assist a second-year student from any faculty in their studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
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This scholarship is open to any undergraduate or postgraduate student who is currently enrolled full-time in a degree majoring in Education. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of academic merit, but where more than one top applicant consideration will be given to applicants experiencing financial hardship.
Scholarships for international students
We are currently offering a NZ$15,000 VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship to all eligible international students enrolling in a Bachelor’s degree.
Your scholarship will be processed automatically when your programme application is accepted, and the amount will be deducted from your tuition fees.
TeachNZ scholarships
You can also apply for a TeachNZ Scholarship. These are awarded based on specific areas where teachers are needed.
Other scholarships
We also have specialised scholarships for different groups and subject areas. If nothing fits right now, something may suit you later.
We encourage you to apply. It’s a straightforward process, and it could make a real difference.
Scholarships for Education
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This scholarship is open to any undergraduate or postgraduate student who is currently enrolled full-time in a degree majoring in Education. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of academic merit, but where more than one top applicant consideration will be given to applicants experiencing financial hardship.
Globally ranked
This programme is ranked in the top 200 universities worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2025—an annual global publication that gives overall rankings and subject rankings for more than 1,500 universities worldwide.
Postgraduate study
Once you’ve completed your 3-year BEd(Tchg)EC, you could continue your studies at postgraduate level.
If you decide you prefer to teach children in Aotearoa New Zealand’s primary or secondary schools, take a one-year postgraduate teaching qualification.
If you wish to change direction to study Education more broadly, you could take one of our postgraduate programmes in Education, including Master’s level study.
Accommodation
Live in accommodation close to campus at one of our:
- catered halls of residence
- self-catered apartments or flats
- self-catered studios.
We provide care and support across our halls and flatting communities.
Get help to manage your finances
We can help you:
- budget your money
- manage your student loan or allowance
- work out your accommodation payment schedule.
And if you're ever having trouble with money, talk with us. You could be eligible for government or community support, and we have a hardship fund for financial emergencies.
Apply for a New Zealand study visa
You’ll need to apply for a study visa if you plan to study with us as an international student.
You should apply for your visa after you’ve received your Offer of Place, and before you come to New Zealand.
Wellington Global Exchange
If you're a current student at Victoria University of Wellington, you can complete part of your degree overseas. Choose from our 140 partner universities worldwide.
Study Abroad and Exchange Programme
If you're an overseas student, you can spend a trimester or a year at Victoria University of Wellington. You'll earn credits at your home university while you study here.