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Early childhood education teacher with pupils

Te Paetahi Akoranga Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)

EF2005

Course details

  • Jul 2025
    Feb 2026
  • Three years
  • Full-time or Part-time
  • $7,780* per year
  • You may qualify for fee-free study under Fees Free Policy
  • Level 7
  • Available for International Students. International Fee Guideline
  • Hamilton City Campus

Summary

Te Paetahi Akoranga Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) is an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) degree. An ITE qualification is the requirement to become a beginning teacher in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Approved and monitored by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, this degree is designed for those who would like to pursue a career as a qualified early childhood education teacher.

In addition to class time, students will spend a minimum of 12 hours per week in a licensed early childhood education setting, putting skills into practice.

Besides weekly practical experience in an ECE setting, students will also undertake a block practicum in a different setting from their weekly practice. Students are required to find their own practicum. The block practicum requirements are:

  • Year one: Three weeks
  • Year two: Four weeks
  • Year three: Four weeks

By the end of the programme, students will have learnt how to build and maintain relationships with children and adults, know how children learn, how to teach, and what to teach. Students will also learn vital leadership, planning and organisational skills.


"Many factors contribute to my aspirations to become a fully qualified teacher. I started work for Te Ara Metua Punanga Reo Kuki Airani where tamariki learn and grow within a Cook Island Māori environment. After working there for several years, I decided to gain my degree in Early Childhood Education to further my knowledge. I am passionate about bicultural learning, and I feel the set-up at Wintec really supports this. "

Read Mikimiki's story


What you will learn

The Te Paetahi Akoranga Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) will teach students an understanding of a range of valuable skills: from how children learn and what to teach to building relationships and strategies for advocating for children and families.

Students will also learn:

Professional knowledge

  • What to teach
  • Learners and how they learn
  • Contextual factors
  • Influencing teaching and learning
  • The unique place of Māori as Tangata Whenua

Professional practice

  • Planning for a safe, high-quality teaching and learning environment
  • The use of evidence to promote learning
  • Inter-relationships between theory and practice

Professional values and relationships

  • Development of positive relationships with learners and the members of learning communities
  • Being committed members of the profession

Professional leadership and advocacy

  • Application of effective leadership strategies
  • Strategies to advocate for children, families, society and the teaching profession

Scheduling and workload

Actual timetables will be provided closer to the start date (as this is dependent on what stream students are placed in). As a general guideline, the expectation is that students will be required to be at Wintec for two full days (10am-4pm) each week. Students are also required to work in a licenced early childhood education setting for a minimum of 12 hours per week and spend one and a half days per week on self-directed study.

Design Factory NZ

In their third year of study, students can apply to study the 30 credit Design Factory NZ module. This experience teaches a range of problem-solving methodologies, which students will apply to a real-world challenge provided by an industry partner. Students will work in a multi-disciplinary team alongside students from engineering, business, IT, sport and exercise science, media arts, and more. 

Joining Design Factory NZ will provide students with the opportunity to learn and work in new ways, prototype solutions to complex problems, and develop their soft skills of creativity, empathy and communication - all in high-demand for the workplace of the future.

Read more about Design Factory NZ here.

Design factory NZ logo small size

Career/further opportunities

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa, New Zealand. This will qualify graduates to teach in licensed early childhood education services.

Graduates of Te Paetahi Akoranga Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) leave with skills to be curious, creative, critical, and courageous teachers. This includes:

  • Being work-ready
  • Responsive
  • Intentional
  • Dispositional
  • Mindful
  • Ethical

After graduating, you may be employed in roles in industry or workplace training or community education. Example roles include:

  • Early childhood education teachers 
  • New entrant teachers (primary school)
  • Home-based education and care visiting teachers
  • Senior roles in early childhood education settings (eg headteacher, manager)
  • Roles with the Ministry of Education
  • Reviewer for the Education Review Office
  • Roles with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Teach overseas (eg ECE, English as a second language)
  • Roles with advocacy groups (eg parents as first teachers, Barbados New Zealand)
  • Tutor for certificate programmes in tertiary institutes

Graduates may also choose to continue on to further study at postgraduate level.

Frequently asked questions

Scholarships

TeachNZ Scholarships are available for eligible applicants. Further details are available from www.teachnz.govt.nz.

Disclaimers

Entry criteria

Candidates must have achieved University Entrance which is NCEA Level 3 comprised of 60 credits at NCEA Level 3 or above and 20 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above, including:

  • 14 credits each at NCEA Level 3 in three approved subjects; and
  • Literacy (10 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above made up of 5 credits each in reading and writing); and
  • Numeracy (10 credits at NCEA Level 1 or above made up of specified achievement standards or a package of three numeracy unit standards – 26623, 26626, and 26627 – all three required); or
  • An overseas school qualification equivalent to university entrance and meet the English language requirements below.

UE 2020

Applicants who achieved University Entrance through NCEA in 2020 will be assessed under separate NZQA entry requirements that take into account the impacts of COVID-19. Candidates must have achieved:

  • University Entrance, which is NCEA Level 3 comprised of 60 credits at NCEA level 3 or above and 20 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above, including:
    • 12 credits each at NCEA Level 3 in three approved subjects; and
    • Literacy (10 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above made up of 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing); and
    • (3) Numeracy (10 credits at NCEA Level 1 or above made up of specified achievement standards or a package of three numeracy unit standards – 26623, 26626, and 26627 – all three required).

Special admission

Applicants who have not met the general admission or entry requirements for the programme but whose skills, education or work experience indicate that they have a reasonable chance of success may be eligible for special admission. Special admission will be granted at the discretion of the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Such applicants may be required to successfully complete a foundation, bridging or tertiary introductory programme as a condition of entry into higher-level programmes.

Provisional entry

Applicants who have not met the above entry criteria but who can demonstrate a reasonable chance of success through other educational attainment and/or work or life experience may be eligible for provisional entry at the discretion of the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Provisional entry places restrictions on re-enrolment to be lifted if the applicant’s performance is deemed satisfactory by the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Provisionally registered candidates will be monitored closely and if they successfully complete their first semester of study, they will be able to move to full enrolment.  If they fail half or more of their enrolled modules in the first semester, they will be exited from the programme.

Selection criteria

a) Candidates must be 17 years of age at the start of the programme.
b) Candidates are required to be working (paid or voluntarily) for at least 12 hours a week in a licensed early childhood setting by the start of the programme.
c) Candidates are required to disclose whether they have been convicted of a criminal offence and police vets will be carried out on all candidates.  By signing the police vet form candidates are consenting to the police vet process being carried out. Candidates should be aware that some types of criminal conviction may limit their ability to secure practicum placements, and thus to complete the programme requirements, and/or may prevent them from gaining registration as a teacher. These include issues of trust, professionalism and misconduct or issues which impact the student’s ability to work with children’s physical, emotional, psychological or medical well-being. When determining whether an applicant’s criminal convictions impact on their ability to meet the “Good Character and Fit to be a Teacher” criteria as outlined by the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand the “severity, recency, age at offending and pattern of offending are taken into consideration”. 
d) As required by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, every candidate must participate in a selection process determined by Wintec’s Centre for Education and Foundation Pathways. This may include, but is not limited to:

  1. Submit an application package including CV and written personal statement about why the applicant specifically wishes to apply for the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) Programme (word guideline - 100);
  2. Provide the name and contact details of a referee who will be contacted for a confidential referee’s report;
  3. Undertaking a written test on comprehension, literacy and numeracy;
  4. Participating in an interview.

Safety check

In order to comply with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act, 2014 and Wintec Child Protection Policies for all ‘specified organisations’ providing a ‘regulated service’, all applicants will be subjected to safety checking.  These will include but are not limited to:

  • A Formal Interview
  • Referee Check
  • A Police Vet Check
  • A Risk Assessment

Any unsatisfactory result arising from the full safety checking process may result in the applicant/candidate being precluded/declined entry or withdrawn from the programme of study.  Furthermore, candidates must declare any pending or new convictions arising during any stage throughout the entire enrolment period. A conviction or failure to declare a conviction may also result in the candidate being immediately withdrawn from the programme. Persons who are convicted of ‘specified offences’ will not be accepted onto any programme that requires that person to work in an organisation providing a regulated service.

English language requirements

Candidates for whom English is an additional language must demonstrate their English language proficiency with a band score of 7.0 or higher for each component of the academic version of IELTS. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand has several exemptions to this requirement and candidates should check these with Wintec in case they meet one of them.

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Pathways

Early childhood education pathway diagram

*Please note: Te Ara Pūtake programme does not give automatic entry into the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) - other criteria applies.

To check what you need to gain direct entry to a course, review the entry criteria available on each programme page. These assist you in understanding what qualifications or experience are typically required to gain entry. You can contact our team at info@wintec.ac.nz or 0800 2 Wintec at any time for further guidance.

Your first day

Are you ready for your first day of class? Check out your start date and where you need to be. You can also find useful information about studying at Wintec on our welcome page.

Semester 1 2025

Date: Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 February 2025
Time: 9am-4pm
Venue: DG.08, D Block, City Campus

Returning students

Please check your timetable for your first class details.

What you will need

Please bring a pen and paper, and a laptop (not compulsory). Please note, we recommend you regularly check Moodle before your start date as this is where the information for online classes will be.

Timetable information

All Wintec timetables are available online here.

How to find your way around

Campus maps can be found here.

Parking and bus information

Both the Rotokauri and City campuses have parking available - payment and permits may be required. Learn more about parking and find out about bus services here.

He reo pōwhiri, your official welcome to Wintec

Tēnei te mihi mahana ki a koe e piki nei, e kake nei ki te Kuratini o Waikato.

You are warmly invited to attend the official welcome to Wintec for all new students, staff and whānau (family) at either our marae, Te Kōpū Mānia o Kirikiriroa or Rotokauri campus. The pōwhiri is a welcoming ceremony involving mihimihi (speeches), waiata (singing), and will conclude with kai timotimo (light refreshments). Please gather at the campus hubs, and a staff member will guide you through our pōwhiri.

Click here to find out when the next pōwhiri will be.

Prospectus (course guide)

The Wintec Prospectus (otherwise known as a course guide) outlines everything you need to know about Wintec. It contains information about the Wintec campuses, student life, and the programmes that are on offer.

Access your copy of the Wintec Prospectus

The Wintec Prospectus (course guide) is available by downloading the file - click on the document below to access the file. Alternatively, to request a copy via email or the post, please complete the form below.

Request an emailable or printed copy of the Prospectus

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