Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching
Course handbook
General Information
Overview
Embrace your passion for early childhood education with the Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching. Nurture the learning and development of young minds (birth to 5 years) by creating engaging and supportive learning environments. Deepen your knowledge of early childhood curriculum, develop essential communication skills, and collaborate effectively with children, families, and communities.
Study structure
To qualify for the award of Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching, students must complete 100 credit points.
Full-time study: 100 credit points/eight standard units of study per year
Part-time study: 50 credit points/four standard units of study per year
One credit point is equivalent to one hour of study per week per semester (including contact hours and private study)
See the course planner for an example degree structure.
Full-time study: 100 credit points/eight standard units of study per year
One credit point is equivalent to one hour of study per week per semester (including contact hours and private study)
See the course planner for an example degree structure.
| Units of study | Unit code |
|---|---|
| Core units | |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this programme the learner will be able to:
- plan for and implement effective teaching and learning within a range of early childhood contexts, with a comprehensive knowledge of early childhood curriculum and frameworks within the Australian context.
- monitor and assess children's learning and development outcomes and use clear communication to report outcomes to families and communities through critically analysing, consolidating and synthesising assessment information.
- Implement a range of pedagogical approaches to support the learning and development of children aged birth to 5 years.
- apply knowledge and skills to create supportive, safe and engaging learning environments with an ability to critically analyse information in diverse early childhood settings.
- apply a deep knowledge of the early childhood profession that is informed by critical thinking and synthesis of theoretical and practical knowledge, and informed by ongoing professional learning.
- collaborate respectfully with families and children, colleagues and other professionals to achieve high outcomes for all children aged birth to 5 years.
Career opportunities
Pre-service teachers who complete this course will be eligible to work as an early childhood teacher with children aged birth to 5 years.
Course rules
To qualify for the award of Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching, students must complete 100 credit points comprising:
- Four (4) core units (100 credit points), including 452 hours of supervised professional experience
Volume of learning
The Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching consists of 100 credit points. The course consists of 4 units that are 25 credit points each. A standard annual full-time load comprises 100 credit points and a part-time load comprises 50 credit points.
The volume of learning of the Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching is 1 year.
This course requires students to complete 452 placement hours.
Professional recognition
The Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching has the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority ACECQA - accreditation. It is recognised by the Victorian Institute of Teaching as a VIT registerable Early Childhood Teacher qualification.
Informed choices
Further information for students
Swinburne supports students to make informed choices when applying for and enrolling in courses. In education, there are functional and behavioural abilities required to undertake tasks, learning activities or assessments. These are described below to assist prospective students when assessing whether they can successfully undertake an initial teacher education course.
Reasonable adjustments
Swinburne upholds inclusive academic practices, ensuring that students with disabilities and other conditions can undertake courses and participate in study. Reasonable adjustments can be implemented to support students through viable arrangements to enable students with a disability or a chronic health condition to undertake the studies while maintaining the academic integrity of core course requirements.
Students considering whether they may be eligible for reasonable adjustments should contact Swinburne’s AccessAbility Services and will need to complete an AccessAbility Registration Form.
Sensory abilities
Some tasks in education courses require certain sensory abilities, including: visual ability and auditory ability.
Will reasonable adjustments be considered?
Yes. Please contact AccessAbility to consider reasonable adjustments suitable for your situation.
| Sensory ability | What is this? | How is this relevant to education courses? |
|---|---|---|
| Visual ability | The extent to which a person can see or interpret visual information. This may also include colour vision. | If you have any concerns about your visual ability, please contact us to determine what rasonable adjustments may be possible to support you. |
| Auditory ability | The sense of hearing, and the extent to which a person can be responsive to aural cues, and differentiate vocal sounds and tone. | If you have any concerns about your auditory ability, please contact us to determine what reasonable adjustments may be possible to support you. |
Strength and mobility
Some tasks in education courses require strength and mobility, including: gross motor skills and fine motor skills.
Will reasonable adjustments be considered?
Yes. Please contact AccessAbility to consider reasonable adjustments suitable for your situation.
| Strength and mobility | What is this? | How is this relevant to education courses? |
|---|---|---|
| Gross motor skills | The use of large muscle groups that coordinate body movements and provide strength for activities such as lifting, pushing, pulling, walking and maintaining balance. | If you have any concerns about your gross motor skills, please contact us to determine what reasonable adjustments may be possible to support you. |
| Fine motor skills | The ability to undertake precise coordinated movements of the hands for activities such as writing and manipulating small objects. | If you have any concerns about your fine motor skills, please contact us to determine what reasonable adjustments may be possible to support you. |
Behaviours
Some tasks in education courses require certain behaviours, including: ethical behaviour, mental wellness and behavioural stability, as well as sustainable performance and endurance.
Will reasonable adjustments be considered?
Yes. Please contact AccessAbility to consider reasonable adjustments suitable for your situation.
| Behaviours | What is this? | How is this relevant to education courses? |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical behaviour | Ability to comply with and be governed by quality and professional standards. Acting in ways consistent with the recognised values of society and avoiding activities that do harm. | Learning and assessment activities require confidentiality and integrity in order to perform in academic and professional settings. Practice and registration requires adherence to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. |
| Mental wellness and behavioural stability | A state of well-being in which an individual can cope with the normal stresses of life and can work productively and fruitfully, maintaining consistent behaviour that is acceptable and appropriate. | Exposure to situations which are challenging and unpredictable is common in teaching practice. Learning and assessment activities require sensitive, perceptive and delicate interactions and responses. Learning and assessment activities require behavioural stability to manage challenges objectively and professionally |
| Sustainable performance and endurance | The ability to undertake a task over a predetermined period of time, including physical performance such as standing for a period of time, or mental performance such as concentrating and maintaining focus for a particular length of time | Teaching practice while on placement requires exposure to unexpected and sometimes emergency situations. There is a requirement for a sustained level of physical and mental performance in learning and assessment activities. |
Admission criteria
Information about Swinburne's general admission criteria can be found at Admissions at Swinburne - Higher Education webpage.
Interested in the Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching?
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