Swinburne supporting regional communities through early childhood teaching

Regional communities set to benefit from the Best Life, Best Start reforms are receiving support from Swinburne University of Technology to train new teachers, thanks to investment from the Victorian Government’s Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program.

Passionate early childhood educators and people looking for a career change in the East Gippsland and Wellington shires will benefit from Swinburne’s Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Teaching.

Eighty students will have access to Swinburne’s unique Regional Outreach Model that caters for the needs of regional learners. By 2026, they will have completed teaching training and graduated job ready.

Students will be able to take part in intensive blocks of face-to-face hybrid learning, use virtual reality simulated classrooms, build on prior teaching and pedagogical skills, and strengthen their collaborations with children, families and communities. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in employment network support including work-based placements, mentoring and networking.

Swinburne Chair of Education, Professor Sivanes Phillipson says that early childhood education is incredibly important.

"This investment by the Victorian Department of Education will give the next generation of early childhood teachers the skills they need to help young children to develop, grow and thrive.”

The program encourages greater diversity in the early childhood workforce by supporting Aboriginal Victorians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disability and men to take up tertiary education opportunities and pursue a career as an early childhood teacher.

Swinburne Dean of School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education Professor James Verdon says, “Swinburne welcomes this timely funding from the Victorian Government’s Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program”.

“Swinburne’s program offers a unique opportunity for early childhood educators in regional Victoria and individuals seeking a career change. Our innovative Regional Outreach Model program is a collaborative and local place-based approach to education that will produce job-ready graduates.”

This partnership with Swinburne aligns with the Department of Education’s goal of building a sustainable early childhood education system that explicitly addresses the workforce needs of the sector across the Gippsland region. 

The place-based, work-embedded approach in the program will capitalise on local knowledge and support people currently living and working in the area to enter the local early childhood workforce.

A Department of Education spokesperson says, “We’re working with universities and training providers to provide additional support for Victorian students while they study to become an early childhood teacher or educator”.

“Swinburne’s place-based program of study and hands-on learning will give aspiring teachers in the state’s east the training and support they need to have a great career in early childhood education.”