Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) (BEEC) - BEd(Early Childhood)

QTAC code (Australian and New Zealand applicants): Toowoomba campus: 908182; Fraser Coast campus: 918182; Distance education: 908185

CRICOS code (International applicants): 017699J

This program is offered only to continuing students. No new admissions will be accepted. Students who are interested in this study should consider the Bachelor of Education (BEDU).

Contact us

Current students

Telephone 1800 007 252 (within Australia freecall), +61 7 4631 2285 (from outside Australia), email usqassist@usq.edu.au or submit a question via USQAssist.

Program focus

This degree prepares students for a career working with young children in a range of early childhood education settings, such as child care, kindergarten, pre-school, preparatory grade and early primary school. Graduates will have the skills to design and deliver effective teaching programs for children up to eight years of age.

We are currently redeveloping our programs for 2009. This area of study will remain available, with greater flexibility.

Career opportunities

Teaching opportunities are available in child care centres, kindergartens, pre-schools, preparatory grade, multi-grade early education classes or early primary classes in public and private education sectors throughout Australia and internationally.

Professional accreditation

The program will be approved through the Queensland College of Teachers (formerly the Board of Teacher Registration, Queensland) and Queensland Department of Community Services.

Graduates who successfully complete this program on-campus in Australia will be eligible to apply for teacher registration in Queensland.

Note: The Queensland College of Teachers (formerly the Board of Teacher Registration, Queensland) is required to conduct a national criminal history check on all new applications for teacher registration in Queensland.

Program aims

This program aims to develop engaged professionals who will be competent educators of children aged birth to eight years, and who will also have the capacity to teach other primary years if required.

This program seeks to prepare graduates who:

• are reflective and ethical practitioners

• are innovators and navigators of change

• have a strong sense of self and place in the world

• are flexible and creative problem solvers

• are transformative intellectuals

• are socially just and empowering

• value diversity and inclusiveness

• are passionate learners and inspire learning in others

• are keen to accept responsibility, able to identify and optimise opportunities

• demonstrate a current pedagogical content knowledge base

• identify, enable and create opportunities for others to construct meaning and develop capacities to manage their own learning

• are engaged and collaborative members of a learning community

• are compassionate advocates for education.

Note: This level of award is required for teacher registration in Queensland. Applicants from other States or countries should check local requirements before enrolling.

Program objectives

The Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) seeks to :

• develop an awareness of the ecology of childhood, whole-child philosophies and child-centred practices that impact on early childhood education

• promote acceptance of diversity amongst individual children within their family and community contexts

• develop knowledge and beliefs about the integrated nature of creativity and problem-centred learning in early childhood education

• develop critical reflection on emerging trends that impact on early childhood education and the rights of children and families to access quality education.

Admission requirements

Entry to the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) normally requires completion of Year 12 or equivalent with a satisfactory achievement in English. The Overall Position (or its equivalent) is used as the general basis for selection.

International applicants must have met the University's English language requirements or have completed the University's ELICOS/UNIPREP program.

How to apply

Domestic students 2008

Application for undergraduate programs may be made through the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC). The same procedure applies whether you plan to study on-campus or by distance education.

If you completed Year 12 at a Queensland secondary school you will be assessed for entry on the basis of your Overall Position (OP) or equivalent score. Year 12 students from other states or territories are considered for entry on the basis of their UAI, ENTER or TER. Other applicants will be based on their overall Rank. You should ensure you submit your application by the closing dates.

International students 2008

This program is offered to international students. An international student is a person who is not an Australian or New Zealand citizen and not an Australian permanent resident. Please refer to USQ International for information about entry requirements, visa arrangements and how to apply.

Program fees

Student contribution amount

For domestic students who are offered Commonwealth supported places, the Government pays some money directly to the University, but students are also required to make a contribution. This contribution is called the ‘student contribution’. For more information about student contribution amounts, including the calculation of fees for a particular program of study, refer to USQ fees.

Tuition fee

Domestic fee-paying places are funded entirely through the tuition/direct fees paid by the student. Tuition/direct fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. For more information about Tuition Fees, including the calculation of fees for a particular program of study, refer to USQ Fees.

International fees

International students pay tuition fees. For details about international student fees, refer to the International Fee Schedule provided by USQ International.

Program structure

To be awarded a four-year Bachelors program in the Faculty of Education, a pre-service educator must have normally completed 32 units at undergraduate levels 1-4. At the discretion of the Program Coordinator, up to 4 units may be completed at postgraduate level.

Duration: four years full-time equivalent study to a maximum duration of nine years.

Mode of Delivery: on-campus

Subject to approval

Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 9 years to complete this program.

Core courses

Responsibility for meeting program requirements rests with individual students, who should ensure that they adhere to the recommended enrolment patterns (included in the Handbook) appropriate for their intended areas of teaching.

The Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) program contains 32 one-unit courses, made up of 28 core courses and four s/elective courses. There are also eight 'stand alone' professional experience courses that have zero academic or financial weighting.

Students must complete eight units (or its equivalent) on-campus before electing to do external study.

Minor or option studies

Minors will be available in Special Education, Primary Education, Physical Education, Religious Education, Information and Communications Technology, Expressive Arts, Literacy/Children's Literature, Mathematics / Science/Technology Education or option packages offered by another Faculty (e.g. psychology, health sciences, management, liberal arts).

Availability of minors will vary according to campus, mode of delivery, and semester or year of offering. Availability of minors will be subject to quota.

Honours : Students who receive the required GPA over 3 semesters of study will be offered the opportunity of enrolling in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) Honours program. Students undertaking this program will not take elective/minor courses, and will follow a modified study pathway from Year 2.

Further Information on the courses available to choose from can be found at the Faculty of Education website.

Practical experience

There will be a minimum of 110 days of professional experience in a range of relevant settings spread over the four years . Students must enrol in each of these courses in order to have the days recorded: ECP1001, ECP1002, ECP2001 , ECP2002, ECP3001, ECP3002, ECP4001 and ECP4002. Professional Experience is available in external mode for external students only, holding a minimum of a USQ recognised Diploma in Children's/Community Services or equivalent.Professional experiences sometimes occur outside usual University teaching weeks. Travel to settings outside Toowoomba and Fraser Coast area may be necessary to complete the professional experience component of the program.

Eligibility to Undertake Professional Experience in Queensland Educational SettingsUnder the terms of the Commission for Children and Young People Act (Qld. 2000), students undertaking professional experience are considered to be volunteers engaged in regulated employment. As such, all students must apply to the Commission to be issued with a notice that they are suitable to work in child-related employment. As part of this application, the students must consent to the Commission conducting a criminal history check as the key element of the process of determining suitability. All applications for a suitability notice must be made at the local campus of the university at the commencement of their program. Students who do not make application, or who do apply but are subsequently deemed unsuitable, will not be able to undertake the professional experience components of the program.

Further information, including a list of serious offences which could lead to a pre-service educator being deemed unsuitable, are available from the Commission's website at http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/employment/.

IT requirements

Students will be expected to have access to a computer with common productivity software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software), email and the Internet.

Exit points

Exit points will be available for students who complete various components of the program as shown in the following table.

While University qualifications may be used for a multitude of purposes, students need to be aware that the exit programs referred to above, have not been accredited for purposes of teacher certification in P - 12 settings in Queensland, or for group leadership or Directorship in a Childcare Centre in Queensland.

Exemptions

Students who have completed the Diploma or Advanced Diploma of Community Services (Childrens Services) or approved equivalent with a Registered Training Organisation may be eligible for up to 8 and 12 units exemption respectively.

Honours

Admission Requirements

Normal Entry (ONC-full-time)

Entry may be subject to availability of places. Selected students will be offered the opportunity of following the Honours pathway after completion of the first three or four semesters of study in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) program. Students gaining a minimum GPA of 6.0 over the first three semesters will be considered for selection. Each year students will be invited to apply for the Honours pathway, offers being determined on the basis of academic merit and the annual quota set for the Honours program.

Program Structure

The Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) may be awarded with Honours. The class of honours to be awarded to a student is dependant upon:

• the Grade Point Average calculated from the grades achieved in the courses studied in, or transferred to, the program

• the grade achieved by the student in the Honours Courses,FET8801 Research Methods in Education,EDU4351 Supervised Project 1and EDU5351 Supervised Project 2 (unless the student is exempted from these courses).

Students enrolled in the Honours pathway will need to maintain a GPA of at least 4.0 to graduate with Honours. The level of Honours awarded will be determined by a weighting formula that accounts for performance across the four-year program as follows:

Note: Honours students who fail to meet the requirements of the above levels of award will be eligible for the award of the Pass Degree where they have passed all Honours courses and have satisfied the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). Entry into the Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education requires First Class or Second Class Div A Honours.
Core Courses

Courses EDU4351 Supervised Project 1 and EDU5351 Supervised Project 2 together constitute the Honours dissertation with a total word length of between 10,000-15,000 words.
Minor or option studies

A major of five courses will only be allowed when the focus of the Honours research and dissertation is in the same area as the major.
Recommended enrolment pattern

It is strongly advised that students who intend following the Honours pathway discuss enrolment details with the relevant Program Coordinator as early as possible to ensure an appropriate study pattern.

Other information

Applications for entry should be made through the Queensland Tertiary Admissions CentreQTAC. Refer to Applying to USQ for further information.

Recommended enrolment pattern

Subject to approval

Students who commenced prior to 2004 should refer to the pattern following this one

Students should not deviate from this pattern without first discussing it with the Program Administration Office or the Program Coordinator.