Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary)

VIT and ACECQA Accreditation Approved

The Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) is a forward-thinking program that empowers you to become an autonomous, versatile, and highly skilled educator ready to inspire children from birth to 12 years across early childhood settings and primary schools. You’ll gain advanced expertise in supporting diverse learners (including a deep primary specialisation), forge powerful relationships with children, families, and communities, and design impactful, evidence-based interventions. You will dive into cutting-edge teaching theories, innovative curriculum design, contemporary pedagogies, practitioner research, wellbeing practices, and technology integration — all while building the confidence to create stimulating, safe, and inclusive learning environments

Credit for Professional Placements

SCEI-HE confirms that students cannot receive credit or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for professional placement experiences within the MTECP course. All five placement hurdle requirements must be completed in full as specified. This position is consistent with ACECQA and VIT program standards, which require supervised professional practice to be undertaken in approved settings under qualified supervision, and cannot be substituted by prior work experience or prior learning.

Overseas Placements

SCEI-HE confirms that placements are not available overseas. All professional practice placements are arranged by the SCEI-HE in approved early childhood education and care services and primary schools within Australia, in compliance with VIT and ACECQA program standards. SCEI-HE's placement criteria require that students are placed in settings that operate under the National Quality Framework, the EYLF, and Victorian or Australian regulatory requirements, which cannot be guaranteed in an overseas setting.

Workplace Placements

SCEI-HE confirms that students cannot undertake professional practice placements at their place of employment. Student educators are not placed in early childhood education services/primary schools where they may have personal ties or experiences as a member of staff, casual employee, a parent/client or have a significant prior or current relationship with a child or staff member at the service/school. This measure is in place to prevent conflicts of interest, maintain the integrity of the assessment process, and ensure that PSTs experience a genuinely supervised and developmental learning environment distinct from their existing employment context.

Professional Accreditation

The Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) program is accredited by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) and listed on the AITSL and ACECQA accredited programs lists. Graduates of the program are eligible to apply for provisional registration with VIT upon successful completion.

accredited with conditions

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this degree will be able to:

Reflect critically on educational theory, policy and research in relation to impact on professional knowledge, practice and engagement.
Apply advanced and integrated content and pedagogical knowledge, with inclusive understanding of indigenous peoples, places and perspectives and communicate clearly to create supportive and productive learning environments.
Design and differentiate relevant curriculum to cater inclusively for diverse learners and promote participation.
Integrate digital and design technologies to augment curriculum delivery and engage learners.
Apply practical approaches to classroom management to establish and maintain safe and supportive learning environments.
Design and implement formative, summative and diagnostic assessment strategies, tasks and tools.
Determine success criteria and interpret student achievement data to inform evidence-based decisions for teaching, feedback and reporting.
Interpret the professional teaching standards to critically evaluate the impact of own teaching practice and identify continued professional learning needs.
Understand and comply with current legislative, administrative and policy requirements and societal expectations for teachers.
Establish and maintain inclusive, respectful and ethical relationships and work collaboratively with colleagues, families and members of the learning community.
Understand the role of teacher as researcher, applying research principles and methods to a capstone teacher practitioner inquiry.

Graduate Attributes

SCEI-HE graduates are distinguished by their:

Flexible and independent learners with a commitment to life-long learning
Academically knowledgeable at a level appropriate to the program
Able to use their knowledge and skills to solve problems and think critically
Critically analyse and evaluate theory and research
Effective communicators in spoken and written English
Able to work effectively as part of a team
Technologically competent

Pathways for Employment and Further study

Graduates of this course may find employment or undertake further study in any of the following:

For professional employment in:
- early childhood educator or primary teacher to work in early childhood services, schools and educational settings;
Further postgraduate education:
- Doctoral studies

Employment Opportunities

Graduates of the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) may find employment with government, private enterprises and not-for-profit organisations. Graduate employment opportunities include :

Early childhood teachers (long day care, kindergartens, preschools, early learning centres)
Primary teachers (Foundation–Year 6; government, Catholic, independent, private schools)
Educational leaders/lead educators/coordinators (early childhood services)
Specialists (literacy, numeracy, inclusive education)

SCEI-HE Student Life

At SCEI-HE, we recognise that student experiences are just as crucial as educational outcomes. Often, a student’s personal experience and academic performance are interdependent. To support our students holistically, SCEIHE offers referrals to a variety of services: