Keen interest in bicultural early childhood degree
Thursday 17th February, 2011
More than 600 people have applied for the 300 places in a new early childhood education degree.
Nancy Bell, the chief executive of the New Zealand Childcare Association Te Tari Puna Ora, says the bachelor of teaching qualification has a strong bicultural focus.
She says staff teaching in Maori environments helped write up the degree, which replaces a diploma course.
“Students are learning about indigenous thinking around early childhood educations, families, whanau, learning teaching development and they are also learning about western thinking and so they are able to take the best of both. That offers them cultural prosperity,” she says.
Classes start this week at 14 regional teaching bases from Kaitaia to Dunedin.
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