4 June 2014

ITE provision for ECE and Māori-Medium Sectors

Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced an extension to the postgraduate-level initial teacher education (ITE) qualifications that will provide an extra 150 fulltime equivalent places a year for the early childhood and Maori-medium sectors.

Ms Parata says funding the new places, which will be available from next year, is another move by the Government to boost the quality of teaching.

“This is an exciting opportunity to identify how we can build knowledge and capability in teaching and learning in ECE and Māori-medium settings,” Ms Parata says.

“We want all kids from our youngest through to 18-years-old, especially those from vulnerable communities, to experience top quality teaching at every point of their education journey.

“The Government is investing in improving the quality of ITE provision as part of a broader quality teaching agenda, which is focussed on raising the status of the teaching profession and better outcomes for kids.”

Both programmes will be informed by current evidence about effective ITE provision and practice and will include a strong practice component with extended placements in schools/kura and ECE services, and a greater emphasis on research inquiry to support student learning.

Postgraduate Māori-medium ITE programmes in primary and secondary schooling will have an in depth focus on Mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori, and on second language learning pedagogy.

The new qualifications will be in addition to the recently established postgraduate level ITE programmes being offered by the universities of Auckland, Waikato, Otago, Victoria, AUT, Canterbury and Massey.

The Ministry of Education intends to release separate, closed tenders to providers of existing ECE and Māori-medium ITE programmes this month.

A formal evaluation will run alongside the delivery of the new programmes from 2014 and will inform decisions about the future of postgraduate ITE provision.

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