Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership

VU course code: EBCL | CRICOS: 105139H, 115486F | Level of study: Undergraduate

Duration

4 years

Delivery mode

In Person

Fees

Tuition: per semester AU$16,900

Location

City Campus, Sydney Campus, Brisbane Campus

All start dates

An early childhood teaching student reading to children in the classroom.

Overview

Give your early childhood career an edge by developing your leadership skills with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership at Victoria University (VU).

Set yourself up for advanced career opportunities with this unique VU course, the only one of its kind that allows you to dedicate four years of study to early childhood education with a focus on leadership.

Your Bachelor of Early Childhood Education will prepare you for a rewarding career nurturing the development and wellbeing of children from birth to five years. As a degree-qualified kindergarten teacher, or other early-childhood educator, you’ll:

support young children with the important foundations to set them up for success in life
develop techniques for involving families as important contributors to the learning process
set children up for effective transitions to school.

At VU, you will learn to support children to feel capable and confident. You’ll build a strong sense of social justice, understand child development in the early years and develop ethical professional teaching practice that includes Indigenous perspectives.

By adding a fourth year to your bachelor degree, you will open the door to a higher-paid salary, senior roles in early childhood education and management positions in childcare centres.

: On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Initiate teaching and learning practices that foster learner engagement in complex contexts and foreground Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoints in early childhood education.
Critically reflect on different ways of knowing, being, and doing, founded on the view of children and families as capable contributors to conceptual and pedagogical decision-making in learning and teaching; undertake an advanced study of play and the image of the child in different communities.
Design teaching practices that reflect an ability to contextualise, question, resist, rethink, and act towards equity and the public good and design learning opportunities that embrace a rich and varied curriculum, ensure that learning and teaching approaches are based on sound ethical principles and foster reciprocal relationships in early childhood settings.
Exhibit a broad and coherent body of knowledge of pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in relation to the changing nature of education in a rapidly-evolving global context; undertake deep inquiry into local and global contexts of Early Childhood Education.
Critically review and articulate a range of oral and written communication techniques, including in the use of Information and Communication Technologies, to engage and connect with students, their parents/carers and the wider community,
Analyse models of leadership and advocacy and apply principles of ethical leadership in Early Childhood.
: The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership builds on our three-year Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with a fourth year dedicated to in-depth understanding of:
leadership skills
global perspectives in education
politics and policy of education
in-depth play-based education.
Plus, a key focus of your fourth year will be a research inquiry project on a topic of your choice relating to early childhood education.
If you have already completed a three-year degree in early childhood education, you can enter this course in fourth year to complete the one-year leadership component.
: Studying at VU means taking advantage of our strong connections with community centres, local councils, childcare settings and kindergartens.
Your 80 days of supervised teaching experience includes:
10 days in the unique VU playgroup program
15 days with infants and toddlers in a childcare centre
55 days with 3–5-year-olds in a childcare centre or funded kindergarten.
In our VU Play pop-up play spaces, you’ll create and maintain play spaces that encourage children to engage in self-directed play, using loose parts and various materials. You’ll adhere to the philosophy of ‘playwork’ to observe, reflect and analyse the children playing and intervene or make changes when needed. This program runs permanently at Footscray Nicholson campus and many other suitable locations.
Find out more about our practical programs in early childhood education.
: Experience a range of cultures, histories and early childhood teaching styles to broaden your perspective. As a VU student, you’ll have access to our:
Study tour to Malaysia: complete a three-week placement in a Malaysian early childhood centre, enjoying a rich cultural immersion experience to learn different approaches to early childhood education.
Student exchange with Karlstad University in Sweden: spend six months in Sweden studying and completing practical placements that count towards your course, learning European approaches to early childhood education and broadening your cultural awareness.
Placements in the Northern Territory: spend four weeks in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory, experiencing a rich culture and perspectives to inform your approach to early childhood teaching.
Find out more about practical programs in early childhood education and exchange programs at VU.
: If you have already completed a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, enjoy guaranteed entry into this course and skip first year.
If you have already completed a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, you can gain credit for the first three years of this course and study only fourth year.
: For your first year of bachelor-level study as an international student, you'll enjoy the supportive experience of our VU First Year College® program in the heart of Melbourne at our modern high-rise City Campus.
For the remaining years, you'll study at our relaxed and friendly Footscray Nicholson Campus, only ten minutes on the train from Melbourne city centre.

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a related course or unit(s). We call this a ‘pathway’.

If you've completed a qualification where English was the primary language of instruction, you may be eligible for an exemption of English-language requirements.

In some cases, there may be additional entry requirements.

Learn more about entry requirements for international students.

Entry criteria

Meeting the minimum entry criteria does not guarantee entry into this course.

Completion of an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate (VCE or equivalent) including Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 30 in English (EAL) or 25 in any other English (or equivalent).
OR:
Completion of an Australian Advanced Diploma or Diploma (or equivalent).
PLUS:
IELTS (or equivalent): Overall score or 6.5 (with no band less than 6.0 in Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking).
OR:
Completion of a Foundation course or equivalent.

Special entry programs

If you are from a disadvantaged or underrepresented social, economic or cultural background, you may be eligible for one of our special admission programs. These programs are designed to help you access education more easily.

Learn more about special admission programs

Inherent requirements

Inherent requirements are the abilities, attributes, skills and behaviours needed to meet the learning outcomes of the course.

You should carefully consider the inherent requirement statement as a:

guide for your learning during the course
way for you to identify challenges you may have in studying this course.

Learn more about inherent requirements

Additional information

Applicants with a 3 year ACECQA accredited degree not awarded in the previous 5 years must provide current VIT registration as an ECT and a CV prior to admission/credit being granted.

Students will require a Working with Children Check or equivalent in NSW and Queensland to be eligible to undertake and participate in workplace visits, placements or projects. Use the following site link to obtain additional information:
http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/

First Year students will complete their study at City Tower campus or in Online Real Time (ORT) or at a Sydney or Brisbane venue. The Online Self-Paced option (OSP) and In-Person delivery at Footscray Nicholson campus will be available from Year 2.

National Child Safety Training:
All students enrolled in Early Childhood courses are required to complete the National Child Safety Training prior to commencing professional placement. This training is delivered through the Australian Government’s Geccko platform https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/about/quality-and-safety/national-child-safety-training. and is a mandatory requirement under the National Child Safety Reform for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector.

In addition, students must complete the relevant Child Protection Training required by the state or territory in which they will undertake placement. This training must be completed prior to placement and renewed annually to maintain compliance.

Upon completion of both training requirements, students must upload their certificates and relevant expiry dates to their WIL Student Profile. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all documentation remains current and reflects the required renewal periods.

Students who do not complete the required training and upload valid evidence to WIL prior to placement will not be permitted to attend placement until all requirements have been met.

Credit & Entry pathways into this course

If you don’t meet the entry requirements for this course, there may be an alternative study ‘pathway’ to achieving your goal. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study or work experience, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

You’ll find information about any pathways to higher qualifications that may be available to you after completing this course under the ‘careers’ section of this page.

Find out more about pathways at VU.

: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course.

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

96 credit points

Diploma of Education Studies

96 credit points

Diploma of Teacher Education Preparation

24 credit points

International Foundations at VU

Guaranteed entry only
: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Bendigo Kangan Institute, Australia | 96 credit points

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Melbourne City Institute of Education, Australia | 96 credit points

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Melbourne City Institute of Education, Australia | 96 credit points
: If you have completed any of the following course(s), you will be guaranteed a place in this course. In some cases, you may receive credit for your previous study, reducing the time it takes to complete your course.

Diploma in Early Childhood Education

Prospects College of Higher Education, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka | 96 credit points
: If you have completed study with another university or institution you may be eligible to receive credit for skills and past study.

Use our credit calculator to find out what credit you may be eligible for based on your previous studies.

Note that if your previous study can’t be found through the credit calculator, you may still be eligible for credit.

Units can be credited if they are part of the course structure for the course you are applying for. Please note that credits relating to prior VU subjects are automatically granted and no further action is required.

calculate your credit

Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course structure

To attain the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership students will be required to complete:

384 credit points of Core studies

Units

After you are accepted into your course, you will need to enrol in your course units.

During enrolment, use your course delivery plan to understand the structure and requirements of your course.

Fees & scholarships

As an international student at Victoria University, you will be required to pay your tuition fees up front each semester.

There may be additional materials fees throughout your studies, depending on your chosen course, as well as an administrative fee as part of your course.

Victoria University is proud to support our international scholarship recipients and sponsored students.

Save up to 30% off your fees!

The VU Block Model® International Scholarship offers eligible international students up to 30% off tuition fees for their entire first year of study. Study well and you’ll have the chance to increase or extend the scholarship for the whole duration of your course.

Find out more

Fees

Scholarships

Careers

Take advantage of the high demand for bachelor-qualified early childhood teachers with funded three-year-old kindergarten rolling out across Victoria and an expected 21.6% growth in childcare jobs by 2026.

Thanks to the essential experience you’ll get from working in childcare and teaching in kindergartens during your placements, you’ll be ready to register as a teacher as soon as you graduate. With this nationally accredited degree, you can work around Australia and take on leadership roles in:

public or private kindergartens
long day care centres
early childhood centres in Australia
policy development with government bodies.

With strong growth expected for both early childhood teachers and child care centre managers, you can expect to earn above-average wages while enjoying the rewards that come with nurturing the next generation.

View the employment growth and average salary for early childhood teachers (Jobs and Skills Australia)
View the employment growth and average salary for child care centre managers (Jobs and Skills Australia)

Register as a teacher

As soon as you graduate from this course, you’ll meet the requirements to register as a teacher with Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and Victorian Institute for Teaching (VIT), the Victorian body for Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Start dates

Melbourne

On campus – Melbourne City Campus

Course starts 27 July 2026

Course starts 28 September 2026

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information on this page, please note that dates are subject to change. Some courses may close early due to an earlier start date or there being limited places available.

Professional accreditation/Industry recognition

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)

This course is ACECQA accredited.

VU stories

Finding joy outside her comfort zone

Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

"It’s incredible to be a part of the magic with children as they freely express themselves. It never ever gets boring – it’s always a new day with new challenges!"

Melanie's story