Associate Degree in Education Support
UndergraduateTAS-EDS-ADG2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Guide students towards a supportive learning experience
Become the true hero of the classroom with skills to support and empower learners experiencing difficulties. Help those who lack confidence, motivation or who might be disengaged. Make a difference to teachers and learners alike.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 16 Feb 2025,
- 13 July 2025
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 2 years full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 16
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
- CSP available
- Yes
Associate Degree in Education Support
About this degree
Upon successful completion of this program, students should be able to:
- Exhibit broad theoretical and technical knowledge related to education support work in schools and communities
- Identify, demonstrate and assess skills of ethical practice, communication, critical reflection and collaboration needed in diverse, complex and unpredictable learning contexts
- Apply knowledge and skills pertinent to education support by planning for and supporting the delivery of a differentiated curriculum for individual learners, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy
The Associate Degree in Education Support is a two-year program intended to provide an educational qualification for a range of education support roles including Teacher Aides, Integration Aides, School Support Officers and Home-Schooling parents.
This program values the critical role that Education Support workers play in enabling learners to overcome their barriers to learning success. As a distinctive profession in its own right, Education Support is critical to the provision of educational access and equity, particularly for children and adults who may have distinct learning difficulties, lack confidence or motivation in learning, or who might otherwise be disengaged or marginalised from conventional educational systems or practices.
The program is informed by core theoretical knowledge and evidence-based practice in learning support. It is underpinned by a strong research-practice nexus and is guided by our Faculty’s commitment to social justice as a core value for the work that educators and education support workers do. By experiencing a curriculum that values access and equity, and embeds inclusive education practices as well as attention to social and emotional learning, our students come to recognise that positive relationships with self, others, cultures and place are critical to learning success.
By working with partners to provide work-integrated learning opportunities, we guide and mentor our students to embark on personally and professionally fulfilling learning pathways as they develop:
- an empathic, critically reflective and global perspective;
- a collaborative and contextual approach;
- the capacity to work effectively in highly diverse contexts;
- the capacity to be creative and resilient practitioners, and lifelong learners.
We engage with students at all stages of their journey toward becoming confident education support workers capable of making a real difference to people’s lives.
Recommended study pattern
For students undertaking full-time study the following study pattern is recommended:
It is strongly recommended that you complete EDU106 Academic Literacies in your first semester of study. This subject introduces you to the expectations of university study and assists you to develop the skills you need to engage successfully with higher education.
Year 1. 8 subjects in first year including:
- 8 core subjects
- TAS-EDU102 Foundations of Teaching
- TAS-EDU104 Growth and Motor Development Across the Lifespan
- TAS-EDU106 Academic Literacies
- TAS-EES160 Foundations of Literacy Support
- TAS-EES161 The Role of Education Support
- TAS-EES162 Foundations of Numeracy Support
- TAS-EES163 Education Support in Practice
- TAS-EPR130 Arts Education: Music & Visual Arts
Year 2. 8 subjects in second year including:
- 6 core subjects
- TAS-EDU202 Planning for Positive Behaviour
- TAS-EES203 A Trauma-Informed Approach to Resilience and Wellbeing
- TAS-EPR210 Developing Understandings of English
- TAS-EPR303 Inclusive Practices in Education Settings
- TAS-EPR322 Inclusive Mathematics
- TAS-ESP326 Social and Emotional Learning
- 2 electives from
- TAS-EDU190 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culturally Inclusive Curriculum and Pedagogy
- TAS-EES202 Supporting Disengaged Students
- TAS-EPR301 Literacy and Numeracy 5 to 8 years
- TAS-EPR302 Myths and Mysteries of History
- TAS-EPR306 Transforming Learning Contexts through the 4Cs
- TAS-HOS113 Introducing Indigenous Lifeworlds
- TAS-HOS213 Expanding Indigenous Lifeworlds
Award requirements
Satisfactory completion of 16 subjects, as required in the schedule, within 2-5 years from commencement.
- 8 core subjects
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
Transition arrangements are changes that occur when courses are updated or phased out. This happens regularly as part of continuous improvement. It may affect you if you are currently enrolled in this course, or if you plan to use credit from previous study towards it.
From 2025, ESP170 Health Pedagogy 1 has been replaced by EES203 A Trauma-Informed Approach to Resilience and Wellbeing.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative first year fee
$5,210
Indicative total fee $10,800
The amounts shown here are indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 20
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 19
Entry requirements
- Completed University Preparation Program or equivalent; OR
- Successful completion of one (12.5 credit point) undergraduate subject of study
Successful completion of one OUA open access subject of study at the equivalent AQF level, unless otherwise specified
Applicants are ranked by ATAR and offers made based on the number of places available. The lowest ATAR to receive an offer may change from year to year based on the number of applications we receive.
Applicants who have recently completed senior secondary studies but have not received an ATAR may still be eligible for admission. We will consider your study plan and subject results on a case-by-case basis when we assess your application.
Successful completion of Certificate III or equivalent in any discipline
Statement of personal competencies (includes work and life experience)
The University of Tasmania grants credit and recognition of prior learning that may include formal and/or informal prior learning. More information is available here.
Career opportunities
Graduates will be highly sought in education careers and in particular in classroom settings as Integration Aides, Teacher Aides, and School Support Officers. Graduates will also be highly sought after in the industry training sector, and will be suited to communication-based jobs, public relations and other sectors that value graduates with well-developed problem-solving, communication and critical thinking skills.
Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Education Aides | Below $60K | Up 20.6% |
Library Assistants | N/A^ | Down 8.8% |
^ There is no data available
Degree FAQs
How long does it take to finish an online degree?
That's up to you! Because we let you choose when to study online, you can actually pick up and pause study when it suits you. Many universities have a set time you need to complete your degree within. For some this is up to 10 years, and for others there is no limit.
There are some degrees that are stricter about when you can take breaks, and about how many years you can take to complete your degree. Please always check with your uni what the limits are.
As a general guide, Commonwealth supported place students have 10 years to finish their undergraduate degree through OUA, However, if you're studying with Griffith University, there's a limit of 8 years to complete your studies. If you want to take a break that lasts more than two study terms, you'll need to apply for a leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence for up to 12 months, as long as you complete your studies within the maximum time allowed for your degree.
If you're studying with Macquarie University, with the exception of certain degrees, there's no limit to how long you can take. But, please check with Macquarie Student Administration to be sure.
If you're studying with the University of Adelaide, you have up to 9 years to complete your undergraduate degree and graduate.
If you're studying with La Trobe University and want to take a break of minimum 1 study term, you must apply for leave of absence to avoid being inadvertently withdrawn from your degree.
Through OUA, you can study all year round, so it's possible to fast-track and finish up sooner than studying at a traditional uni would allow. That said, you need to spend around 12 hours a week on each undergraduate subject you do, so taking on extra work to finish ahead of time can be challenging.
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