Early childhood education courses

An early childhood education course will qualify you to work with children from birth up to the age of five. Most of the courses available through Open Universities Australia are approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). This means you can register as an early childhood teacher in your state or territory after graduating. 

We recommend checking the course description carefully for full details about professional recognition. 

You will learn how to confidently lead young children in an early education environment. You can expect to cover: 

• Child development for educators 
• Diverse childhood behaviours
• Environment management techniques 
• Curriculum and lesson planning
• Play-based teaching methods 
• Early years teaching approaches for major disciplines including humanities, mathematics, science and visual arts

Throughout your course, you will also go on placements in early childcare settings. These placements are compulsory if it’s your goal to become a registered early childhood teacher, and a wonderful opportunity to put everything you’ve learnt into practice.

You will support young children during one of the most important stages of life, when they are only just developing their social skills, emotional behaviours, and attitudes to learning. What could be more fulfilling than that?

Not only is early childhood education an incredibly rewarding career—it’s also a very secure one. Following a government pledge to boost childcare subsidies, more parents will have the financial means to return to the workforce, meaning the demand for qualified childcare workers is becoming stronger than ever. In fact, government estimates suggest at least 10,000 new early childhood teachers will be needed by 2026.

Think about what career outcome you’d like to achieve, and how long you’d like to spend studying. 

If you’re brand new to childcare, you can start your journey with a diploma-level qualification. Courses at this level qualify you to work in support roles and can be a steppingstone to further study. 

If you have your sights set on becoming an early childhood teacher, consider a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. Some courses at this level combine early childhood and primary school teaching, which will double your career opportunities as a graduate. 

Postgraduate courses (graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and masters degrees) are designed for those who already have a degree in another discipline, and would like to make a career change. You will require a graduate diploma or above to register as a teacher. 

Most degrees in early childhood education have an ATAR of 60 to 70. However, you don’t need an ATAR to get into an early childhood course through Open Universities Australia.

We have a unique arrangement in place with our university partners that allows you to bypass entry requirements on undergraduate courses. Instead, you can enrol instantly in online early childhood subjects that are open to everyone. Once you successfully complete these subjects, you will meet the academic requirements for a full degree. 

Chat with us to find out more about how this works. 

It depends on the course that you choose, and whether you study on campus or online. Here's a general guide: 

TAFE level

• A diploma is equivalent to 12 months of full-time study

Undergraduate level

• An associate degree is equivalent to 2 years of full-time study
• A bachelor degree is equivalent to 4 years of full-time study

Postgraduate level 

• A graduate certificate is equivalent to 6 months of full-time study
• A graduate diploma is equivalent to 12 months of full-time study
• A masters degree is equivalent to 2 years of full-time study

When you earn your early childhood education course online, you have more freedom to complete your course at a pace that suits you. Many of our students choose to take just one subject at a time so they can gain work experience in the industry. 

Graduates can apply for roles in early learning centres, kindergartens, pre-schools and childcare centres. Depending on your course, you may be eligible to register as an early childhood teacher with your state or territory’s teaching body. 

Specific roles you could explore include:

• Early childhood education and care worker
• Family day care provider
• Early childhood teacher
• Kindergarten teacher
• Early childhood teaching director

Before starting an enrolment, it’s important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you’re eligible to apply. If you don’t quite meet the requirements, we may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.

Chat with us to find out more.

Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.

When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Apply now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.

Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.

Please note that enquiries and applications for some courses are handled directly by the university. If this is the case, it will be indicated on the course listing page.  

For more information about enrolment, read our online self-service enrolling instructions. If you get stuck at any time, contact us and we’ll talk you through it.