Professional Experience

All students enrolled in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education are required to undertake professional experience placements in a range of early childhood education settings.

Level 3

Students at this level complete a minimum of 45 days of supervised professional experience in a range of early childhood settings, possibly including some time in their own workplace.

The first placement of 20 days is undertaken in daycare centres, working with 0 - 2 year old children. The second placement of 25 days is spent in a 3 - 5 year old kindergarten settings.

Some of this experience may take place in special settings where pre-school children undertake educational programs (e.g. museums, hospitals, special development centres) and students are encouraged to consider a global experience. A strength of the course for teacher graduates is this wider conception of community and family learning contexts.

Students are supervised during their placements and will be required to undertake observation or research tasks whilst on placement.

Two 5 day blocks are scheduled for each placement. The first 5 day block is an orientation block at the commencement of the placement to allow students to familiarise themselves with the children and the environment. The second 5 day block occurs at the end of the placement, where students assume full control of teaching within the setting. Click on the following semester schedules to see how the placements are organised.
Semester schedules: Burwood ( - 43k), Geelong ( - 45k) or Warrnambool ( - 48k).

Level 4

Normally Level 4 level students will spend at least 1 day per week in a workplace, but this is not formal practicum. Many students will elect to undertake practical placements in their own workplaces.

Organisation of placements

Professional experience placements are organised by the Professional Experience Office, in consultation with the student as much as is possible. A satisfactory level of competence during supervised professional experience is required for award of the degree. An “unsatisfactory” result on any professional experience placement will be referred to the Faculty Academic Progress and Discipline Committee.

Professional Experience enrolment

Students must follow Faculty rules in relation to the number of days of professional experience to be completed for each placement as per the Professional Experience Handbook (available from the campus of enrolment) which includes the published professional experience timetable. Students should note that a ‘day’ constitutes a whole day (not part thereof).

Students should obtain a copy of the Professional Experience Handbook each year from the Professional Experience Office (and soon to be available at deakin.edu.au/education/schoolexp). Information contained in the Handbook is updated annually and is a summary of Faculty rules in relation to professional experience.

Schedule of Professional Experience units

Level 3

Semester 1
ECP331 Professional Experience 3a
ECP 332 Professional Experience 3b
Semester 2
ECP333 Professional Experience 3c
ECP334 Professional Experience 3d

Schedule of Work Experience in Industry units

Level 4

Semester 1
ECE410 Valuing Experience - Early Childhood Management and Leadership
Semester 2
ECE411 Valuing Experience - Professional Advocacy

Assessment of professional experience

Students are assessed on an Ungraded Pass(UP)/Fail(N) basis. Students will receive a fail grade for unsatisfactory performance, professional experience days commenced but not completed or if no contact is made with Professional Experience Office for placement.