Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood)

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year	2025 course information
Award granted	Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood)
Deakin course code	E764
Faculty	Faculty of Arts and Education
Campus	Offered at Burwood (Melbourne)
Online	Yes
Duration	2 years full-time - 16 credit points Deakin courses can also be studied part-time over a longer period.
Course Map - enrolment planning tool	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
CRICOS course code	088432D Burwood (Melbourne)
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9
Note: This course is accredited with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

Course sub-headings

Course overview

If you’re passionate about nurturing young, inquisitive children from birth to grade 6 and are motivated to make a genuine impact on future generations, Deakin's Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood) is for you.

Ready to become a highly sought-after early childhood or primary school teacher with a holistic understanding of how young people learn and make sense of the world?

The Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood) is infused with practical learning. With a focus on dynamic skills and communication, you will graduate classroom-ready, a finely tuned educator and leader with a set of adaptable techniques.

A career in education provides flexibility, variety and security. Learn first-hand from highly experienced and passionate teachers who understand the importance of recognising all students as people first.

Discover how to shape teacher/student relationships to ensure students build positive connections with their peers, their school and themselves. Gain the critical knowledge required for modern-day digital classrooms, engaging with topics such as diversity and inclusion, teacher inquiry, context and leading-edge research, coupled with culturally relevant approaches to teaching.

At Deakin you will also collaborate with early childhood educators, primary and secondary teachers. Our multidisciplinary approach will enable you to gain a well-rounded view of how young people learn.

This, combined with 90-days of professional placement and your completion of a Deakin Teaching Performance Assessment (DTPA), benchmarked against national standards, means you will be set for success in the classroom anywhere in Australia and beyond.

Professional recognition

The Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood) is accredited by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) as an initial teacher education program that meets the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) program standards and the Australian professional standards for graduate teachers. Upon graduation, you will be prepared to register with the VIT as a registered educator. If you intend to apply for registration in Victoria or interstate you may be required to provide further information.

This program is approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) as an early childhood teaching qualification in Australia. Again, applicants should check the requirements for early childhood teacher registration in their state or territory for more specific requirements.

Career opportunities

As one of the largest growing employment sectors in Australia, there are many career opportunities to explore. The knowledge and skills you will develop through the Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood) prepare you well for a diverse range of industries and settings, including:

teaching in public, independent or private schools
arts, museums and learning centres
corporate learning and development
counselling
human resources
policy
universities
youth work

For more information go to DeakinTALENT.

Participation requirements

Professional Experience Placements are a compulsory component of the course and a requirement for registration as a graduate teacher. Placement can occur at any time, including during standard holiday breaks. Learn about key dates at Deakin.

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.

Students are required to check the placement calendars published on the Professional Experience Office website each year. Placement takes priority over employment and placement periods are generally block placements of 5-days (full-time) per week over 2-5 weeks.

Course delivery is blended and students are required to dedicate time to weekly engagement with located or online teaching and learning activities and resources. This is recommended at combined total 8-10 hours per week per unit including active learning/engagement either face to face or online, and independent study.

Some units will require students to attend schools or institutions for site-based learning and teaching experiences. Some units can only be completed face to face at Burwood or as online study. Some units will require students to attend schools or institutions for site-based learning and teaching experiences. Some units can only be completed face to face at Burwood or as online study.

Mandatory student checks

Students will be required to hold a valid Working with Children (WWC) Check prior to undertaking professional placements as part of this course. Learn more about Working with Children Checks.

Interstate applicants must check the requirements and meet all conditions for undertaking professional experience in schools for their state or territory before undertaking professional experience placements as part of this course.

Inherent requirements

It is expected that all students will be able to abide by, and ensure their behaviour is in accordance with the Victorian Institute of Teaching Code of Conduct.

Immunisations

Immunisation and/or vaccination requirements will be communicated by the Professional Experience Office in line with the Department of Education and Training's directions at the time of placement.

For further information contact the School of Education, Professional Experience Office.

Research information

This is a graduate entry teaching course that introduces research based practice throughout the core professional studies units (a total of six credit points), which includes demonstrating their application of knowledge and skills through their 90-days of professional practice in education based contexts e.g. primary schools and early childhood settings. As part of the series of core professional studies units, students are also required to complete a capstone assessment in the final year (2 credit point unit) to demonstrate their evidence based professional practice informed by data analysis and scholarship of teaching and learning.

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Contribute to critical, professional debates about education theory; local, national and global trends; curriculum; Indigenous and intercultural perspectives; and legal, professional and ethical codes and standards, and critique and apply these understandings to inform their own practice.
Communication	Apply critical thinking, pedagogical knowledge and effective interpersonal, oral, written and multimodal communication skills to demonstrate empathy, foster learner agency, establish positive and inclusive learning-friendly environments, and build effective professional partnerships and trust with families/caregivers, teaching colleagues and other stakeholders.
Digital literacy	Act in accordance with the ethical and legal frameworks and policy that inform responsible and ethical practice in digital environments, and critically discuss, evaluate and employ a range of appropriate digital literacies, resources and technologies for professional/community/learner engagement and agency.
Critical thinking	Contribute to critical and professional debates about education trends, theory, policy and research and use these understandings to critically reflect on and evaluate own teaching practices and diverse learning data sets to make informed evidence-based judgements for enhancements and innovations to improve learner agency and outcomes.
Problem solving	Collaboratively and independently use evidence and research to identify, prioritise and creatively respond to problems that arise in professional learning and practice.
Self-management	Engage autonomously and responsibly with critical self-reflection, self-assessment and feedback from others, to inform their own learning, plan for professional development and to balance academic demands with self-care /self-management.
Teamwork	Actively and collaboratively participate in, and/or lead learning communities, involving learners, families, community members, colleagues and the broader profession to deepen understandings of education and to optimise learning and learner well-being.
Global citizenship	Engage in research, and with the legal and ethical obligations of the teaching profession, to develop informed positions on and approaches to educational transformation as applied to learner agency and citizenship; Indigenous and intercultural issues; global education trends and issues; and, social justice and sustainability.

Approved at Faculty Board 2019

Course rules

To complete the Master of Teaching (Primary and Early Childhood) students must pass 16 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
ELN010 Australian Literacy Test (0-credit-point compulsory unit)
ELN011 Australian Numeracy Test (0-credit-point compulsory unit)
16 credit points of core units

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.

Note:

This course includes 90-days of supervised professional experience, and students must successfully complete the Deakin Teaching Performance Assessment. This must be complete in the final year of study. Successful completion of this course indicates that a student has met the expected standard of performance for each of the Graduate Teacher Standards.
Students are also required to complete 2 zero (0) credit point units ELN010 and ELN011 as part of the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) in order to graduate from their course. Students are expected to attempt the tests within the first year of their course. Students who do not attempt the tests within their first year may be unable to progress with their studies until an attempt has been made.

Course structure

Core Units

Year 1

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (zero (0) credit points)

ELN010

Australian Literacy Test (zero (0) credit points)

ELN011

Australian Numeracy Test (zero (0) credit points)

EEE754

Language, Literacies and Learning

EEE755

Numeracy, Social Justice and New Pedagogies

EEE756

Health, Wellbeing and Inclusive Education

EPL746

Primary Literacy

EPM742

Primary Mathematical Development

ECE761

Early Childhood Pedagogy, Curricula and Contexts

Professional Experience Placement Units*

(*please note unit rules for order in which these must be completed)

EPR781

Orientation to the Teaching Profession (replaces EPR771)

EPR782

Building Capacity in Professional Experience (replaces EPR742)

Year 2

ECE704

Learning in and Through the Arts in Early Years

ECE705

Integrative Curriculum Concepts in Play-Based Contexts: Mathematics and Science

EPS735

Primary Science and Technology Education

EPO702

Arts, Humanities and Sustainability in Primary Education

ECE703

Integrative Curriculum Concepts in Play-Based Contexts: Language and Literacy

Professional Experience Placement Units*

(*please note unit rules for order in which these must be completed)

EPR784

Curriculum Inquiry in Professional Experience (replaces EPR744)

EPR785

Reflecting On Practice in Professional Experience (2 credit points, replaces EPR745)

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.

Further information

Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.

Contact Student Central

Other learning experiences

Experiences in community and school or early childhood settings are embedded in some curriculum units beyond the professional experience placements. Students are also encouraged to volunteer in these settings. Wherever possible, academic staff work alongside education professionals and preservice teachers in these authentic learning experiences.

Research and research-related study

Independent research and practitioner research and training components are embedded across a number of units. Preservice teachers are expected to apply an integrated, critical and advanced understanding of complex bodies of knowledge and research skills in education in their practice.

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.