Bachelor Teaching (early childhood education)

[lisaandshaun]

Hi,
i would love to hear from people who are studying the above degree. Is it hard? is it do-able while working full time and raising a two year old?
thanks

[Amaunet]

I have a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) that I completed quite a few years ago I don't remember finding it hard, but I didn't work or have kids then. Are you doing it off or on campus? Part or full time? If you are studying part time online/by distance it would be doable but you would have to be very disciplined in keeping up with readings/assignments etc. Do you have help/support for babysitting etc for when the workload gets heavy?

[lisaandshaun]

Will be studying via correspondance/online part time (two units per semester) I will be working full time and will have my daughter in daycare 5days a week (which i hate) and my husband is here to look after (when she lets him ) so i will have help. I finished my diploma while working and with a new born so i am fairly disciplined.

[MrsFabuloso]

I did mine about 5yrs ago. I did it via correspondence whist working full time, and then completed one semester after DD was born, but I wan't working anymore.
I didn't find the work hard or the unit load difficult. If you're doing via correspondence, you will just need to be pretty organised.

[Indadhanu]

I'm studying my B. Education (Early Childhood) online/distance through USQ, last year I was doing it full-time while also working full-time in childcare (this year I am working in Kindergarten) and I also had a 2 year old (and an extremely supportive partner). I am still studying, but am working part-time now as even though it was doable (and I did well, GPA is still 6.06 and I'm technically at the end of 3rd year) it was challenging to balance and give every aspect of my life the time and attention needed, and especially now being pregnant, I just needed to let go of something and full-time work was it (of all the things to let go of it was the easiest lol). Sometimes things slip, often it is housework and sleep. I find it hard to study while my daughter is awake, it is easier this year as she is older and I work 5 days a fortnight but working full-time meant daytime study wasn't going to happen so there were many late nights and early mornings. If you love it, the content makes sense and is not 'hard', but sometimes the theory is tedious and getting your head around it and getting to your 'ah-ha' moment is time consuming.
The hardest part for me is doing the assignments the way lecturers want them done - you might have a brilliant idea, but sometimes lecturers really just want to hear what they have spouted off to you - on the other hand, some lecturers love brilliant ideas and obscure tangents that show you applying the content, so that can be frustrating if you spend a lot of time on an assignment only to find out it's not what they want. Follow the rubrics!

The other hard part is working out prac and placements (care arrangements, work arrangements).

I also have what I call the 'guilt factor' which is trying to find the emotional place between committment to study and committment to family. Knowing that you deserve the time to study, and that you aren't neglecting your child or family if you need to escape or you just need them to be quiet for an hour while you think! But then I always get the guilts when I am reminded that children are only little once and there is plenty of time when they are in school to study. Sometimes I think I am learnign all of these things about the crucial periods in early childhood, and I hate that while I am reading about it and learning about it and spending time at work and on prac with everyone elses child while my child is going through it and I'm not there with her supporting her through it. But then I like to think that the knowledge I am gaining in EC allows me to give quality over quantity, and will eventually be providing a future for my family and a career for myself. Plus, it's what I want to do, and doing what I love makes me happy (albeit often stressed ) which makes me a happy partner and mummy, which is important too.

[meow]

I have finished the B.Teach and I'm doing the B.Ed now. I don't really find it any different than the diploma. But I had done a degree before so I'm used to doing essays, which we didn't really do during my diploma.

I only do one subject a semester these days though, and I don't work! I just find it pretty untaxing that way and I'm in no rush to finish so I prefer to take it easy.

[DaintreeDream]

Indadhanu, I have been looking at doing my bachelor of education for some time now, the USQ was on the top of my list, can I ask you a couple of questions about in class study and placement? It has been about 18 months since I contacted them however they stated that there was no requirement for on campus classes at all, is this right? I know that most other colleges require a certain amount of compulsory on campus classes. Also, when was your first prac placement? At the end of the first or second year? Were they flexible with where you could complete your placements?

[Indadhanu]

Absolutely no on-campus requirements at all, no residential weeks or weekends, it is purely online and for the most part the lecturers are able to construct a fantastic online learning environment with recorded lectures, online real-time 'WIMBA' tutorials, and if you live more than 50km (I think 50km) from a campus, you arrange all your own placements so that they are conveniant and local to you. I chose USQ for all of those reasons, knowing I would be able to complete the study at home when and how I study best, and complete placements without having to travel or live away from home for the placement.

First placement, in a full-time study load, is usually first year first semester. But if you are doing it part time there is no reason you can't rearrange it to do the placement in second year. You just have to be mindful when you arrange your study timetable of when courses are offered. Some are offered 1st, 2nd and 3rd semester, some in two semesters, and some in only one semester, and if you time it wrong you could end up being like me and taking two years to complete 4 subjects because they are pre-reqs of each other, only offered at certain times, and you have to do them in order and not all in one or two semesters :-S Very frustrating!