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All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY |
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: |
Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education |
SAQA QUAL ID | QUALIFICATION TITLE | |||
120139 | Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education | |||
ORIGINATOR | ||||
Cape Peninsula University of Technology | ||||
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY | NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK | |||
CHE - Council on Higher Education | HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework | |||
QUALIFICATION TYPE | FIELD | SUBFIELD | ||
Diploma (Min 360) | Field 05 - Education, Training and Development | Early Childhood Development | ||
ABET BAND | MINIMUM CREDITS | PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL | NQF LEVEL | QUAL CLASS |
Undefined | 360 | Not Applicable | NQF Level 06 | Regular-Provider-ELOAC |
REGISTRATION STATUS | SAQA DECISION NUMBER | REGISTRATION START DATE | REGISTRATION END DATE | |
Registered | EXCO 01213/23 | 2023-02-02 | 2026-02-02 | |
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT | LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT | |||
2027-02-02 | 2032-02-02 |
In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise. |
This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. |
PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION |
Purpose:
The purpose of the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education is to prepare teachers who can work with young children from birth to four from the perspective of being a thinking teacher within a pedagogy that is participatory and transformative. Early childhood education should not be offered in schools and therefore, teachers must be prepared to teach through a pedagogy that is play-based and participatory. The early childhood education space is a democratic space in which future teachers should be able to work in co-constructive ways both with children, their parents, caregivers, and communities. The qualification will therefore equip teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills required for a socially transforming early childhood environment. The qualification also focuses on preparing teachers for the contextual realities of early childhood contexts to be responsive to the needs of children and their families and or communities. The qualification will empower teachers with the disciplinary, pedagogical, practical, situational, and fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for facilitating teaching young children in the birth to four age group. The qualification is intended for unqualified and underqualified caregivers who are teaching or assisting in the ECCE contexts. By enrolling for the qualification, they can gain an entry-level qualification that will afford them recognition as professional ECCE teachers. The qualification will also attract school leavers who want to enter the field of ECCE to take their studies to a higher level but did not qualify for bachelor's degree studies. On completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be able to demonstrate the minimum set of competencies required of professionally qualified ECCE teachers amongst others such as: Rationale: In South Africa, Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a vehicle to effect social change and to contribute to human development in a democracy (Department of Education, 2001). There is a need for well-designed qualifications to open opportunities for nurturing optimal development and learning for young children, define in this context as birth to four years (babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers). The South African early childhood workforce must be adequately prepared to care for and to educate young children in all their diversity. The Human Resource Development Strategy tabled in the National Integrated ECD Policy (Department of Social Development & UNICEF, 2015) recognises the need to be responsive to the realities that young children encounter in their daily lives. The first five years of children's lives are pivotal to their development. The basic cognitive and socio-emotional skills that children develop during this time are highly contributory to their future achievements in school, as future adults and for their overall well-being. Children, therefore, need positive, enriching, and meaningful interactions with qualified teachers who can help them reach their full potential. It is for this reason that early childhood education especially from birth plays such a vital role in laying the foundation of a child's educational journey. Research also shows that high-quality early childhood education programmes can assist children who come from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds to build a strong foundation to journey through life's challenges However, the challenge of a poorly qualified workforce and a fragmentary teacher education system for the early years continues to undermine quality provision to influence child outcomes. Morrow (2007:28) in his response to the challenges in South African education maintains that the remedy is going to have to be professional. Several South African government initiatives indicate awareness of the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and the need for training ECD educators. The National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (NIECD) stresses the importance of the availability of quality ECD qualifications. Quality ECD impacts positively on human and social development and thus on national productivity. For this, a qualified workforce is essential. The implication of this is that training possibilities need to be provided. The institution will provide quality training qualifications to serve the interest of caregivers as well as society. ECD services in South Africa are run through the private and the non-profit sectors, through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), individual crèches and preschool centres, and other stakeholders that may involve parents and caregivers. They also include home-based ECD programmes with home visits from trained Family Community Motivators (FCMs) and informal playgroups provided by NGOs, particularly in rural areas. In line with quality educational qualifications for ECCE educators, the European Union (EU) allocated funding to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to develop qualifications that will enhance teacher education and training in the field of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Although government funding for ECD has increased, there are large estimates of non-enrolment in preschool or other ECD centres such as crèches and early learning centres that have been as high as 70%. Ngcobo (2013) has indicated a lack of reliable data on the number of children enrolled on the state of infrastructure and levels of staff qualifications. There is a strong need for integrated, quality ECD services, particularly for the poorest families. The institution strives towards social transformation and through the success of this qualification, the burning issues of poverty, the creation of knowledge and the building of a successful nation can be alleviated. To ensure widened access, this qualification will provide access to teachers who work both in underserviced and serviced early learning centres and crèches. The Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to Qualifications in Higher Education for Early Childhood Development Educators (MRQECDE) has been developed as part of the policy environment in South Africa. It takes cognisance of the fact that the provision of quality ECD services relies on the availability of a committed cadre of appropriately qualified and passionate employees in the sector. The Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education will be offered in the contact mode of delivery, as a four-year part-time qualification. This further contributes to the promotion of widened access, as it is pre-empted that the majority of qualifying learners will be in-service teachers, who would not have had the opportunity to enter the full-time study, with an alternative option to be able to pursue higher education studies. Qualifying learners will develop knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions through student-centred learning opportunities. |
LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING |
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
The institution has an approved Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy applicable to equivalent qualifications for admission into the qualification. RPL will be applied to accommodate applicants who qualify. RPL thus provides alternative access and admission to qualifications, as well as advancement within qualifications. RPL for access: RPL for exemption of modules: RPL for credit: Entry Requirements: The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is: Or Or Or Or Or Or Or |
RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? |
Y |
QUALIFICATION RULES |
This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 6 totalling 368 Credits.
Compulsory Modules, Level 5, 128 Credits: Compulsory Modules, Level 6, 252 Credits: |
EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES |
1. Demonstrate the ability to plan, implement, evaluate, and reflect on meaningful learning experiences for young children.
2. Demonstrate the ability to promote and nurture a commitment to democratic values and ethical practices with and for young children. 3. Empower learners to construct ECCE knowledge using a variety of knowledge mixes including personal and indigenous knowledge systems. 4. Develop critically reflective dispositions to meet the needs of young children in developmentally, linguistically, culturally, and socially just ways. 5. Build learners' competence in using transformative pedagogies to foster responsiveness to young children in diverse contexts. 6. Demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge and skills to create learning environments as well as design. 7. Develop professional competence in ICT, multilingualism, and academic literacies. 8. Promote Ubuntu principles to guide practice with families and communities supporting young children. |
ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA |
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8: INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT Integrated assessment cuts across several subjects/modules of a programme and is aimed at the holistic development of learners and contributes to learners' personal and professional development in the field of study in terms of foundational, practical, and reflexive competence. Formative assessment as applied in the qualification: Continuous assessment for fundamental learning modules, providing for expanded opportunities. Formative assessment will be carried out through peer assessment, oral presentations, poster presentations and external examination in the final year. All assessment opportunities such as tests and online quizzes are suitable for formative assessment. Summative assessment: Summative assessment is an assessment for making a judgement about achievement. This is carried out when a learner is ready to be assessed at the end of a qualification of learning. Portfolio files with learning resources per ECD area will be required. Integration of modules, playful learning ideas and indigenous knowledge activities should form part of the summative portfolio. Work-integrated learning (WIL) assessment: The qualification includes a comprehensive teaching practice component. Learners enrol for three Professional Practice modules, one module per year of full-time study. The credits assigned to these modules are attained via teaching practice sessions (work-integrated learning). Learners spend six weeks per academic year at schools and/or ECD centres. Teaching practice requires learners to integrate knowledge and competencies from various modules, and apply what they have learned during the course, in an actual classroom. The professional mindset, role and responsibility of the learner will be assessed through reflective journals and reflections after each activity in their portfolios. Learners need to begin engaging as critically reflective educators and as advocates for children's rights. Reflections after each lesson plan during WIL will be required. Learners would design, imagine, improve, create, plan invent, devise, design, formulate, reconstruct, generate, modify, review, combine, integrate, compose, formulate, reorganise, and substitute, plans and ideas for optimal child development regarding specialized modules. Learners' teaching of activities will be assessed by mentor teachers who are based at the school, and they will also be evaluated (moderated) by both lecturing staff and other evaluators who have the appropriate qualifications and experience in Early Childhood Care and Education. Work-based assignments and portfolios of evidence of learning and experience are assessed. |
INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY |
Internationally, the demand to increase quality provision in early childhood development is leading to a growing emphasis on teacher education. Additionally, there is general agreement amongst researchers, policymakers and early childhood practitioners that the "quality of early childhood services and ultimately the outcomes for children and their families depend on a well-educated, experienced and competent staff" (Urban, 2012: 7).
A desktop comparison study was undertaken from the Child Development Associate qualifications in the United States, the Early Years Statutory Framework in the United Kingdom, and the Early Years Learning Framework from Australia. The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is based on a core set of competency standards, which guide early care professionals as they work toward becoming qualified teachers of young children. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework supports an integrated approach to early learning and care. It gives all professionals a set of common principles and commitments to deliver quality early education and childcare experiences to all children. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) describes the principles, practices and outcomes that support and enhance young children's learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school. There has been a move to standardise all knowledge and practice standards for teachers from early childhood to basic education in economically developed countries. However, the professional competencies and guidelines are less forthcoming in low and middle-income countries, but this is changing (UNESCO 2015). One of the reasons for the slow uptake is that there is not enough evidence on the level, content and organisation of teacher training and professional development to pass judgement on what is most effective for improving quality. Additionally, many changes are attempted at the same time, and it is difficult to ascertain which aspects make a difference to quality ECCE. Moreover, in South Africa, the increasing diversity means that ECCE is a complex field of intervention. Young children in early childhood settings come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. They differ in their abilities and experiences. The South African ECCE workforce must therefore be adequately prepared to care for and to educate young children in all their diversity. The South African (SA) qualification compares favourably with international qualifications since it seeks to address standardised knowledge and practice standards for teachers in the field of Early Childhood Development. All the qualifications address areas of child learning and development, responsiveness to children, enabling learning environments, a sound understanding of holistic development and the commitment to professionalism. The SA qualification contributes towards the professionalisation of birth to four years while not detracting from favourable comparability, since this qualification is geared towards the teaching requirements of the South African system. The SA qualification goes beyond international comparability as we take into consideration the unique context of South Africa to prepare critically reflective teachers who are responsive to the diverse ECCE contextual reality in SA. Country: Malaysia Institution: Open University Malaysia Qualification Title: Diploma in Early Childhood Education Credits 186 credits Duration: 3 years (full-time), 5 years (part-time) Entry Requirements: Or Or Or Or Or Or Purpose/Rationale: Children Learning and Development have been the focus of Early Childhood Education (ECE). ECE provides basic education and prepares children for primary school education. The ECE qualification will contribute to the all-rounded development of ECE teachers by updating their knowledge, skills, and attitude as ECE professionals. The qualification is tailor-designed for Early Childhood principals, administrators, teachers, caretakers, childminders, and those involved with young learners to ensure that they have the necessary and enriched knowledge about child development and assessment, curriculum content, children arts and music, learning and pedagogy, health and safety, and ECE-centre. Upon completion of the qualification, graduates will be able to: Qualification structure: General modules: Specialist Modules: Similarities: Differences: The UOM qualification consists of 186 credits whereas the SA qualification is weighted at 360 credits. Country: New Zealand Institution: New Zealand Tertiary College Qualification Title: Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care NQF Level: NZQF Level 6 Year of study: One-year full time Credits 120 Entry Requirements: Outcome/purpose The qualification equips learners with an in-depth pedagogical knowledge of the major early childhood curriculum areas: language, literacy, the creative arts, mathematics, science, and technology; family and community; and foundations for leadership in an early childhood context. Assessment: The qualification is internally assessed and includes theory-based assessments and practical components. There are no exams. Articulation: Upon completion of the New Zealand Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 6) learners may be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Education (ECE) or Bachelor of Teaching (ECE). Graduation with a Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) results in eligibility to apply for New Zealand teacher registration. Entry criteria and field practice requirements apply. Similarities: Differences: Country: Australia Institution: The Australian Early Childhood College (AECC) Qualification Title: Diploma of Early Childhood Care and Education Duration: 18 -24 months Entry Requirements: The qualification requires that learners have regular access to the work environment. Therefore, learners must be employed or work as a volunteer, in a regulated children's service. Purpose: This qualification reflects the role of educators in early childhood education and care who work in regulated children's education and care services in Australia. Educators at this level are responsible for designing and implementing a curriculum that meets the requirements of an approved learning framework and for maintaining compliance in other areas of service operations. They use specialised knowledge and analyse and apply theoretical concepts to diverse work situations. They may have responsibility for the supervision of volunteers or other educators. Qualification structure: The qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules. Compulsory Modules: Elective Modules. Similarities: Differences: The AECC qualification takes 18 -24 months of full-time study whereas the SA qualification takes three years of full-time study. |
ARTICULATION OPTIONS |
This qualification allows possibilities for both vertical and horizontal articulation.
Horizontal Articulation: Vertical Articulation: |
MODERATION OPTIONS |
N/A |
CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS |
N/A |
NOTES |
N/A |
LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: |
NONE |
PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: |
This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here. |
1. | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |