A need for formal early childhood teacher training

New Zealand Tertiary College was founded in Auckland in 1982 by Glennie Oborn, who had established Kindercare Learning Centres throughout New Zealand. At the time, Kindercare provided in-house training for its teachers, but Glennie wanted to develop a training program which would result in formal qualifications.

The College was originally named Kindercare Early Childhood Teachers College. Due to demand for its early childhood qualifications from teachers outside of Kindercare, in 1997 it was renamed the more generic 'New Zealand Tertiary College'.

Gaining accreditation and teacher registration

NZTC has been instrumental in achieving New Zealand government accreditation for qualifications in early childhood education.  It has also played a significant part in gaining professional status for early childhood teachers in New Zealand.

Online learning option for distance learning

In 1998, NZTC gained approval to offer a distance learning mode of course delivery as a more flexible option for students working full-time or living in remote areas. In 2003, Selena Fox took over leadership of the College, and expanded the distance learning mode to include online learning.

Following years of research, Selena and long-time colleague and friend Dr Chip Donohue (from the University of Wisconsin-Madison) developed ecelearn, an innovative online teaching and learning environment designed especially for the early childhood profession. In 2009, NZTC started offering its courses via its customised version of ecelearn called NZTC Online.

Next steps: India and Singapore

In 2009, NZTC started offering its Education qualifications to students based in India.  All programs are delivered via NZTC Online.

In 2010, we have been working with local education agents and preparing to deliver our Education qualifications to Singapore based students.