Pallavi with her son Prithvir
Name: Pallavi Rawat
NZTC Qualification: Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Early Childhood Education)
The mother of one credits her Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Early Childhood Education) for leading her to her current role at Bambinos Early Childhood Centre in Auckland.
“This job enables me to work full-time in a career I enjoy without sacrificing any time with my son,” Pallavi said. “I can witness his growth and development firsthand while also developing my administrative skills and supporting my family financially.”
Growing up watching her mother run an early childhood centre in India, Pallavi always knew she wanted to work in education but initially chose to explore her creative passions through a degree in fine arts.
Working as a freelance designer, she found herself constantly drawn to jobs in early childhood such as designing the interiors of centres and creating their advertising material.
One project she felt particularly passionate about was three books she created for young children.
“My books allowed me to express my belief in play-based, child-led learning, something I personally struggled with growing up in the strictly teacher-led education environment in India,” she said.
“I filled them with cartoons and fun, light-hearted stories because I wanted to lighten the experiences of children going through the Indian education system.”
Seeing the impact her books made on children inspired Pallavi to extend her knowledge with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (ECE) at NZTC.
While studying at NZTC she learnt more about play-based learning models and it is this knowledge that now empowers her in her work at Bambinos.
“I’ve seen great results from encouraging the children to play and giving them the freedom to explore and lead their own learning path.”
Pallavi said NZTC’s combination of practical and theoretical study was also a huge help in preparing her for a job in centre administration.
“To work in this role you need a wide range of knowledge of both the management and the day-to-day running of the centre,” Pallavi said.
“NZTC’s flexible learning modes gave me the freedom to explore and understand New Zealand’s early childhood education system. The time I spent at my centre enabled me to ask questions and learn about how the processes worked so I felt fully prepared entering the workforce.”