Hi
It's great that you are thinking of doing extra study for your job. However, if you really want to do uni study then you have to be really dedicated to it as it does require that you put in a lot of study hours. I've just finished a semester of uni this year, the 0-8 year degree, and it was a lot more work than I expected, which is why I am now going back and completing my diploma first which will give me a years worth of credit towards uni. With this degree, they combined all the early childhood and primary students together and so those 2 specialisations shared a lot of subjects, and as a result, I was learning mostly about lower primary school aged children, and how to provide teaching experiences for primary school aged children. The 2 nd year subjects for my degree have more of a focus on early childhood settings, and is a lot of what you have already done in the diploma. For this degree, a lot of the practical experience you need to do is in primary schools.
However, there was a girl at my previous centre who worked full time as a group leader and she was doing uni full time as well, and she had to work the early shift everyday, and used to have to get up at 4 am every morning to complete assignments before work, and I know she used to stay up late at night as well doing assignments. They also gave her time off to go to lectures every week, but she managed to graduate uni last year which I think was a fantastic effort on her part.
Also, I would mainly only put myself through uni if I was planning on actually working as a kindy teacher. However, you could still do uni just as an assurance to keep yourself employed in the industry in the future, and to set you apart from other staff members. I think the more qualifications the better.
As for which degree to go for, it really depends on what you want to do as your career, but I am a big believer of keeping as many options open as possible. You never know what you may want to do in 5, 10, or even 15 years time down the track. For example, I know that I love working with the young children now, and I want to work as a group leader for awhile, then do kindy teaching, then when I have enough experience under my belt, and when I have more confidence, I definitely want to be a Prep teacher at a primary school.
I would just think about things carefully before you go making any decisions. Choosing which degree you want to do is a big deal. I would personally do the 0-8 year old degree as it gives you more options, so you aren't restricted to working in child care. On the other hand, if you have been working with the younger children for awhile and can't imagine doing anything else in the future then go for the 0-5 year degree. It's really a personal choice, and only you will know what is right for you. Maybe do some research about the different degrees from different unis, maybe an online degree would best suit your needs if working full time?
Good luck deciding what you want to do I hope you find what you are looking for
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