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Great early childhood education depends on great leadership. Grow your skills and career with this work-based ECE leadership programme for current and aspiring leaders.
Through the Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership (ECE), you will gain tools and skills you can put into use from day one with a strong emphasis on work-based leadership practice.
This Level 8 postgraduate diploma in early childhood leadership is for professionals who aspire to grow as leaders or lift their current leadership skills to make more difference.
You will connect with other students, engage with current research, read widely and reflect to become more insightful and effective as a leader. You will develop and expand your skills and thinking around leadership in ECE – from motivating and transforming teams to leading pedagogical change, positive organisations and sustainable social and educational change for children and families.
When you graduate with the Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership (ECE) you may progress to our Level 9 Master’s degree, with the four courses contributing to the first part of the degree.
Students who complete the Leading Pedagogical Change and Leading Teams courses may graduate with a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership (ECE) – Tiwhikete Paerua i te Ārahitanga (ECE).

ECE Leadership Programme delivery
Te ara tuku
This is a 120-credit qualification comprising four 30-credit courses. It is equivalent to 1 full-time academic year but can be completed part-time within 2 years. Full-time students need to set aside 30–34 hours per week, which is why most students choose to study part-time.
Three of the four courses are compulsory core courses, with the other being an elective course. The programme is fully online, including an online block course at the beginning of each semester. There is one 1.5-day block course per course.
A 1-day online orientation course for new students precedes the online block course.