Associate Degree in Education Support

Graduates will be highly sought in education careers other than teaching in a classroom setting as Integration Aides, Teacher Aides, and School Support Officers.

Graduates will also be highly sought after in the community sector and industry training sector, and will be suited to communication-based jobs, public relations and other sectors that value graduates with well-developed problem-solving, communication and critical thinking skills. This course articulates to the professional accredited Bachelor of Education (Primary).

Higher education via OUA

 Successful completion of any 4 non-UTAS OUA open access units of study at the equivalent AQF level, unless otherwise specified. 

Higher education

• Successful completion of 2 undergraduate units (2 x 12.5cp minimum) at Associate Degree level or higher
• Completed DUS (Diploma of University Studies) any pathway or equivalent 
• Completed UPP (University Preparation Program) or equivalent.

Secondary education

Domestic Applicants who have completed secondary education - Completed the TCE (or equivalent)

VET studies

Domestic Applicants with VET / TAFE study - A completed VET Certificate III or higher

Work and Life

Domestic Applicants with work and life experience- If you have not successfully completed senior secondary, tertiary or TAFE/VET study, but have extensive or sustained work experience. 

The University of Tasmania grants credit and recognition of prior learning that may include formal and/or informal prior learning. More information is available here.

This course values the critical role that Education Support workers play in enabling learners to overcome their barriers to learning success. As a distinctive profession in its own right, Education Support is critical to the provision of educational access and equity, particularly for children and adults who may have distinct learning difficulties, lack confidence or motivation in learning, or who might otherwise be disengaged or marginalised from conventional educational systems or practices.

The course is informed by core theoretical knowledge and evidence-based practice in learning support. It is underpinned by a strong research-practice nexus and is guided by our Faculty’s commitment to social justice as a core value for the work that educators and education support workers do.

By experiencing a curriculum that values access and equity, and embeds inclusive education practices as well as attention to social and emotional learning, our students come to recognise that positive relationships with self, others, cultures and place are critical to learning success. The course integrates a foundational understanding that a learner’s past experiences and present circumstances contribute to their capacity for learning and our aim is to foster education support workers with specific capacities to work with complex communities characterised by geographical isolation, social inequality, and a high incidence of trauma.

By working with partners to provide work-integrated learning opportunities, we guide and mentor our students to embark on personally and professionally fulfilling learning pathways of their own as they develop:

• An empathic, critically reflective and global perspective;

• A collaborative and contextual approach;

• The capacity to work effectively in highly diverse contexts;

• The capacity to be creative and resilient practitioners, and lifelong learners themselves.

We engage with students at all stages of their journey toward becoming confident education support workers capable of making a real difference to people’s lives.

Recommended Study Pattern

For students undertaking full-time study the following study pattern is recommended:

Year 1. 8 subjects in first year including: 

• 8 core subjects 
  • TAS-EDU102 Foundations of Teaching
  • TAS-EDU104 Growth and Motor Development Across the Lifespan
  • TAS-EDU106 Academic Literacies
  • TAS-EES160 Foundations of Literacy Support
  • TAS-EES161 The Role of Education Support
  • TAS-EES162 Foundations of Numeracy Support 
  • TAS-EES163 Education Support in Practice
  • TAS-EPR130 Arts Education: Music & Visual Arts

Year 2. 8 subjects in second year including: 

• 6 core subjects 
  • TAS-EDU202 Planning for Positive Behaviour
  • TAS-EPR210 Developing Understandings of English
  • TAS-EPR303 Inclusive Practices in Education Settings
  • TAS-EPR322 Inclusive Mathematics
  • TAS-ESP170 Health Pedagogy 1
  • TAS-ESP326 Social and Emotional Learning
• 2 UTAS electives 

Award Requirements

 Students will be permitted to exit the course and graduate with the 41A: Diploma of Education Support on completion of 100 credit points