Dr Lavinia Tiko is the coordinator for the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education and Care). Prior to this, she was the Lecturer in Education psychology and pedagogies at the then Lautoka Teachers College (now FNU). She also served as a Senior Education Officer (ECE) at the Ministry of Education. Dr Tiko has vast experiences in teaching in primary early years and her interest lies in infant teaching which is her area of specialty in most of her qualifications. Dr Lavinia has a certificate in ECE and Special Education at the then FCAE (now FNU). She graduated from Waikato University with the Bachelor of Education (Professional Studies in ECE) and a Graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership in 2000. She also studied at the University of London’s Institute of Education in 2004-2005 where she attained her Master of Arts (Early Years). She furthered her studies at the University of New England, NSW, Australia in 2012-2015 where she gained her Doctor of Philosophy that focused on child psychology. Dr Lavinia Tiko has published articles that are related to areas such as, indigenous education and culture, holistic ECE policy development, transition to schools and teacher education practice. Further, her research interests are in areas such as, curriculum and assessment, literacy and numeracy in the early years, education psychology in terms of theories and pedagogies of learning and teaching in schools, transition to formal educational settings, teaching and learning best practices, economics of early childhood education, sustainability practices in early childhood education and care and leadership and management in ECEC settings.

Early Years learning and development, Curriculum Studies & Program Planning in ECEC, Leadership and Management in ECEC, Literacy & Numeracy in the early years, Sustainability in ECEC, Teaching pedagogies & good classroom practices, Special and Inclusive Educatio, Indigenous Education