Early Childhood: Certificate

Program Mission

The mission of the Early Childhood certificate program is to prepare students for immediate employment in early childhood settings as Teacher Assistants or Aides. The Early Childhood Certificate program is made up of a planned sequence of college courses that emphasize the professional practices based on child development theories. Accessibility is offered to a culturally and socio-economically diverse population.

Program Learning Outcomes

Explain the history, philosophy and ethics of early childhood and elementary education.
Describe child development and learning theories relevant to young children and how they relate to children's development and learning.
Apply and evaluate developmentally appropriate practice in accordance with various ages and stages of development.
Demonstrate a proficiency in various formal and informal assessment methods used to document children's development (EX: anecdotals, checklists, running records, time samples, frequency counts, work samples).
Interpret observations and evaluate children's social, physical, literacy, intellectual, creative and emotional development for developmentally appropriate practice.
Identify common developmental delays and four types of child abuse.
Produce a comprehensive child study that demonstrates knowledge of child development with appropriate curriculum recommendations that are documented with actual observation recordings.
Communicate a professional and positive disposition in all coursework related experiences.
Recognize the ecological relationships that exist between family, community and curriculum as they relate to children's development and learning.
Evaluate and implement best practices when teaching young children.
Communicate effectively.
Collaborate constructively with peers.

Students completing the first year of the Early Childhood program are eligible for a certificate. A full listing of requirements is found in the catalog listing for Early Childhood, A.A.S. program

Program Notes

Students wishing to obtain an Early Childhood certificate as part of their Early Childhood Associate in Science program should matriculate into a dual degree for ECCT / EC and file an Intent to Graduate with the Registrar's Office for the semester in which they plan to complete the first year requirements.