The Early Childhood Education Certificate program is designed to provide students with entry-level skills to work with children from birth to five years old in diverse learning environments Students will combine learned theories with practice in actual settings with young children under the supervision of qualified teachers.
Course work includes child growth and development; physical/nutritional needs of children; care and guidance of children; and communication skills with families and children. Students will foster the cognitive/language, physical/motor, social/emotional, and creative development of young children.
Graduates are prepared to plan and implement developmentally appropriate programs in early childhood settings. Employment opportunities include child development and child care programs, preschools, public and private schools, recreational centers, Head Start Programs, and school-age programs.
Early Childhood Education is a program that prepares individuals to promote child development and learning, work with diverse families and children, observe, document and assess to support young children and families, use content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum, and use developmentally effective approaches in collaboration with other early childhood professionals. Potential course work includes instruction in all areas of child development such as emotional/social/health/physical/language/communication, approaches to play and learning, working with diverse families, and related observations/student teaching experiences.
P1: Learning Environment
Students will be able to plan a safe, healthy learning environment in diverse educational programs.
P2: Developmental Assessment
Students will be able to appropriately observe, document, and assess the development of cognitive/language skills, physical/motor skills, social/emotional skills& creativity for children ages 3-5.
P3: Curriculum Design
Students will be able to design a developmentally-appropriate curriculum that supports individual differences.