Certificate in Early Childhood Education

The Certificate program in Early Childhood Education program provides students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to work in preschools, kindergartens, elementary schools, community early childhood education programs, family child care settings, and national Head Start programs. The program satisfies all of the formal training and competency requirements for child care professionals to pursue the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential from the Council for Professional Recognition. The certificate can also be used as a stepping-stone to an Associate and/or Baccalaureate degree.

In the program students will gain real world experience through structured Internship courses. These internships are designed to allow students to be an active part in the selection process of where these experiences will be performed. In most cases students will perform internship work at a school or education center in their own city. A professional resource file, parent opinion questionnaires, a CDA Assessment Observation Instrument and a Supplemental Observation Form (Infant/Toddler Students only) are all components of the program that students may use to satisfy the preparation requirements for the CDA credentialing process.   The goals of the certificate program are tightly aligned with the CDA content areas and include: 1. Planning a safe, healthy, learning environment 2. Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development; 3. Positive ways to support children's social and emotional development; 4. Strategies to establish productive relationships with families; 5. Strategies to manage an effective program operation; 6. Maintaining a commitment to professionalism; 7. Observing and recording children's behavior; and 8. Principles of child development and learning. Anticipated Student learning Outcomes The student who completes the coursework in Early Childhood Education will be able to: Establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment. Advance physical and intellectual competence. Support social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance. Establish positive and productive relationships with families. Ensure a well-run, purposeful program responsive to participant needs. Maintain a commitment to professionalism. NOTE: Fingerprinting and a criminal background check are required for any job working with children. Additional information about the CDA credential and the requirements of qualification can be found at the Council for Professional Recognition website: http://www.cdacouncil.org. Program Admission Requirements: Official college/high school transcripts. Application to the Certificate Program requires submission of an official high school transcript stating completion of secondary school or its equivalent. International students must submit a foreign degree evaluation. TOEFL score of 550 if native language is not English. ECE Certificate Completion Requirements: 24 total semester-credits consisting of 12 credits of early childhood education courses and 12 credits of Internship. All courses are equal to 3 semester credits with the exception of ECE290-Internship I, and ECE295-Internship II which are 6 semester credits each.

Course Descriptions:

ECE104 Safe and Healthful Learning Environment
This course will introduce the importance of maintaining indoor and outdoor environments that prevent and reduce injuries and stress the necessity of planning for and responding to emergencies. This course also addresses promoting wellness, using daily routines to introduce good health and nutrition practices and to recognize and report the signs of child abuse and neglect. Other topics will include creating indoor and outdoor spaces that support relationships and encourage exploration and discovery. Selecting developmentally appropriate materials and arranging equipment will motivate and engage children as active learners. Comprehending the guidelines for selecting materials which will correspond to families, cultures, languages, needs, skills, abilities, and interests of children will help meet program goals. Daily routines will be planned to create flexible schedules to meet each child's needs which will guide them to becoming independent.
Prerequisites: None

ECE105 Family, School and Community
This course offers the opportunity to learn about each child as an individual. It will demonstrate how working as a team will ensure a well-run purposeful program that meets the needs of each child and how to evaluate and manage the program at school. This course will also demonstrate how to develop a care giving partnership with each family and offers a variety of ways for families to be involved in the program. Methods of providing support to families will be discussed.
Prerequisites: None

ECE204 Professionalism and Growth in the Early Childhood Field
This course provides guidance for early childhood education student who wants to develop professionally in the field of early childhood education. It provides guidelines for meeting high quality professional standards, improving performance, gaining new knowledge and skills and behaving ethically at work.
Prerequisites: None

ECE206 Skills for Early Childhood Teachers
This course prepares students to work with children in early childhood settings. The materials are based primarily on self-concept, social, guidance, physical, cognitive, communication and creative skills. This course provides ways to help children learn about themselves, provide experiences to be successful, build supportive relationships with children, develop social skills, and learn how to appreciate others. It will also examine indoor and outdoor environments that invite children to move and explore offering opportunities to use their muscles and gain new physical skills. Other content will include understanding their world, building thinking skills, language development, literacy-rich environments, expression through music and movement, and nurturing creativity through art experiences.
Prerequisites: None

ECE290 Internship I (270 Hours)
This internship experience will allow students to apply their learned knowledge into their academic career and will allow them to show their continued commitment to working as an educator in the best interest of children and families. The sixteen week course will immerse the students into the work of teaching and learning. The students will be fully engaged in this opportunity with hands on experience. The students will also be responsible for the social and academic growth of the children with the guidance and supervision of their Advisor/ Preceptor. This course is not a unidirectional relationship but rather a dynamic relationship of reciprocity where you will find yourself situated as a learner being taught by young children, family members, teachers, administrators, and even your own critical reflections. This internship experience will offer an infinite number of growth opportunities as a researcher in the community, school, and classroom. The students will enter this internship experience with eyes, ears, and minds attuned to studying the different contexts in which they find themselves and will connect their "research" to their planning and pedagogy in the classroom.
Prerequisites: None

ECE295 Internship II (270 Hours)
This second internship experience will allow students to apply their learned knowledge into their academic career and will allow them to show their continued commitment to working as an educator in the best interest of children and families. This sixteen week course will immerse the students into the work of teaching and learning with additional hands on experience in the classroom setting. The students will also be responsible for the continued social and academic growth of the children with the guidance and supervision of their Advisor/ Preceptor . This second internship experience will offer an infinite number of growth opportunities as a researcher in the community, school, and classroom. The students will enter this second internship as a professional with experience keeping their eyes, ears, and minds attuned to studying the different contexts in which they find themselves and will connect their "research" to their planning and pedagogy in the classroom.
Prerequisites: ECE104, ECE105