Programs of Study

Early Childhood Education
General

Related Information:

Ed General

Ed Transfer

School-Age Ed - General

School-Age Ed - Transfer

Infant/Toddler Care

Department: Health & Public Services Technologies

For additional information regarding this program,
contact Director Sandra Novick
Phone: 704-216-3728 / Email:

Full-Time Faculty Information:
Please refer to the Faculty Directory Listing.

Award(s) Offered:
A55220	-	Associate in Applied Science Degree
D55220	-	Diploma Program
C55220	-	Certificate Programs

Description:

The Early Childhood Education curriculum prepares individuals to work with children from birth through eight 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.

A criminal background check will be required prior to students entering into EDU 184 and EDU 284. A negative report may prevent students from participating in these required courses which means that the student cannot complete the program requirements. Please contact the Director of Early Childhood Education if you have any questions.

Suggested Course Sequence:

The following is a suggested program of study for completing this program in five semesters. Some students' programs of study may be different, depending on their enrollment status (day, evening, full-time, or part-time).

			Title	Class	Lab	Clinical	Work Exp.	Credits
First Year (Fall)
	ACA	115	Success and Study Skills	0	2	0	0	1
	EDU	119	Intro. to Early Childhood Education	4	0	0	0	4
	EDU	144	Child Development I	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	151	Creative Activities	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	153	Health, Safety, & Nutrition	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	271	Educational Technology	2	2	0	0	3
			Total	15	4	0	0	17
First Year (Spring)
	EDU	145	Child Development II	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	146	Child Guidance	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	162	Observation and Assessment in ECE	3	0	0	0	3
	ENG	111	Expository Writing	3	0	0	0	3
	---	---	Humanities/Fine Arts Elective	3	0	0	0	3
			Total	15	0	0	0	15
First Year (Summer)
	PSY	150	General Psychology	3	0	0	0	3
	ENG	112	Argument-Based Research	3	0	0	0	3
			OR
	ENG	113	Literature-Based Research	3	0	0	0	3
			Total	6	0	0	0	6
Second Year (Fall)
	EDU	184	Early Childhood Introductory Practicum	1	3	0	0	2
	EDU	221	Children with Exceptionalities	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	251	Exploration Activities	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	280	Language & Literacy Experiences	3	0	0	0	3
	---	---	Major Elective*	3	0	0	0	3
			Total	13	3	0	0	14
Second Year (Spring)
	COM	231	Public Speaking	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	131	Children, Family, and Community	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	284	Early Childhood Capstone Practicum	1	9	0	0	4
	---	---	Major Elective*	3	2	0	0	3
	---	---	Mathematics/Natural Sciences Elective**	3	0-3	0	0	3-4
			Total	13	9-12	0	0	16-17
Total Semester Hours Credit (SHC) in Program:								68-69

This is a Core Course and cannot be substituted.

*Major Electives:
Select 6 semester hour credits from the following:

		Title	Class	Lab	Clinical	Work Exp.	Credits
EDU	157	Active Play	2	2	0	0	3
EDU	234	Infants, Toddlers, & Twos	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	247	Sensory & Physical Disabilities	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	254	Music and Movement	1	2	0	0	2
EDU	259	Curriculum Planning	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	261	Early Childhood Administration I	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	262	Early Childhood Administration II	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	282	Early Childhood Literature	3	0	0	0	3
SPA	120	Spanish for the Workplace	3	0	0	0	3

**Mathematics/Natural Sciences Electives:
Select 3-4 semester hour credits from the following.

		Title	Class	Lab	Clinical	Work Exp.	Credits
AST	111	Descriptive Astronomy AND	3	0	0	0	3
AST	111A	Descriptive Astronomy - Lab	0	2	0	0	1
		OR
BIO	140	Environmental Biology AND	3	0	0	0	3
BIO	140A	Environmental Biology - Lab	0	3	0	0	1
		OR
PHY	110	Conceptual Physics AND	3	0	0	0	3
PHY	110A	Conceptual Physics - Lab	0	2	0	0	1
		OR
MAT	140	Survey of Mathematics	3	0	0	0	3

*Students may select any of the Humanities/Fine Arts electives with the exception of any of the ENG courses.

The requirement for meeting basic mathematical computation skills must be met for the Natural Sciences/Mathematics elective. This can be accomplished by receiving an acceptable score on the basic math section of the placement test or successfully completing MAT 060.

AST 111A, BIO 140A and PHY 110A are required ONLY for students who plan to transfer the Natural Science course to a four-year college/university.

Early Childhood Associate Diploma Program (D55220)

Courses				Credits Hours
	ACA	115	Success and Study Skills	1
	EDU	119	Intro. to Early Childhood Education	4
	EDU	131	Children, Family & Community	3
	EDU	144	Child Development I	3
	EDU	145	Child Development II	3
	EDU	146	Child Guidance	3
	EDU	151	Creative Activities	3
	EDU	153	Health, Safety & Nutrition	3
	EDU	162	Observation and Assessment	3
	EDU	184	Early Childhood Introductory Practicum	2
	EDU	221	Children with Exceptionalities	3
	EDU	271	Educational Technology	3
	ENG	111	Expository Writing	3
	PSY	150	General Psychology	3
Total Semester Hours Credit:				40

This is a Core Course and cannot be substituted.

Early Childhood Associate Certificate Programs (C55220)

Courses			Credit Hours
Child Care Specialist Certificate (C55220CS)
EDU	119	Introduction to Early Childhood Education	4
EDU	146	Child Guidance	3
EDU	151	Creative Activities	3
Electives		Select 6 hours from the following courses:
EDU	131	Children, Family & Community	3
EDU	144	Child Development I	3
EDU	145	Child Development II	3
EDU	153	Health, Safety & Nutrition	3
EDU	162	Observation and Assessment	3
EDU	271	Educational Technology	3
Total Semester Hours Credit:			16

Early Childhood Administrators Advanced Certificate (55220EA)
Requirements: Students must successfully complete the N.C. Early Childhood Credential (EDU 261 and EDU 262) or present an equivalency letter from the N.C. Division of Child Development.
		AND
EDU	144	Child Development I	3
EDU	145	Child Development II	3
EDU	146	Child Guidance	3
EDU	259	Curriculum Planning	3
Total Semester Hours Credit:			12-18

This program offers various courses via distance education. See our Catalog for a listing of these courses.