Programs of Study

Early Childhood Associate

Related Information:

Early Childhood Associate

Early Childhood Transfer Program

Early Childhood - Teacher Associate

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 infancy through middle childhood 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 parents 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, and Head Start Programs.

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
	ENG	111	Expository Writing	3	0	0	0	3
			Total	16	2	0	0	17
First Year (Spring)
	EDU	131	Children, Family, & Community	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	145	Child Development II	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	146	Child Guidance	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	271	Educational Technology	2	2	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	14	2	0	0	15
First Year (Summer)
	PSY	150	General Psychology	3	0	0	0	3
	---	---	Major Elective*	1-3	0-2	0	0	3
			Total	4-6	0-2	0	0	6
Second Year (Fall)
	COE	111PS	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (Preschool)	0	0	0	10	1
			OR
	COE	111SA	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (School-Age)	0	0	0	10	1
	EDU	126PS	Early Childhood Seminar I (Preschool)	2	0	0	0	2
			OR
	EDU	126SA	Early Childhood Seminar I (School-Age)	2	0	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
	---	---	Humanities/Fine Arts Elective	3	0	0	0	3
			Total	14	0	0	10	15
Second Year (Spring)
	COE	121PS	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (Preschool)	0	0	0	10	1
			OR
	COE	121SA	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (School-Age)	0	0	0	10	1
	COM	231	Public Speaking	3	0	0	0	3
	EDU	226PS	Early Childhood Seminar II (Preschool)	2	0	0	0	2
			OR
	EDU	226SA	Early Childhood Seminar II (School-Age)	2	0	0	0	2
	EDU	282	Early Childhood Literature	3	0	0	0	3
	---	---	Major Elective*	1-3	0-2	0	0	3
	---	---	Mathematics/Natural Sciences Elective**	3	0-3	0	0	3-4
			Total	12-14	0-5	0	10	15-16
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	234	Infants, Toddlers, & Twos	3	0	0	0	3
EDU	254	Music and Movement for Children	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
SOC	210	Introduction to Sociology	3	0	0	0	3
SOC	213	Sociology of the Family	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	111	General Biology I	3	3	0	0	4
		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

For students who choose a Natural Sciences elective, the requirement for meeting basic mathematical computation skills must be met. This can be accomplished by receiving an acceptable score on the basic math section of the placement test or successfully completing MAT 060.

Early Childhood Associate Diploma Program (D55220)

Courses				Credits Hours
	COE	111PS	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (Preschool)	1
		OR
	COE	111SA	Co-op Work Experience I - EC (School-Age)	1
	EDU	119	Intro. to Early Childhood Education	4
	EDU	126PS	Early Childhood Seminar I - (Preschool)	2
		OR
	EDU	126SA	Early Childhood Seminar I (School-Age)	2
	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	221	Children with Exceptionalities	3
	EDU	271	Educational Technology	3
	ENG	111	Expository Writing	3
	PSY	150	General Psychology	3
Total Semester Hours Credit:				37

This is a Core Course and cannot be substituted.

Early Childhood Associate Certificate Programs (C55220)

Courses			Credit Hours
Child Care Specialist Certificate (C55220CS)
EDU	146	Child Guidance	3
EDU	151	Creative Activities	3
		Additional Early Childhood Course Work	6
Total Semester Hours Credit:			12
Requirements: Students must successfully complete the N.C. Early Childhood Credential (EDU 119 or EDU 111 and EDU 112) or present an equivalency letter from the N.C. Division of Child Development.

Early Childhood Administrators Advanced Certificate (55220EA)
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
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.

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