Early Childhood Education A.A.S.
A55220
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.
Coursework 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. Students should consult their advisor for information about course scheduling.
This program is nationally-accredited by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN (NAEYC). The competencies that follow are from the NAEYC standards and are compatible with the general education competencies and learning outcomes of WPCC as the key assessments used by NAEYC for evaluation and continued accreditation of the early childhood education program align with them. Note below the selected general education competencies associated with the selected NAEYC standards.
Upon successful completion of this program, the student should be able to:
- Know and understand young children’s characteristics and needs
- Know and understand the multiple influences on development and learning
- Use developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments
- Know about and understand family and community characteristics (GE I.1)
- Support and empower families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships
- Involve families and communities in their children’s development and learning
- Understand the goals, benefits and uses of assessment
- Know about and use observation, documentation and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches (GE I.1)
- Understand and practice responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child (GE I.1)
- Know about assessment partnerships with families and other professionals
- Understand positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation of their work with children
- Know and understand effective strategies and tools for early education
- Use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning practices
- Reflect on their own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child
- Understand content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines
- Know and use the central concepts, inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or academic disciplines
- Use their own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curricula for each child (GE II.9)
- Identify and involve oneself with the early childhood field
- Know about and uphold ethical standards and other professional guidelines
- Engage in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice (GE II.9)
- Integrate knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives on early education (GE I.1)
- Engage in informed advocacy for children and the profession (GE II.9)
- Demonstrate skill in self-assessment and self-advocacy
- Demonstrate skill in mastering and applying foundational concepts from general education
- Demonstrate written and verbal skills (GE I.1)
- Demonstrate skill in making connections between prior knowledge/experience and new learning
- Demonstrate skill in identifying and using professional resources
**Cited from the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation—Associate Degree Programs (2010)
Program Continuation Policy
Early Childhood Education requires a high level of professionalism and knowledge in dealing with children, families, co-workers, and the community. As a result, students enrolled in this nationally-accredited early childhood program must continuously demonstrate growth in and development of ethical and professional conduct as well as application of knowledge to skills in teaching young children. Students therefore will be required to maintain an average GPA of 2.0 for all coursework throughout the entire program of study. Students receiving two grades of “D” or lower in core or other required major hour courses will be withdrawn from the program. Students may apply for readmission after one year, knowing that they will begin the program under the current program requirements of the year in which they reapply as stated in WPCC's policy regarding consistency in enrollment. No EDU coursework taken elsewhere, while under suspension, may be transferred in from other colleges during the period of suspension. A maximum of two (2) suspensions are allowed throughout a student's Early Childhood program completion.
Furthermore, before participating in practicum experiences, students may be required to submit to a criminal records check, a TB test, and/or attest to physical fitness. These requirements are at the discretion of the cooperating placement site but any student in this program of study should be prepared to agree to this request.
General Education
Required Courses
| ENG 111 | Writing and Inquiry | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ENG 114 | Prof Research & Reporting | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| PSY 150 | General Psychology | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
Humanities/Fine Arts
Select 3 SHC from the following
| ART 111 | Art Appreciation | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 113 | Art Methods and Materials | 3 | |
| ART 114 | Art History Survey I | 3 | FA, SP |
| ART 115 | Art History Survey II | 3 | SP |
| ART 116 | Survey of American Art | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 117 | Non-Western Art History | 3 | |
| ART 121 | Two-Dimensional Design | 3 | FA, SP |
| ART 131 | Drawing I | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 132 | Drawing II | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 171 | Computer Art I | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 240 | Painting I | 3 | FA, SP |
| ART 241 | Painting II | 3 | SP |
| ART 244 | Watercolor | 3 | SU |
| ART 260 | Photography Appreciation | 3 | |
| ART 261 | Photography I | 3 | FA, SP |
| ART 271 | Computer Art II | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 281 | Sculpture I | 3 | SP |
| ART 283 | Ceramics I | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 288 | Studio | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| ART 289 | Museum Study | 3 | SP |
| COM 140 | Introduction to Intercultural Communication | 3 | |
| DRA 111 | Theatre Application | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| DRA 112 | Literature of the Theatre | 3 | FA |
| DRA 120 | Voice for Performance | 3 | SP |
| DRA 122 | Oral Interpretation | 3 | FA, SP |
| DRA 124 | Readers Theatre | 3 | |
| DRA 126 | Storytelling | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| DRA 128 | Children's Theatre | 3 | FA, SP |
| DRA 130 | Acting I | 3 | FA |
| ENG 125 | Creative Writing I | 3 | |
| ENG 231 | American Literature I | 3 | FA, SP |
| ENG 232 | American Literature II | 3 | FA, SP |
| ENG 241 | British Literature I | 3 | FA, SU |
| ENG 242 | British Literature II | 3 | FA, SP |
| ENG 251 | Western World Literature I | 3 | FA |
| ENG 252 | Western World Literature II | 3 | SP |
| ENG 271 | Contemporary Literature | 3 | |
| ENG 272 | Southern Literature | 3 | |
| ENG 273 | African-American Literature | 3 | FA |
| ENG 274 | Literature By Women | 3 | |
| HUM 110 | Technology and Society | 3 | |
| HUM 120 | Cultural Studies | 3 | |
| HUM 130 | Myth in Human Culture | 3 | |
| HUM 160 | Introduction to Film | 3 | FA, SP |
| HUM 230 | Leadership Development | 3 | SP |
| MUS 110 | Music Appreciation | 3 | FA, SP |
| MUS 112 | Introduction to Jazz | 3 | |
| MUS 113 | American Music | 3 | |
| MUS 210 | History of Rock Music | 3 | SP |
| MUS 211 | History of Country Music | 3 | SP |
| PHI 210 | History of Philosophy | 3 | FA, SP |
| PHI 240 | Introduction to Ethics | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| REL 110 | World Religions | 3 | FA, SP |
| REL 211 | Introduction to Old Testament | 3 | FA, SP |
| REL 212 | Introduction to New Testament | 3 | FA, SP |
Natural Science/Mathematics
(Select 3 SHC from the following courses)
| AST 151 | General Astronomy I | 3 | FA |
| AST 151A | General Astronomy I Lab | 1 | FA |
| AST 152 | General Astronomy II | 3 | SP |
| AST 152A | General Astronomy II Lab | 1 | SP |
| BIO 110 | Principles of Biology | 4 | |
| BIO 111 | General Biology I | 4 | FA, SP, SU |
| BIO 140 | Environmental Biology | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| BIO 140A | Environmental Biology Lab | 1 | FA, SP, SU |
| CHM 131 | Introduction to Chemistry | 3 | FA, SP |
| CHM 131A | Introduction to Chemistry Lab | 1 | FA, SP, SU |
| CHM 151 | General Chemistry I | 4 | FA, SP |
| GEL 120 | Physical Geology | 4 | SP, SU |
| MAT 143 | Quantitative Literacy | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| MAT 152 | Statistical Methods I | 4 | FA, SP, SU |
| MAT 171 | Precalculus Algebra | 4 | |
| PHY 151 | College Physics I | 4 | FA |
BIO 110, BIO 111, BIO 140/BIO 140A, CHM 131/CHM 131A, CHM 151, GEL 120, PHY 151: Math competency must be met by satisfactory completion of DMA 010, DMA 020, and DMA 030 or an NC DAP score of 7 or above for DMA 010, DMA 020, DMA 030 or a combination of the two.
Major Courses
Core Required Course
| EDU 119 | Introduction to Early Childhood Education | 4 | FA, SP |
| EDU 131 | Child, Family, and Community | 3 | SP |
| EDU 144 | Child Development I | 3 | FA |
| EDU 145 | Child Development II | 3 | SP |
| EDU 146 | Child Guidance | 3 | FA |
| EDU 151 | Creative Activities | 3 | SP |
| EDU 153 | Health, Safety and Nutrition | 3 | SP |
| EDU 221 | Children With Exceptionalities | 3 | SP |
| EDU 234 | Infants, Toddlers, & Twos | 3 | FA |
| EDU 271 | Educational Technology | 3 | SP |
| EDU 280 | Language and Literacy Experiences | 3 | FA |
| EDU 284 | Early Childhood Capstone Practicum | 4 | FA, SP |
Other Major Required Courses
| CIS 110 | Introduction to Computers | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| EDU 184 | Early Childhood Introductory Practicum | 2 | FA, SP |
| EDU 234A | Infants/Toddlers/Twos Lab | 1 | FA |
| EDU 251 | Exploration Activities | 3 | FA |
| EDU 259 | Curriculum Planning | 3 | FA, SP |
| SOC 210 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
Behavioral Science Elective
(Select 3 SHC from the following courses)
| PSY 241 | Developmental Psychology | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| PSY 281 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 | FA, SP, SU |
| SOC 213 | Sociology of the Family | 3 | FA, SP |
| SOC 220 | Social Problems | 3 | SP |
General Elective
(Select 3-4 SHC from the following courses)
Total Credit Hours: 74