2014-2015 Catalog

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

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
ENG 111Writing and Inquiry

3

FA, SP, SU
ENG 114Prof Research & Reporting

3

FA, SP, SU
PSY 150General Psychology

3

FA, SP, SU

Humanities/Fine Arts

Select 3 SHC from the following

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
ART 111Art Appreciation

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 113Art Methods and Materials

3

ART 114Art History Survey I

3

FA, SP
ART 115Art History Survey II

3

SP
ART 116Survey of American Art

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 117Non-Western Art History

3

ART 121Two-Dimensional Design

3

FA, SP
ART 131Drawing I

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 132Drawing II

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 171Computer Art I

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 240Painting I

3

FA, SP
ART 241Painting II

3

SP
ART 244Watercolor

3

SU
ART 260Photography Appreciation

3

ART 261Photography I

3

FA, SP
ART 271Computer Art II

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 281Sculpture I

3

SP
ART 283Ceramics I

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 288Studio

3

FA, SP, SU
ART 289Museum Study

3

SP
COM 140Introduction to Intercultural Communication

3

DRA 111Theatre Application

3

FA, SP, SU
DRA 112Literature of the Theatre

3

FA
DRA 120Voice for Performance

3

SP
DRA 122Oral Interpretation

3

FA, SP
DRA 124Readers Theatre

3

DRA 126Storytelling

3

FA, SP, SU
DRA 128Children's Theatre

3

FA, SP
DRA 130Acting I

3

FA
ENG 125Creative Writing I

3

ENG 231American Literature I

3

FA, SP
ENG 232American Literature II

3

FA, SP
ENG 241British Literature I

3

FA, SU
ENG 242British Literature II

3

FA, SP
ENG 251Western World Literature I

3

FA
ENG 252Western World Literature II

3

SP
ENG 271Contemporary Literature

3

ENG 272Southern Literature

3

ENG 273African-American Literature

3

FA
ENG 274Literature By Women

3

HUM 110Technology and Society

3

HUM 120Cultural Studies

3

HUM 130Myth in Human Culture

3

HUM 160Introduction to Film

3

FA, SP
HUM 230Leadership Development

3

SP
MUS 110Music Appreciation

3

FA, SP
MUS 112Introduction to Jazz

3

MUS 113American Music

3

MUS 210History of Rock Music

3

SP
MUS 211History of Country Music

3

SP
PHI 210History of Philosophy

3

FA, SP
PHI 240Introduction to Ethics

3

FA, SP, SU
REL 110World Religions

3

FA, SP
REL 211Introduction to Old Testament

3

FA, SP
REL 212Introduction to New Testament

3

FA, SP
11-14-14 Addendum: Students who take the following course(s) may petition to use the course(s) to fulfill the Humanities/Fine Arts requirement: ASL 211, ASL 212, ASL 281, SPA 211, SPA 212, SPA 281, and/or SPA 282.

Natural Science/Mathematics

(Select 3 SHC from the following courses)

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
AST 151General Astronomy I

3

FA
AST 151AGeneral Astronomy I Lab

1

FA
AST 152General Astronomy II

3

SP
AST 152AGeneral Astronomy II Lab

1

SP
BIO 110Principles of Biology

4

BIO 111General Biology I

4

FA, SP, SU
BIO 140Environmental Biology

3

FA, SP, SU
BIO 140AEnvironmental Biology Lab

1

FA, SP, SU
CHM 131Introduction to Chemistry

3

FA, SP
CHM 131AIntroduction to Chemistry Lab

1

FA, SP, SU
CHM 151General Chemistry I

4

FA, SP
GEL 120Physical Geology

4

SP, SU
MAT 143Quantitative Literacy

3

FA, SP, SU
MAT 152Statistical Methods I

4

FA, SP, SU
MAT 171Precalculus Algebra

4

PHY 151College 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

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
EDU 119Introduction to Early Childhood Education

4

FA, SP
EDU 131Child, Family, and Community

3

SP
EDU 144Child Development I

3

FA
EDU 145Child Development II

3

SP
EDU 146Child Guidance

3

FA
EDU 151Creative Activities

3

SP
EDU 153Health, Safety and Nutrition

3

SP
EDU 221Children With Exceptionalities

3

SP
EDU 234Infants, Toddlers, & Twos

3

FA
EDU 271Educational Technology

3

SP
EDU 280Language and Literacy Experiences

3

FA
EDU 284Early Childhood Capstone Practicum

4

FA, SP

Other Major Required Courses

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
CIS 110Introduction to Computers

3

FA, SP, SU
EDU 184Early Childhood Introductory Practicum

2

FA, SP
EDU 234AInfants/Toddlers/Twos Lab

1

FA
EDU 251Exploration Activities

3

FA
EDU 259Curriculum Planning

3

FA, SP
SOC 210Introduction to Sociology

3

FA, SP, SU

Behavioral Science Elective

(Select 3 SHC from the following courses)

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
PSY 241Developmental Psychology

3

FA, SP, SU
PSY 281Abnormal Psychology

3

FA, SP, SU
SOC 213Sociology of the Family

3

FA, SP
SOC 220Social Problems

3

SP

General Elective

(Select 3-4 SHC from the following courses)

CourseTitleCreditsOffered
ASL 111Elementary ASL I

3

FA, SP
ASL 181ASL Lab 1

1

FA, SP
BUS 230Small Business Management

3

FA, SP
EDU 235School-Age Dev & Program

3

SP
EDU 261Early Childhood Administration I

3

SP
EDU 262Early Childhood Admin II

2

SP
SPA 111Elementary Spanish I

3

FA, SP, SU
SPA 181Spanish Lab 1

1

FA, SP, SU

ASL 111, SPA 111: Corresponding lab must be taken; ASL 111 and ASL 181; SPA 111 and SPA 181.

Total Credit Hours: 74