Early Childhood Education

Program description

The Early Childhood Education Certificate prepares students to work effectively with young children (ages 0-8) in a variety of care and education settings. After completion of the 24-unit certificate, students qualify for employment as a teacher in licensed childcare settings. When combined with 16 General Education units, it qualifies students to apply for a Child Development Teacher Permit issued by the CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

This 24-unit certificate is intended to fulfill the ECE requirements for a lower-division program of study transferable to the CSU system. It represents a solid foundation of knowledge and skills applicable to a variety of advanced professional roles, such as K-12 teachers, counselors, and social workers. All certificate requirements must be completed with a C grade or better.

This certificate is approved through the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. Upon satisfactory completion of the listed requirements and filing an application for graduation with Admissions and Records, the student’s transcript will reflect completion of this certificate.

Program learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this certificate, the student should be able to:

1. Engage and support all students in learning.
2. Support family-school relationships and community connections.
3. Exhibit skill in observation and documentation to assess student learning and evaluate program quality.
4. Create and maintain healthy, respectful learning environments and practices that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate.
5. Plan, organize, and design developmentally appropriate curriculum based on knowledge of child development.
6. Demonstrate professionalism by exhibiting skill in collaborating, reflecting, communicating, and valuing continuous improvement and lifelong learning.

Certificate requirements