The Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Development is for individuals who work in childcare facilities as managers and caregivers. This degree in Early Childhood Development provides advanced courses in management, curriculum development, and child behavior. It is designed to meet the mandatory competencies for the Birth through Pre-Kindergarten Teaching Credential required by Act 187, passed by the Arkansas Legislature during the 2009 session. This degree will allow graduates to apply for the Birth through Pre-Kindergarten Teaching Credential from the Division of Early Care and Education in the Department of Human Services. It will allow graduates to be the lead teachers in a non-public school classroom or in a Head Start classroom as they continue to pursue a bachelor’s degree from another institution of higher education. Students will also be qualified to serve as a paraprofessional in a public school pre-kindergarten classroom. It will NOT allow graduates to be lead teachers in a public school pre-kindergarten classroom.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses taken to satisfy the AAS degree in Early Childhood Development. This program of study includes special program fees beyond current tuition and college fees.
The Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Development is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Note: All students are required to have a current clear maltreatment background check, a clear FBI and criminal background check, and a UA- PTC Education I.D. badge in many education courses. If a criminal background check is returned with a felony conviction or a true report of child abuse or neglect, the student will be immediately dropped from all courses with an ECTC, ECD, or EDUC prefix. There will not be a refund of fees or tuition. This also may affect financial aid awards.
In addition to satisfying the Institutional Learning Outcomes, program graduates are expected to successfully address the following program learning outcomes:
- Apply developmentally appropriate standards to the daily classroom practices and instructional practices.
- Demonstrate ethical behavior and principals drawn from the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct.
- Apply culturally competent practices with children, families, colleagues, and the community.
- Apply developmental domains, developmental learning theories, learning theories, technology learning theories, and instructional practices to a variety of formal educational activities.
- Develop individualized behavioral plans based on analysis of a child’s environmental and developmental influences.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) program standards are:
- Promoting child development and learning
- Building family and community relationships
- Observing, documenting and assessing to support young children and families
- Using developmentally effective approaches
- Using content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum
- Becoming a professional
Students who graduate with an Associates of Applied Science (AAS) in Early Childhood Education are eligible for the Arkansas Early Childhood Teaching Credential approved by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. The median pay for a childcare worker in Arkansas is $20,000. Graduates may be employed as paraprofessionals in early childhood public school classrooms, may own their own childcare facilities, and become early childhood lead teachers in private schools and private child care facilities.
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