Early Childhood Education

Working with young children is a rewarding career for many people!  You may enjoy observing growth and development.  Interacting with young children is a pleasant and sometimes challenging experience.  You will work with a variety of personalities and assist each one in developing new knowledge and skills.

The courses in the Early Childhood Education Program are designed to help you gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will help you be a successful teacher of preschool children.

The Early Childhood Education program is approved by the Ohio Department of Education as a teacher training program for the Pre-kindergarten Associate Teaching License. The program prepares you to care for and educate young children in group settings such as nursery schools, day care centers, and other programs for young children. Training is also included for the operation and management of centers for young children.

You will gain a variety of experiences while working with children during placements in Head Start, school-based, and child care programs. Candidates are required to candidate-teach before graduation.

Once you successfully complete the program, you will be eligible to apply for the Ohio Pre-kindergarten Associate License. Ohio law does not currently mandate that an individual be licensed in order to be employed in private child care programs. You may be employed as an aide or lead teacher in the Pre-K classroom, a home trainer, administrator/director of preschool programs, parent coordinator, or family day care provider.

Students interested in the Early Childhood Education program must be admitted to the College before admission to the program. A copy of the Early Childhood Education Student Handbook, which includes the requirements for conditional and formal acceptance to the program as well as the eligibility criteria for the student teaching practicum, may be obtained from the Education Programs Director or Student Services. Criteria for conditional acceptance is based on Ohio Revised Code and regulations promulgated from the code.