Early Childhood Education Focus

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Students completing this program should acquire the following skills and abilities:

AA DTA Outcomes

Upon the completion of the AA DTA, students will be prepared for transfer to a four-year institution for the student's intended career pathway, and have the following skills and abilities:

Global Skills (assessed at degree level):

• Communication: Express ideas and information in writing and speaking in a manner that is clear and appropriate to the audience, and read and listen effectively.
• Critical thinking: Apply objective, valid methods of inquiry and problem-solving to draw rational, ethical, and coherent conclusions.
• Interpersonal relations: Interact effectively with individuals and/or within groups.
• Numeracy: Achieve competency with numbers and graphical skills to interpret and communicate quantifiable information, and apply mathematical and statistical skills in practical and abstract contexts.

General education outcomes (assessed at course level):

• Diversity: Examine the causes and expressions of difference, power, and discrimination.
• Humanities: Explore how people process, document, and express their social and cultural experience.
• Social Science: Examine society, behavior, and relationships among individuals within a society.
• Natural Science: Develop familiarity with various aspects of the physical world and scientific explanations of observed phenomena.

Area of study outcomes:

• Create and maintain a safe and healthy environment for young children.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how children differ in their development and approaches to learning and use this knowledge to provide opportunities supporting physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth.
• Develop relationships with children enhancing children’s self-esteem, social-emotional development, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to use theory, research, developmentally appropriate practice and a variety of instructional strategies when planning and implementing curriculum.
• Use individual and group guidance and problem-solving techniques to support positive relationships with children assisting their development in self-esteem, self control, and self motivation.
• Establish a partnership with families, providing information and resources, strengthening the home to school connection.
• Create an anti-biased, culturally relevant environment/curriculum, embracing the multifaceted term diversity, which includes, but is not exclusive to race, ethnicity, family diversity, and learning styles.
• Develop personally and professionally, maintaining current knowledge in the field and participating in on-going professional development.
• Communicate effectively through the spoken and written word and through visual materials for varied audiences and purposes.
• Gather empirical data employing a variety of observation and assessment tools, and analyze data with the purpose of developing age and developmentally appropriate curriculum.
• Utilize a variety of contemporary research strategies; evaluate the validity of sources, and credit ideas or sources appropriately.

Revised June 2019 (Effective Summer 2019)