Certificate of Proficiency (COP)
Early Childhood Education (State Certificate)
About the Program
LCC ‘s State Early Childhood Education Certificate provides the coursework for students to achieve level 7 on the Career Lattice. This certificate is the third level in the statewide one-year certificate. Built with Common Courses and Common Core Competencies, this certificate will transfer in and transfer to other community colleges in a seamless manner. Employees achieving this certificate will assist their centers in the Early Achievers Rating system. Students entering the Early Childhood Education Program must show evidence of a current TB test and obtain a cleared Portable Background check through Washington State Dept of Early Learning MERIT System.
See: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/background-checks
For a roadmap that identifies the preferred sequencing of courses and other specific recommendations from faculty, please see the corresponding program map(s):
Certificate Requirements
Total credits required to earn this certificate: 47
LCC students must meet distribution requirements for associate degrees and specific certificates. See Diversity and Distribution Lists for more information.
General Education Requirements
-
Communications: 5 credits - ENGL& 101 English Composition I
-
Quantitative Skills: 5 credits - MATH& 131 Math for Elementary Educators 1
-
Human Relations/Social Science: 5 credits - EDUC& 115 Child Development
Program Requirements
| Course Code | Course Title | Number of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECED& 105 | Intro to Early Childhood Education | 5 |
| ECED& 107 | Health/Safety/Nutrition | 5 |
| ECED& 120 | Practicum-Nurturing Relationships | 2 |
| ECED& 160 | Curriculum Development | 5 |
| ECED& 180 | Lang/ Literacy Development | 3 |
| ECED& 190 | Observation/Assessment | 3 |
|
ECED& 170 OR |
Learning Environments OR Guiding Behavior |
3 |
| EDUC& 150 | Child/Family/Community | 3 |
Complete one of the following content areas:
| Course Code | Course Title | Number of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDUC& 130* | Guiding Behavior (ECED Gen) | 3 |
| ECED& 132 | Infants/Toddlers Care (Inf/Tod Care) | 3 |
| EDUC& 136 | School Age Care (School-Age Care) | 3 |
| ECED& 134 | Family Child Care (Family Child Care) | 3 |
| ECED& 139 | Administration of ECE (Admin) | 3 |
*EDUC& 130 Guiding Behavior may not be used more than once for a degree or certificate requirements.
Program Outcomes
Students completing this program should acquire the following skills and abilities:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 age appropriate music, art, and craft activities and ideas to foster the development of creativity, motor skills, and interpersonal skills in children.
- Create an anti-biased, culturally relevant environment modeling respect for the many facets that fall under the term “diversity”.
- Demonstrate the ability to use theory, research, developmentally appropriate practice and a variety of instructional strategies when planning and implementing curriculum.
- Utilize age appropriate math, science, computer, and literature activities and ideas to foster the development of language, communication, and basic numerical skills, creativity, and curiosity regarding math, science, and technology.
- Develop personally and professionally, maintaining current knowledge in the field and participating in on-going professional development.
Notes
Revised December 2023 (effective Summer 2024)
This is a tentative schedule. Students may adjust the credit load according to their needs. The sequence should stay approximately as listed above even though there is some flexibility. Consult an advisor if you have any questions.