Education - Early Childhood
Program Description
Students considering a career in early childhood education or individuals employed at daycares, Head Starts, at-risk preschools, or other early childhood environments can earn an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Early Childhood Education or an Associate in Arts (AA) degree in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Education Emphasis from Arizona Western College. Several certifications in early childhood education are also offered.
The Early Childhood Education program will prepare students for an entry-level position within the field. Most careers in early childhood education require additional degrees at the university level. Students must obtain TB test as well as a background and fingerprint check before entering any field placement.
Graduates of these programs will successfully complete the following learning outcomes:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of young children’s characteristics and needs, from birth through age 8
- Support and engage families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships
- Demonstrate an understanding of the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment – including the use in development of appropriate goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
- Utilize a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning approaches
- Utilize knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child
- Demonstrate knowledge about and uphold ethical standards and other early childhood professional guidelines
Degree(s) / Certificates(s)
Career Outlook
Successful completion of this program can open doors to various employment opportunities, many of which require further higher education at the university level. Below are examples of related occupations and their annual mean wages in Arizona, based on career and wage data from Pipeline AZ, which utilizes government sources for its reports and forecasts.
Description
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.
Duties/Tasks
- Maintain a safe play environment.
- Observe and monitor children's play activities.
- Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
- Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for the handicapped.
- Sanitize toys and play equipment.
- Dress children and change diapers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
- Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
- Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
Salary Information (AZ)
$30,250
$25,410
$29,460
$36,770
$14.54
$12.22
$14.00
$17.68
Typical Education Level
High School Diploma
Description
Plan, direct, or coordinate academic or nonacademic activities of preschools or childcare centers and programs, including before- and after-school care.
Duties/Tasks
- Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities and policies and students' behavioral or learning problems.
- Monitor students' progress and provide students and teachers with assistance in resolving any problems.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff and recommend personnel actions for programs and services.
- Teach classes or courses or provide direct care to children.
- Set educational standards and goals and help establish policies, procedures, and programs to carry them out.
- Determine the scope of educational program offerings and prepare drafts of program schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
- Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment and authorize purchases.
- Direct and coordinate activities of teachers or administrators at daycare centers, schools, public agencies, or institutions.
- Prepare and maintain attendance, activity, planning, accounting, or personnel reports and records for officials and agencies, or direct preparation and maintenance activities.
- Plan, direct, and monitor instructional methods and content of educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
Salary Information (AZ)
$45,570
$30,800
$38,150
$59,500
$21.91
$14.81
$18.00
$28.61
Typical Education Level
Associates Degree
Description
Care for children in private households and provide support and expertise to parents in satisfying children's physical, emotional, intellectual, and social needs. Duties may include meal planning and preparation, laundry and clothing care, organization of play activities and outings, discipline, intellectual stimulation, language activities, and transportation.
Duties/Tasks
- Remove hazards and develop appropriate boundaries and rules to create a safe environment for children.
- Instruct and assist children in the development of health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet behavior.
- Instruct children in safe behavior, such as seeking adult assistance when crossing the street and avoiding contact with unsafe objects.
- Help prepare and serve nutritionally balanced meals and snacks for children.
- Perform first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when required.
- Teach and perform age-appropriate activities, such as lap play, reading, and arts and crafts, to encourage intellectual development of children.
- Model appropriate social behaviors and encourage concern for others to cultivate development of interpersonal relationships and communication skills.
- Observe children's behavior for irregularities, take temperature, transport children to doctor, or administer medications, as directed, to maintain children's health.
- Regulate children's rest periods and nap schedules.
- Meet regularly with parents to discuss children's activities and development.
Salary Information (AZ)
$30,250
$25,410
$29,460
$36,770
$14.54
$12.22
$14.00
$17.68
Typical Education Level
High School Diploma
Description
Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth.
Duties/Tasks
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order.
- Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
- Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
- Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines.
- Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers.
- Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and needs, determine their priorities for their children, and suggest ways that they can promote learning and development.
- Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, storytelling, and field trips.
- Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of interest to them.
- Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Salary Information (AZ)
$32,930
$28,020
$29,310
$46,590
$15.83
$13.47
$14.00
$22.40
Typical Education Level
High School Diploma
Contact Information
Department Contact(s)
Faculty/Staff Contact(s)
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia Powers | Professor of Education | (928) 317-6051 | patricia.powers@azwestern.edu |
| Elizabeth Renaud | Professor of Early Childhood Education | (928) 344-7560 | elizabeth.renaud@azwestern.edu |
| Michelle Keeling | Professor of Education | (928) 344-7676 | Michelle.Keeling@azwestern.edu |