You will develop some exciting new skills in this program. Among these new skills, you should be able to:

• Respect, support and communicate with families
• Design and implement experiences that promote positive development for children
• Promote children’s development and learning to create a healthy, respectful and supportive environment

Careers

After completing the two-year AAS in Early Childhood Education & Family Studies, students will be prepared to work in a variety of educational settings such as:

• lead teacher in private and public early learning programs serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
• teacher assistants in kindergarten to third grade classrooms

Additionally, students will be prepared to work as family support personnel (e.g. family advocates, parent practitioners, family life paraprofessionals, etc.) in various education settings or child and family support agencies

Job Market

Search related careers and regional data on wages and job outlook on Career Coach.

Early Childhood Education and Family Studies Program Mission

We provide highly skilled early childhood professionals to work in early childhood classroom settings, in support roles with families and young children, and in other capacities that interact, lead, and advocate for young children and families.

Conceptual Framework

The core of the conceptual framework for the ECEFS program is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) professional standards.

• Standard 1, Promoting Child Development and Learning is visited in nearly every course, but receives particular focus in HDF 225 Prenatal, Infant and Toddler Development, HDF 247 Preschool Development and ECE 240 Environments and Curriculum Planning.
• Standard 2, Building Family and Community Relationships is the primary focus of ED 246: School, Community and Family Partnerships, HDF 140: Contemporary American Families and is also considered in other courses including ED 254: Instructional Strategies for Dual Language Learners, ED 258: Multicultural Education, ECE 291 and 292 Practicum II and III respectively.
• Standard 3, Observe, Document & Assess to Support Young Children and Their Families is reflected in ECE 121 and 221: Observation and Guidance I and II and ECE 291 and 292, Practicum II and III.
• Standard 4, Using Developmentally Effective Approaches is met in the ECE Observation and Guidance courses ECE 121 and 122 and Environments and Curriculum I and II series as well as in the practicum courses.
• Standard 5, Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum is focused on ECE 154: Language and Literacy Development, ECE 240 Curriculum and Environments, ECE 241 Curriculum and Environments for Infants and Toddlers, and ED 114 Instructional Strategies for Math and Science and the practicum courses, ECE 291 and 292.
• Standard 6, Becoming a Professional is the sole focus of ECE 179: The Professional in ECE. This focus is carried into ECE 291 and 292, Practicum II and III as well.
• Standard 7, Field Experiences, is the focus of ECE 280 Cooperative Work Experience, ECE 291and ECE 291, Practicum III and III respectively.

With the NAEYC standards as the foundation, the ECEFS program also vales the core concepts of developmentally appropriate practice, equity and diversity, accessibility and the continuum of development from birth through age eight.

Developmentally appropriate practice: We promote knowledge, understanding and application of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Students in our program learn about the three tenets of developmentally appropriate practice: age appropriate, culturally appropriate and individually appropriate.

Equity and diversity: We prepare early childhood educators to work with diverse children and families and to value the strengths and experiences all families bring as funds of knowledge. We integrate diversity into all courses and have three stand-alone courses as well ED 254 Strategies for Working Dual Language Learners, ED 169 Working with Children with Special Needs, and ED 258 Multicultural Education that focus to help students learn how to promote equity in the classroom and in their work with families.

Accessibility: Just as we value accessibility in our early learning programs, we value accessibility in our teacher education preparation program. We believe in meeting students where they are academically and giving them the supports they need to succeed. We are an open-entry program. We offer courses when students indicate they need them (online, evenings and Fridays primarily) and we have offered courses at students’ work sites and in Spanish to increase accessibility of our program.

Continuum of development from birth through age eight: We prepare teachers to work with infants-to-eight year olds. While we are not a teacher licensure program, we do share several courses with the Education program to expand the breadth of knowledge of ECEFS our students, while also helping those that are interested continuing at a four-year institution have transfer courses they need.

Employability: We ensure that our courses include the real-world content students need to obtain employment in ECE. Many of our students obtain employment with our community practicum partners upon graduation.

The following tables contain recent data on outcomes for students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education and Family Studies program.

Outcome Measure #1: The Number of Program Completers

The chart below indicates the number of program graduates for the three most recent academic years.

Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate

Graduation Counts within Time to Completion (full-time students only)

Narrative Description:

For the past three (3) academic years, the AAS in Early Childhood Education and Family Studies program at Clackamas Community College has seen one hundred percent (100%) of full-time students (at the time of completion) who graduated complete the program within one hundred percent (100%) of the published program time of two (2) academic years (four quarters).

Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data

The number and percentage of program graduates employed in the early childhood profession or pursuing further education in the profession within one year of graduation for each of the three most recent academic years.

* The figures in these two columns do not need to add up to 100%

PROGRAM CODES:  AAS.EARLYCHILDFAM

This program provides a foundation in the ten core knowledge categories: Family and Community Systems; Diversity; Health, Safety and Nutrition; Human Growth and Development; Learning Environments and Curriculum; Observation and Assessment; Personal, Professional and Leadership Development; Program Management; Special Needs; and Understanding and Guiding Behavior (The Oregon Registry, 2008). 

Students must obtain a First-Aid certificate with infant-toddler CPR by the end of the first year.

RELATED INSTRUCTION OUTCOMES

Computation (1 course- MTH-050 Technical Mathematics I or MTH-065 Algebra II or MTH-098 College Math Foundations)

• Use appropriate mathematics to solve problems.

Communication (1 course- WR-101 Communication Skills: Occupational Writing or WR-121 English Composition)

• Read actively, think critically, and write purposefully and capably for professional audiences.

Human Relations (1 course- ED-258 Multicultural Education)

• Engage in ethical communication processes that accomplish goals.

Physical Education/Health/Safety/First Aid (2-3 credits- courses with HE, HPE, or PE prefix)

• Use effective life skills to improve and maintain mental and physical wellbeing. 

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

These program learning outcomes (PLOs) were adopted from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) early childhood teacher preparation standards and competencies. These standards represent what students should know and be able to do as a result of graduating from our program. 

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

• are grounded in an understanding of the developmental period of early childhood from birth through age 8 across developmental domains;
• understand each child as an individual with unique developmental variations;
• understand that children learn and develop within relationships and within multiple contexts, including families, cultures, languages, communities, and society;
• use this multidimensional knowledge to make evidence-based decisions about how to carry out their responsibilities.

FAMILY–TEACHER PARTNERSHIPS AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS 

Early childhood educators understand that successful early childhood education depends upon educators’ partnerships with the families of the young children they serve.

• know about, understand, and value the diversity in family characteristics;
• use this understanding to create respectful, responsive, reciprocal relationships with families and to engage with them as partners in their young children’s development and learning;
• use community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support children’s families, and they build connections between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.

CHILD OBSERVATION, DOCUMENTATION, AND ASSESSMENT

• understand that the primary purpose of assessments is to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings;
• know how to use observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment approaches and tools;
• use screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, culturally, ability, and linguistically appropriate to document developmental progress and promote positive outcomes for each child.
• In partnership with families and professional colleagues, early childhood educators use assessments to document individual children’s progress and, based on the findings, to plan learning experiences.

DEVELOPMENTALLY, CULTURALLY, AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE TEACHING PRACTICES 

Early childhood educators understand that teaching and learning with young children is a complex enterprise, and its details vary depending on children’s ages and characteristics and on the settings in which teaching and learning occur.

• understand and demonstrate positive, caring, supportive relationships and interactions as the foundation for their work with young children;
• understand and use teaching skills that are responsive to the learning trajectories of young children and to the needs of each child;
• use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate and culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias, and evidence-based teaching approaches that reflect the principles of universal design for learning. 

KNOWLEDGE, APPLICATION, AND INTEGRATION OF ACADEMIC CONTENT IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM 

Early childhood educators have knowledge of the content of the academic disciplines (e.g., language and literacy, the arts, mathematics, social studies, science, technology and engineering, physical education) and of the pedagogical methods for teaching each discipline.

• understand the central concepts, the methods and tools of inquiry, and the structures in each academic discipline;
• understand pedagogy, including how young children learn and process information in each discipline, the learning trajectories for each discipline, and how teachers use this knowledge to inform their practice;
• apply this knowledge using early learning standards and other resources to make decisions about spontaneous and planned learning experiences and about curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation to ensure that learning will be stimulating, challenging, and meaningful to each child.

PROFESSIONALISM AS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR 

• identify and participate as members of the early childhood profession. They serve as informed advocates for young children, for the families of the children in their care, and for the early childhood profession;
• know and use ethical guidelines and other early childhood professional guidelines;
  have professional communication skills that effectively support their relationships and work with young children, families, and colleagues;
• are continuous, collaborative learners who
• develop and sustain the habit of reflective and intentional practice in their daily work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession.