Early Childhood Development Certificate

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More information: Early Childhood Development C

PURPOSE

The one-year certificate in Early Childhood Development is designed to prepare students with skills related to the care, supervision, education, and development of young children from birth to age eight. There is also the ability to become qualified to work with children up to the age of twelve in programs that serve before- and after-school and recreational programs.

OCCUPATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Employment opportunities include preparation or upgrading skills for positions as child care center directors, assistant directors, before- and after-schoolteachers or assistant teachers, aides, playroom attendants, home-based providers or day care workers, camp directors, and before-and after-school teachers in the following types of facilities: child day care centers, nursery schools, family day care homes, Head Start programs, recreational before- and after-school programs, hospital-based child care programs, pre-school at-risk programs, and pre-kindergarten church-sponsored programs.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Demonstrate use of appropriate positive guidance strategies with children in care
Design and deliver age-appropriate learning activities and environments that align with established developmental milestones
Demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills in interacting with children and families from diverse backgrounds
Build respectful and reciprocal relationships
Evaluate and adapt learning activities to accommodate specific developmental, physical, and learning needs of children with identified disabilities or exceptionalities
Develop a comprehensive program operations plan that specifies required staffing, facility needs, budget projections, and educational materials for a children’s program

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

General college curricular admission
Direct enrollment English and math placement
Students who do not meet required English and math placement levels must enroll in developmental studies courses

PROGRAM NOTES

Attend a pre-enrollment interview and advising appointment with the department chair
Earn grade of C or higher in all courses with CHD, EDU, and PSY prefixes
Practicum experience internship in licensed or approved childcare setting
Criminal Record Clearance/Sex Offender Registry check required for internship placement and volunteering
Tuberculosis test required for internship placement and volunteering
Consult department chair for list of convictions that will prevent employment

COMPUTER COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT

Students in this program will meet the Reynolds computer competency requirement by successfully completing ITE 152 or EDU 280 (Introduction to Instructional Technologies) . Students can also meet this requirement by passing the Reynolds Computer Competency Exam, administered in the Testing Centers on each campus, in which case they will receive college credit for ITE 152. Students not passing the Computer Competency Exam may retake the exam only once.

Curriculum:

Courses should be taken in the order listed.

SDV 101 - Orientation to Teacher Preparation Credit Hours: 1 ¹
CHD 120 - Introduction to Early Childhood Education Credit Hours: 3
CHD 145 - Teaching Art, Music, and Movement to Children Credit Hours: 3
CHD 205 - Guiding the Behavior of Children Credit Hours: 3
CHD 165 - Observation and Participation in Early Childhood/Primary Settings Credit Hours: 3
EDU 235 - Health, Safety, and Nutrition Education Credit Hours: 3
ENG 111 - College Composition I Credit Hours: 3
CHD 146 - Math, Science, and Social Studies for Children Credit Hours: 3
CHD 166 - Infant and Toddler Programs Credit Hours: 3
CHD 118 - Language Arts for Young Children Credit Hours: 3
PSY 230 - Developmental Psychology Credit Hours: 3
ITE 152 - Introduction to Digital Literacy Credit Hours: 3 or
EDU 280 - Introduction to Instructional Technologies Credit Hours: 3

Total: 34 Credit Hours

¹ SDV 100 accepted

Planning Tools

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What’s next? Check out TransferVA to learn how your Reynolds classes may transfer to in-state colleges.

Customized program maps: Once enrolled, students will have access to our Navigate software, with options to customize their program maps based on post-graduation and transfer goals.