Not Applicable.  Click on logo for more information regarding different pathways.

PROGRAM MISSION & VISION

MISSION STATEMENT

Our program Mission is to provide high quality educational services that are inclusive, student & community focused, comprehensive, responsive and directed at increasing the professionalism of the early childhood and human development field.

VISION STATEMENT

The Vision of the Rio Salado Early Childhood & Human Development (ECE/HD) Program is to be the premier early childhood undergraduate and professional development community college program in Maricopa County.  

PROGRAM GOALS

 The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Early Learning and Development program is designed to prepare individuals to enter the workforce as Early Childhood Professionals and to assist individuals employed in the field to upgrade and expand their skills. The program emphasizes the roles of early care and education professionals, families and the wider society as they together meet the contemporary needs of young children. Course work includes the principles of developmental science, professionalism in early childhood work, philosophies and methods of early learning, and the impact of standards on practice. To apply planning, management and evaluation skills, students will observe, participate, and intern in state licensed early childhood programs.

Not Applicable. Click on logo for more information.

No test(s) required for program admission.

Students are required to complete an internship. Students may need to take in-person midterm and final exams depending on the courses in which they are enrolled. Proctoring is available for students living outside of Maricopa County, AZ.

The total amount of credits required for this degree is 66-68. Students must earn a grade of "C" or better in all courses within the program. Minimum GPA: 2.00

PROGRAM COMPETENCIES:

• Explain the importance of play, creativity and the arts in contemporary early childhood programs, and how they support early learning.
• Demonstrate planning, management and evaluation skills related to developmentally appropriate play, arts, and learning activities.
• Review the emerging professionalism of the field of early childhood education, including a code of ethical conduct.
• Identify theories, standards, and public policy within the field and describe how these influence early childhood programs.
• Describe how developmental characteristics, individual needs, adult expectations and cultural contexts influence the behavior of children from birth through age eight.
• Describe policies, practices and regulations which ensure the health and safety of young children in group settings.
• Describe the nutritional needs of young children from birth on and explain how these needs are met with food selection, food preparation, and daily eating/feeding routines.
• Explain how community diversity and demographics influence early childhood programs, professionals, and the young children and families served.
• Identify appropriate professional responses that ensure the social and emotional well-being of young children including identification of child maltreatment.
• Describe the process of identification, referral and assessment of young children whose development differs from the average.
• Identify strategies for inclusion, instruction, and support for the exceptional young child within the contexts of family, community and early childhood programs.
• Describe how young children develop language, literacy and writing skills and how adults support literacy development.
• Construct a portfolio which demonstrates professional development over time in a variety of dimensions, including professional writing samples.
• Contrast current approaches to curriculum for young learners and explain how state standards relate to curriculum and instruction.
• Identify multiple assessment procedures, their strengths, weaknesses and relationship to early learning standards.
• Apply professional knowledge, skills and ethics of the early childhood profession to early learning settings
• Explain how Arizona Learning Standards are applied within programs serving children three to five and five to eight years of age.

For the complete alignment of program competencies visit Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (CCTA).

Portfolios demonstrate the ability to align course signature assignments to the professional educational standards set by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  Portfolios include autobiographies, professional resumes, philosophical statements, and reflective essays based upon course program signature assignments, and future professional development plans and goals. 

Internships demonstrate the student’s ability to apply learned theory to classroom applications.  Students are observed in a natural childcare setting by college faculty.

For the AAS in Early Learning and Development data collected from signature assignments, from key content-area courses are tied directly to stated program outcomes. The assignment results are analyzed and reviewed utilizing Taskstream (assessment software) and archived as evidence of student learning and progress. Of all students in the program who earned an AAS degree during the Fiscal Year 2010, the overall pass rate for the portfolio was 100% and the overall pass rate for the internship was 100%. This is a new program and these data represent the first graduating class in Spring 2010. 

Not Applicable.  Click on Logo for more information.