Degrees & Certificates

Early Childhood Education AAS

Early Childhood Education Fundamentals Certificate

Early Childhood Education Curriculum Certificate

Early Childhood Education and Family Studies Certificate

Early Childhood Educator I Career Pathway Certificate

Early Childhood Education

Associate of Applied Science Degree: 94 Credits

Degree planning worksheet

Career Description

The Early Childhood Educaiton AAS degree is equivalent to a Step 9 in the Oregon Registry and qualifies students for a variety of positions within the field of early childhood education including Family Advocate, Parent Educator, Head Teacher, Quality Improvement Specialist, Child Care Center Director,and many others.

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this degree will be able to:

1. Use multidimensional knowledge to make evidence-based decisions for creating and implementing curriculum, teaching practices, and learning environments that are safe, healthy, respectful, culturally and linguistically responsive, supportive and challenging for each.
2. Use knowledge of family structures, positive parental and family development, available community resources, and a variety of communication and engagement skills to establish and sustain respectful, reciprocal relationships that affirm and respect family diversity and engage families in their child's development and learning as collaborative partners.
3. Use observation, documentation, and assessment to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, culturally, ability, and linguistically appropriate to promote positive outcomes for each child in partnership with families and professional colleagues.
4. Create an inclusive classroom culture, maintain supportive relationships and interactions with young children and use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias and evidence-based teaching skills and strategies that reflect the principles of universal design for learning and meet the needs of each child.
5. Use knowledge of child development and early learning standards to describe how young children learn across core content areas and use this understanding to select or create curriculum that counters biases and stereotypes, fosters young children's interest in the content areas, and facilitates individual and group learning. 
6. Use collaborative, reflective, and intentional practice in their work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession.
7. Use knowledge of history, current issues, the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, the mission of the early childhood education profession, and college-level speaking and writing skills to support and advocate for young children, families and the profession.

Course of Study

The AAS degree provides graduates with the ability to know and apply the depth and breadth of all six professional standards and competency areas recognized nationally across the birth through age 8 continuum and settings, with a dedicated focus on young children in birth through age 5 settings.

The degree runs seven consecutive terms, fall of year one through spring of year two. It is designed for full-time students but can also be completed part-time. All required courses and competencies mastered for the ECE Fundamentals and ECE Curriculum certificates apply to the AAS degree. 

Students must also meet Associate degree comprehensive requirements and Associate of Applied Science degree requirements.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of RD 115 with a grade of "C" or higher, placement into WR 115, and placement into MTH 65 or MTH 98, or equivalent placement assessment scores.

Coursework

Approved Electives

Early Childhood Education Fundamentals

Career and Technical Certificate: 33 Credits

Degree planning worksheet

Career Description

The ECE Fundamentals certificate is designed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to begin a career in Early Childhood Education. It prepares student for a variety of positions in the ECE field, but the main emphasis is on supportive roles, such as classroom or teacher assistants, in settings that serve children birth through age eight.

Course of Study

The certificate is equivalent to a Step 8 in the Oregon Registry. (The Oregon Registry Steps are a sequence of 12 steps that ECE professionals can ascend as they increase their training and education in the early childhood care and education field. As an ECE professional reaches specific steps they qualify for higher positions in the field.) It addresses all six of the professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators at an introductory to intermediate level. The certificate also provides students with the 120 hours of training needed to sit for the nationally recognized exam to earn the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.

The ECE Fundamentals certificate runs four consecutive terms, fall through summer. It is designed for part-time students but can be combined with the Early Childhood Education Curriculum ceertificate to achieve full-time enrollment status. All certificate courses may be applied towards the Early Childhood Education AAS degree.

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this certificate will be able to:

1. Use introductory knowledge of early childhood development and of individual children in the implementation of early childhood curriculum, teaching practices, and learning environments that are safe, healthy, respectful, culturally and linguistically responsive, developmentally appropriate, supportive and challenging for each child.
2. Use knowledge of family structures and available community resources to establish respectful, reciprocal relationships that affirm and respect family diversity and engage families in their child's development and learning as collaborative partners.
3. Use observation, documentation and assessment to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, culturally ability, and linguistically appropriate to promote positive outcomes for each child in partnership with families and professional colleagues.
4. Use supportive relationships and interactions with young children along with developmentally apropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias and evidence-based teaching skills and strategies to meet the needs of each child.
5. Use critical thinking and problem solving to apply knowledge of child development and early learning standards to the implementation of curriculum across content areas, facilitating individual and group learning.
6. Use collaborative, reflective, and intentional practice in their work with young children and as members of the early childhood professions. 
7. Use knowledge of history, current issues. the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and the mission of the early childhood education profession to support and advocate for young children, families and the profession.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of RD 90, WR 90, or equivalent placement assessment scores.

Coursework

Early Childhood Education Curriculum

Career and Technical Certificate: 23 Credits

Degree planning worksheet

Career Description

For students not yet working in the field, it is recommended that this certificate be taken alongside or immediately after completing the ECE Fundamentals certificate. Upon completion of both certificates, students will be qualified for teaching positions in private licensed child care programs. 

Early childhood professionals currently working in the field as home visitors, assistants, or teahcers can apply this coursework towards their required professional development hours and to progress up the Oregon Registry Steps.

Course of Study

The ECE Curriculum certificate is designed to build upon the fundamentals of ECE and provide additional knowledge and skills for creating and implementing a high-quality curriculum and an inclusive classroom culture for children birth through age eight.

The certificate addresses all six of the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, with an emphasis on child development and learning in context (Standard 1), teaching practices that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate (Standard 4), and the integration of academic content in the early childhood curriculum (Standard 5).

The certificate runs three consecutive terms, fall through spring. It is designed for part-time students but can be combined with the ECE Fundamentals certificate or additional ECE coursework to achieve full-time enrollment status. All certificate courses may be applied towards the Early Childhood Education AAs degree.

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this certificate will be able to:

1. Use intermediate knowledge of early childhood development and of individual children for creating and implementing curriculum, teaching practices, and learning environments that are safe, healthy, respectful, culturally and linguisticall responsive, developmentally appropriate, supportive and challenging for each child.
2. Establish respectful, reciprocal relationships that engage families in their child's development and learning as collaborative partners.
3. Use observation, documentation and assessment to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings.
4. Create an inclusive classroom culture, maintain supportive relationships and interactions with young children and use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias and evidence-based teaching skills and strategies that reflect the principles of universal design for learning and meet the needs of each child. 
5. Use knowledge of child development and early learning standards to select and create curriculum that counters biases and stereotypes, fosters young children's interest in the content areas, and facilitates individual and group learning.
6. Use collaborative, reflective, and intentional practice in their work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession.
7. Support and advocate for yourng children in their care.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite/concurrent: RD 115, WR 115 or equivalent placement assessment scores. Recommended ECE 120

Coursework

Early Childhood Education Electives

Early Childhood Education and Family Studies

Career and Technical Education Certificate: 44 Credits

Certificate Suspended

The Early Childhood Education and Family Studies certificate is suspended as of July 1, 2020. CGCC will not be accepting new students into this program after spring term 2020. Students who enrolled in the certificate program prior to summer 2020 and are seeking to complete the certificate should contact their advisor for assistance. CGCC will work with students actively enrolled in the program to develop a "teach out" plan so that they may complete the program in a timely manner.

Early Childhood Educator I

Career and Technical Education Certificate: 23 Credits

Certificate Suspended

The Early Childhood Educator I certificate is suspended as of July 1, 2020. CGCC will not be accepting new students into this program after spring term 2020. Students who enrolled in the certificate program prior to summer 2020 and are seeking to complete the certificate should contact their advisor for assistance. CGCC will work with students actively enrolled in the program to develop a "teach out" plan so that they may complete the program in a timely manner.