Early Childhood Development, AAS

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G3 Eligible Program– Qualifying students may have ZERO costs for tuition, fees, and textbooks.
Learn more at www.jtcc.edu/g3.

PURPOSE: This two-year degree prepares students for jobs working with young children (birth to age eight) in preschools, elementary schools, child-care centers, and before- and after-school programs. Jobs include director, assistant director, lead teacher, and assistant teacher. This program is offered at the Chester Campus. This career-technical degree is guided by an advisory committee comprised of local education leaders.

CREDENTIALS: An Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree is a major in a career-technical area that takes two years for full-time students to complete. Although the purpose of an AAS degree is to gain skills for employment, we now have pathways that lead from the Early Childhood Development AAS degree to a Bachelor’s degree with K-3 teaching licensure at participating Virginia universities, without credit loss.The AAS degree in Early Childhood Development is at Level 6 of the Virginia Career Pathways for Early Childhood and Out-of-School Time Practitioners. Level 7 is a Bachelor’s degree.

TRANSFER INFORMATION: Students desiring to transfer should consult their academic advisors and their intended transfer institutions for specific direction in program and course selection. More information can also be found at www.jtcc.edu/academics/transfer/

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS: Students must meet JTCC admission requirements. Students may need to complete placement tests in English and mathematics. Visit www.jtcc.edu/placement for all course placement options. If students have deficiencies in English and/or mathematics, JTCC offers developmental and prerequisite courses to prepare students for the curriculum. New students should visit the Advising Center and returning students their faculty advisor for more information.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES: By the completion of this program, students will be expected to demonstrate an intermediate level of competency in the following skills:

Apply developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments for young children
Create strategies for building relationships and involving diverse families in their children’s development and learning
Use systematic observation and documentation to assess the development of all children
Implement a wide array of developmentally appropriate approaches, instructional strategies, and tools appropriate for individual children
Design, implement, and evaluate developmentally appropriate and meaningful curriculum for each child
Analyze professional experiences and practices for alignment with best practices, ethical standards and other early childhood professional guidelines

Required Courses

SDV 100 - College Success Skills 1 credit
ENG 111 - College Composition I 3 credits
MTH 154 - Quantitative Reasoning 3 credits Additional Course Options: MTH 161 , MTH 263 .
CHD 120 - Introduction to Early Childhood Education 3 credits
CHD 145 - Teaching Art, Music and Movement to Children 3 credits
CHD 165 - Observation and Participation in Early Childhood/Primary Settings 3 credits
ENG 112 - College Composition II 3 credits
CHD 205 - Guiding the Behavior of Children 3 credits
EDU 235 - Health, Safety, and Nutrition Education 3 credits
PSY 230 - Developmental Psychology 3 credits
CHD 118 - Language Arts for Young Children 3 credits
CHD 146 - Math, Science and Social Studies for Children 3 credits
CHD 166 - Infant and Toddler Programs 3 credits
BIO 101 - General Biology I 4 credits
ENG 250 - Children’s Literature 3 credits Additional Course Options: ENG 246
HIS 121 - United States History to 1877 3 credits Additional Course Option: HIS 122 .
CHD 210 - Introduction to Exceptional Children 3 credits
CHD 216 - Early Childhood Programs, School, and Social Change 3 credits
CHD 270 - Administration of Child Care Programs 3 credits
CHD 265 - Advanced Observation and Participation in Early Childhood/Primary Settings 3 credits
Prerequisites: CHD 118 , CHD 120 , CHD 145 , CHD 146 , CHD 165 , CHD 166 , CHD 205 , CHD 210 , CHD 216 , CHD 270 , EDU 235 .

To be taken after completion of prerequisite courses or with instructor’s approval.
EDU 200 - Introduction to Teaching as a Profession 3 credits

Total Minimum Credits to Complete: 62

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Pre-requisite and co-requisite requirements can be found in course details.

Students are strongly encouraged to complete their ENG, MTH, and SDV requirements first.

Students should regularly meet with their faculty advisor and check their degree progress by accessing advisement reports in the Student Information System (SIS) in the myTyler portal or the Academic Planner in Navigate.

To determine eligibility for the Early Childhood Career Studies Certificate (CSC) and/or the Early Childhood Development Certificate (C), students should consult their faculty advisor.

CHD 165 , CHD 265 and EDU 200 are practicum classes that require students to observe young children and participate in approved early childhood settings for 40 hours each. CHD 165 and EDU 200 must be taken before CHD 265 .

To enroll in CHD 165 , EDU 200 and CHD 265 students must have a declared early childhood major and complete a TB screening, a criminal background check and a sex offender registry check, as a condition of placement in a practicum site. Students are expected to cover all costs for these procedures.