The Day in the Life of an ECE Student
8/8/23
Have you ever been curious about the day-to-day life of a student studying early childhood education? Well, look no further! The day in the life of an early childhood education student is one that varies, from working directly with students to advancing your own knowledge of child development. A student of early childhood education’s daily schedule is a rich and rewarding experience that may prepare you for a rewarding career in and out of the education field.
What is the Schedule of a First-Year Early Childhood Education Student at SAC?
The courses for ECE students at St. Augustine focus on helping students get a proper liberal arts education that will prepare them for a life of early childhood education classes. The majority of ECE students attend classes in person at SAC which can occur in the evenings and on weekends:
Wednesday Evening – ENG 160: Composition I
Thursday Evening – PSY 210: Child Growth and Development
Saturday Morning – ECE 301: Philosophical and Historical Foundations of ECE
Saturday Evening – MAT 240: Math Foundations for Teachers I
The first couple of semesters for an ECE student have them focusing on the core fundamentals of what an early childhood educator will teach and the basic values of what early childhood education stands for. Understanding not just the pedagogy behind teaching children, but having a deep understanding of how children learn, process, and develop all types of skills is at the core of early childhood education. Each course ends with an exam that accumulates all the knowledge our ECE students learned throughout the class. Along with exams, three of the best courses for ECE students require portfolios, in addition to exams:
What is the Schedule of a 4th Year Early Education Student at SAC?
Tuesday Evening – ECE 350: Methods of Teaching Language Arts, Music, and Art
Thursday Evening – ECE 312: Teaching Strategies for Multicultural Groups
Saturday Afternoon – ECE 328: Pre-Student Teaching Clinical Experience
The first semester of the final year for an ECE student is all about preparing for student teaching, which takes up a student’s entire schedule during the second semester of their final year. This year is about bringing together the fundamentals of early childhood education that they learned throughout the previous three years. By doing so, this year becomes a great opportunity to not only demonstrate a candidate’s competency in teaching but potentially line yourself up with a school or other educational institution where you can work full-time after graduation.
What Makes the ECE Bachelor’s Program at Saint Augustine College Different?
Along with being enrolled in the early childhood education bachelor’s degree program, the majority of students work either in a daycare center or in some sort of home care. While most early childhood education bachelor’s degree programs that are full-time make it difficult for a student to have a work-life balance, Saint Augustine College is a little different.
A crucial belief in the SAC curriculum is the belief that higher education should work for you and not the other way around. With flexible courses that are available either remotely or in person, you can live your life outside of the classroom, while still succeeding in it. Over 100 AA students are working in CPS, in suburban schools, or in parochial schools as teaching assistants. This success is attributed to our flexible schedules, with weekly schedules based on the individual needs of our students.
Providing both advanced training in early childhood education and student teaching opportunities, for our ECE students, this rigorous curriculum includes a variety of disciplines to help any student have the potential to become an early childhood educator.
