Early Childhood Education

As a student on the BA in Early Childhood Education degree track, you will complete 48 credit hours within the ECE program and the rest in other departments, with courses in English, Fine Arts, Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics. You will also participate in a full-day student teaching program in an early childhood classroom setting (infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, or primary) for 16 weeks under the supervision of a licensed ECE teacher and a college supervisor. 

Our high-quality early childhood development degree gives you the opportunity to earn hands-on classroom experience. By working with real students in a classroom setting you can use skills learned in early childhood education courses and see how you can help young children learn and develop fundamental life skills. 

Graduates of our Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Early Childhood Education (ECE) degree program will have completed the 100 hours of coursework (within six concentrations) required by the State of Illinois for certification in Early Childhood Education. You will also qualify for an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL), a key credential for a career in teaching after receiving your degree in childhood education.

A bachelor’s in early childhood education will also qualify you for other professional educators’ licenses across the country. While each state does have its own testing requirements, it is very possible to move from one state to another with enough additional time to fulfill the new state’s requirements for their Professional Educator License. Please consult the teaching license reciprocity guidelines to learn more. 

Embedded in this innovative degree program is an 18-credit-hour minor that includes the potential to add one of two additional Illinois Board of Education Endorsements: 1) English as a Second Language and/or 2) Bilingual Education. If you are fluent and literate in a language other than English, this minor qualifies you for both the ESL and the Bilingual Education Endorsements (after all requirements are met). Candidates who are not fluent or literate in another language can qualify for the ESL Endorsement.

Graduates of this program will:

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the fundamental principles to teach young children from birth to age 8.
• Understand that all learning for young children must be in safe, respectful, supportive, and challenging environments.    
• Adhere to the highest standards addressing content in language arts, reading, children’s literature, mathematics, science, social science, art, music, and drama as well as the application of content through classroom connections to theory, practice, and clinical experiences.
• Understand the roles, goals, benefits, and uses of assessment in classroom instruction. 
• Plan instruction that is both rigorous and engaging for children with a curriculum that develops students’ critical thinking. 
• Model learning experiences for students that gradually release responsibility to them through guided practice.
• Have the credentials to teach English as a Second Language or bilingual programs in public and/or private institutions and the knowledge to differentiate instruction for English learners, those with diverse learning styles, and students with special needs.

Direct Exit Pathway: If you are already working in the field and/or are pursuing Gateways Credentials to secure employment or progress within a current role, this pathway is designed with flexibility and convenience on and off-ramps, giving you the flexibility to choose early childhood education courses at your own pace. You can pursue a Level 2 Credential, for example, then later decide that you would like to attain your Level 3 Credential.

Credential Continuing Pathway: If you are seeking employment and/or working in the field and plan on progressing through each of the credentials with the goal of attaining your AAS, this might be the best pathway for you. Courses are laid out in a convenient four-semester sequence, with milestones of credential attainment marked along the way.

Credential Transfer Pathway: If already know you want to transfer to a four-year university for a Bachelor’s Degree in this field, this pathway helps you earn both the Level 3 Gateways Credential** and the AAS degree—maximizing the number of courses that will directly transfer to a partnering four-year institution. To earn your Level 2-4 ECE Gateways Credential, you are required to follow a prescribed course of study in early childhood education. This pathway is the best choice if you hope to someday qualify for an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL), which can only be obtained after earning a Bachelor’s Degree program from an Illinois-approved education preparation program.
**Please be sure to contact an Academic Advisor for further information about this credential and required courses.

Choose Your Opportunity

Our acclaimed AAS degree program in Early Childhood Education offers a diverse range of pathways that can open doors to exciting career opportunities in this field. Your studies will give you a solid foundation in the early childhood education theory and practice you need to work as a teacher or teacher’s assistant in a private or federally-funded preschool program, child-care center, home-based program, family child-care home, or nursery school. The program may also qualify you to work as a teacher’s assistant, teacher’s aide, or activities supervisor in a public school. 

With our state and nation currently facing a critical need for well-prepared early childhood practitioners, you will be able to choose a career path in this field that’s right for you.

As a graduate of the AAS in Early Childhood Education degree program*, you will be prepared to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental principles of early childhood development.
2. Understand that successful early childhood education depends upon partnerships with children’s families and communities.
3. Learn to observe, document, and assess young children and families.
4. Understand, and use developmentally appropriate approaches, instructional strategies, and tools.
5. Be prepared for an entry-level professional early child-care teacher or provider.

*The general education core for this degree complies with guidelines of the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI).

Learn more about early childhood education below, and how Saint Augustine’s AAS and Bachelor’s program have helped others.  

Success Stories: As the number one school in Illinois in raising students’ income, and second higher graduation rate than comparable institutions in Chicago, we are proud to present a few of our outstanding students below who have stood out and demonstrated Saint Augustine’s dedication to success. 

Career & Transfer Center: Saint Augustine is not just a university, it’s a launchpad for you and your career. Contact our staff to receive assistance related to jobs, interviews, or internships that you can apply to while receiving your early childhood development degree. 

Community: Our community is built on inclusivity and diversity. Regardless of someone’s background, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Being qualified to teach children up to eight years old opens up opportunities for our graduates, and allows them to teach in a variety of settings. 

Preschools

Development starts at birth, and preschool is a child’s first step in formal education. During this learning period, children learn about “pre-skills” through learning, playing, singing, and more. This helps to create a base on which children can learn lessons when they move on to kindergarten and elementary school. 

Another big aspect of preschool is socializing, a crucial component we go over in our early childhood education courses. Beyond their immediate family, for many students preschool is the first time they get to interact with other children. This is when they learn valuable lessons about sharing, being kind to one another, and conflict resolution. 

Montessori Schools 

Built on principles of self-reliance and inherent curiosity that every child possesses, Montessori Schools offer an alternative to traditional education. Due to the focus on “child-centric learning,” the range of children in a classroom can vary. An eight-year-old might learn alongside a four-year-old, and so on. 

A degree in early childhood education allows you to have unique skills Montessori schools are looking for in early childhood educators. With each classroom having multiple “interactive zones”, each dedicated to a particular academic area, you and your students learn together. You work alongside the students. 

Kindergarten 

Considered the start of formal education, kindergarten is the stepping stone into the elementary school system. Usually, kids are five to six years old, and most of the lessons focus on peer-to-peer learning. During peer-to-peer learning children are taught important social skills that will be crucial for their entire lives. They also start to learn more complex aspects of math like adding and subtracting. They begin to string sentences together, along with spelling. 

Kindergarten is a crucial step in early childhood education. A kindergarten teacher introduces more complex lessons to their students and prepares them for elementary school.