Early Childhood Education

The Early Childhood Education Certificate provides a competency based curriculum and practicum experience for students who wish to work in a professional childcare setting. When entering the Early Childhood Education Program proof of immunization and a criminal background check are required for the practicum experience at a registered childcare facility.

Certificate to total 36 credits
Each Practicum requires 3-4 hrs of work experience per week at a licensed or registered early childcare facility (45 hours =1 credit hour).

Students completing this program will be able to:

• Use knowledge of how children develop and learn to provide opportunities that support the physical, social, emotional, language, cognitive, and aesthetic development of all young children from birth through age eight.
• Plan and implement developmentally appropriate curriculum and instructional practices based on knowledge of individual children, special needs, the community, the importance of play, and curriculum goals and content.
• Use individual and group guidance techniques to develop positive and supportive relationships with children, encourage positive social interaction among children, promote positive strategies that will develop personal self-control and self-esteem in children.
• Establish and maintain physically and psychologically safe and healthy learning environment for young children.
• Use informal and formal assessment strategies as an on-going integral part of planning and individualizing curriculum and teaching practices.
• Establish and maintain positive family and community relationships by communicating effectively, demonstrating sensitivity to differences, respecting parental choices and involving families in planning for their children.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the early childhood profession by being informed about professional development, legal issues, resource information, state and national regulations and opportunities that would improve quality of programs and services for young children.
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively during at least 300 hours of supervised practicum experience in appropriate settings serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or school age children.

Read Catalog [3]

Careers: Childcare Worker, Early care Teacher, Preschool Teacher, Lead Teacher in a Childcare Center, Toddler Teacher in a Childcare Center, Teacher Assistant in a Childcare Center, Group Teacher, Early Childhood Teacher.

More career info [4]

Program Costs for 2012-13:

Tuition/Fees: $3,082.50 In-District; $4,245 Out-of-District; $5,655 WUE; $9,135 Out-of-State; $7,057.50 Canadian Exchange

On-Campus Room/Board: $3,500

Books/Supplies: $1,475.30

Job placement rates: Not available as these are not required by the state of Montana or the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

To protect student privacy, data on completion rates and debt incurred is not provided for those programs that had less than 10 graduates.