Students at Centennial College's Early Childhood Education Benefit from Real World Experiences
Posted by Jason White on Thursday, June 19, 2014
Under: College Education
Today, it isn't only nursery schools or childcare centres that require
the know-how of childcare professionals. Places such as drop-in centres,
shelters for women, and children and parent resource centres are also
employing men and women with expertise in this area.
Centennial College's Early Childhood Education is a full-time program
that teaches students the know-how they need to provide high standards
of quality care to children and their families. This is achieved in a
proactive way, with all four semesters of training featuring hands-on
practice and a curriculum that reflects current trends and directions in
the ECE field.
In fact, one of the standout aspects is the amount of hands-on practice
that students receive during their time in the offering. The useful
experiences include practical application in two, on-campus early
childhood education centres that serve as lab schools, which allow
students to witness and understand what high quality childcare is all
about.
As a result of the thorough training students receive in the ECE program,
graduate employment, graduate and employer satisfaction have all
consistently remained above 80 per cent for several years. Among the
employers hiring students are: Aisling/ Discoveries Centre for Children
& Families, Friends Day Care, Toronto Board of Education and the
YMCA.
Among specific program courses are: An Introduction to Early Childhood
Education: A solid base is vital for success in early childhood studies.
As such, this overview course is offered in the first semester to give
students grounding in the history of the profession from a global
perspective and the exploration of various service delivery models and
theoretical approaches to working with young children and their
families.
The Child at the Centre of the Curriculum: Children's interests must be
recognized in the development of a curriculum and this course teaches
students to construct and implement experiences that are responsive and
enhance the development of the whole child. As a hands-on component,
students use Emergent Curriculum principles to construct, implement and
document a variety of experiences that enhance children's learning in a
range of curriculum content areas.
Child Development - Theoretic Perspective: Freud, Piaget, Erikson and
Vygotsky have significantly affected the understanding of child
development. Their contributions are studied in this course as the
framework and foundations that define ‘quality' experiences in the early
years.
Advocacy and the Emerging Professional: Accessibility, affordability,
flexibility, and quality child-care issues impact children, family life
and the roles and responsibilities of caregivers. In this course,
students examine current trends and issues in the field of early
childhood education, including relevant legislation, policies,
procedures, and regulations, within a changing social context.
Centennial College students compliment their on-campus experience with field placements at child care centres in Toronto under
the supervision of faculty members. These instructors visit agencies at
pre-arranged times to observe students in action with the children,
clarify student expectations and responsibilities and provide feedback
regarding strengths and needs. Final grades are assigned based upon the
competencies and grading system outlined in the field manual.
In : College Education
Tags: child care centres in toronto early childhood education ece program early childhood studies