The need for qualified child care providers in Southern Maryland is growing as the region expands.
Students completing this degree program have the skills necessary to become the owner of a child care center, a program director for a child care center with more than 40 children, or a teacher in a child care center.
A degree in Early Childhood Development is designed to provide a background in pedagogy and theories of child growth and development. The student is qualified to apply this knowledge in planning developmentally appropriate learning experiences in a variety of child care settings. Practical experience in a child care setting is combined with a broad background in the liberal arts. Students travel off campus to early childhood programs approved for cooperative education experiences, to complete observations of young children, and to implement approved lessons with small groups of children.
Programs of Study
Students completing this degree program have the skills necessary to become the owner of a child care center, a program director for a child care center with more than 40 children, or a preschool teacher in a child care center.
If students complete elective EDU-1110, they may meet the infant/toddler teacher qualifications for child care centers in Maryland. If students complete elective EDU-1160, they may meet school-age teacher qualifications for child care centers in Maryland.
The Early Childhood Development certificate program prepares individuals to be preschool teachers in child care centers in Maryland. In addition, the program provides the opportunity for those presently employed as child care staff to update and enhance their competencies.
Potential places of employment for graduates include child care centers, child development centers, nursery schools, residential facilities, and family child care homes.
This sequence of courses gives child care providers the information necessary to be responsible for preschool-aged children in a child-care setting. This course sequence meets the Maryland Office of Child-Care Licensing and Regulations requirements for a preschool teacher in a child care center.
Child Care Career and Professional Development Fund
The Child Care Career and Professional Development Fund (CCCPDF) is a tuition assistance program for child care providers to obtain a college education at the College of Southern Maryland. Funding is available for child care providers to earn a college degree in the following areas:
Early Childhood Education
Early Childhood Development
Elementary Education
Special Education
To apply, contact: CSM CCCPDF Coordinator, Tora Wright at tlwright1@csmd.edu.
Students enrolled in the cooperative education courses, EDU 1910 and EDU 2910, are employed or place in a child care environment in Southern Maryland where they are working with young children. The center director/owner may opt to hire the student after completion of the course.
The EDU courses provide opportunities for students to observe children and engage in activities in a supervised setting with guidance from the professor and the child care center mentor or director.
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