Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Studies

Program Learning Goals:

It is intended that Graduates of the Aspen University Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Studies program will learn or be able to do the following:

1. Child Development and Strategies of Support: Study theories and examine research that focus on children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Graduates will be able to apply this knowledge in order to optimize learning and to design settings that positively influence children’s healthy development in all aspects of growth. This domain is aligned to the NAEYC Standard #1: Promoting Child Development and Learning.
2. The Parent, Family, and Community Connection: Examine the importance and impact of the child’s world outside of school and how those influences correlate with a child’s success in school. Graduates will be able to apply this knowledge by designing programmatic strategies to include, empower, and value families and communities. This domain is aligned with the NAEYC Standard #2: Building Family and Community Relationships.
3. Evidence-Based Decision Making: Develop a wide range of knowledge and skills for gathering and analyzing data that is used to inform decisions about children’s development, teacher effectiveness, and accountability, in order to connect teaching and learning. Graduates will apply their knowledge and skills related to assessment in responsible ways, using multiple types of data sources to collaborate with families and other educators/professionals in the child’s life. This domain is aligned with NAEYC Standard #3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families.
4. Developmentally Responsive Pedagogy: Master a repertoire of instructional strategies that acknowledge each child’s complex characteristics related to age, interests, background, and abilities. Graduates will examine how these variables interact with setting and will create conditions that promote growth through developmentally appropriate practices. This domain aligns with NAEYC Standard #4: Using Developmentally Effective Approaches.
5. Multidisciplinary Integration and Teaching: Develop knowledge and skills for integrating multiple content areas so that learning is relevant, meaningful, and multidisciplinary. Graduates will implement knowledge of developmental milestones related to different subject areas (e.g., math, science, reading, writing, social studies, health and safety, technology, art and music) and design learning experiences that synthesize multiple subjects and that address the developmental level of the child. This domain is aligned with NAEYC Standard #5: Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum.
6. Ethics, Activism, and Advocacy within the Field: Participate as active members and leaders in the early childhood education community who remain current on the issues that exist in the field and who advocate for policy changes that improve services for children and conditions for early childhood educators. Graduates will behave in an ethical manner, according to the accepted standards of the profession, and demonstrate caring, professional dispositions. This domain is aligned with NAEYC Standard #6: Becoming a Professional.
7. Settings and Stages: Possess a deep knowledge base of the different contexts for early childhood programs and will demonstrate expertise in understanding the different age groups and their developmental stages. This domain aligns with NAEYC Standard #7: Early Childhood Field Experiences, even though the ECS programs at Aspen do not require field experiences.

Academic Schedule

Courses:

Additional Information:

Applicants who hold valid and current CDA certification are eligible to receive twelve credits in lieu of the following courses: ECE101, ECE102, ECE103, & a general education elective.