Mission Statement
The Business and Public Service Division supports the mission of the College by offering business/public service-related courses and programs that prepare students for employment or advancement in Georgia?s economy.
The mission of the Early Childhood Care and Education program is to provide students with a combination of child development theory and practical applications necessary for successful employment.
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Work Environment
Helping children grow, learn, and gain new skills can be very rewarding. The work is sometimes routine, but new activities and challenges mark each day. Childcare can be physically and emotionally taxing as workers constantly stand, walk, bend, stoop, and lift to attend to each child's interests and problems. These workers experienced a larger than average number of work-related injuries or illnesses.
The work hours of childcare workers vary widely. Childcare centers usually are open year round, with long hours so that parents can drop off and pick up their children before and after work. Some centers employ full-time and part-time staff with staggered shifts to cover the entire day. Some workers are unable to take regular breaks during the day due to limited staffing. Public and many private preschool programs operate during the typical 9- or 10-month school year, employing both full-time and part-time workers.
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Nature of the Work
Childcare workers nurture, teach, and care for children who have not yet entered kindergarten. In addition to attending to children's health, safety, and nutrition, childcare workers organize activities and implement curricula that stimulate children's physical, emotional, intellectual, and social growth. They help children explore individual interests, develop talents and independence, build self-esteem, learn how to get along with others, and prepare for more formal schooling.
Young children learn mainly through playing, solving problems, questioning, and experimenting. Childcare workers recognize that fact and capitalize on children's play and other experiences to further their language development (through storytelling and acting games), improve their social skills (by having them work together to build a neighborhood in a sandbox), and introduce scientific and mathematical concepts (by balancing and counting blocks when building a bridge or mixing colors when painting). Often, a less structured approach, including small-group lessons; one-on-one instruction; and creative activities such as art, dance, and music, is used to teach young children. Childcare workers play a vital role in preparing children to build the skills they will need in school.
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Employment
Childcare workers held about 1.3 million jobs nationally in 2008. About 33 percent of childcare workers were self-employed; most of these were family childcare providers. Child daycare services employed about 19 percent of all childcare workers, and about 19 percent worked for private households. The remainder worked primarily in educational services; nursing and residential care facilities; amusement and recreation industries; civic and social organizations; and individual and family services. Some childcare programs are for-profit centers, which may be affiliated with a local or national company. A very small percentage of private-industry establishments operate on-site childcare centers for the children of their employees. Employment of childcare workers is projected to increase by 11 percent between 2008 and 2018. An increasing emphasis on early childhood education programs will increase demand for these workers.
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Earnings
Pay depends on the educational attainment of the worker and the type of establishment. Median hourly wages nationally of childcare workers were $9.12 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $7.75 and $11.30. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.04, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $13.98. Many employers offer free or discounted childcare to employees. Some offer a full benefits package, including health insurance and paid vacations.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition (http://www.bls.gov/oco/)
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Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the associate degree and diploma programs in Early Childhood Care and Education will be able to complete the following tasks:
- Demonstrate a foundational knowledge of how the role as a child development specialist will influence and be applied as a teacher of young children by citing specific teaching approaches, strategies, methods, and tools for early education
- Document personal definition on ways teachers can promote and protect the health and safety of young children
- Demonstrate knowledge and skills to plan a developmentally appropriate curriculum and classroom program that is based upon observational data, professionally defined standards, research, and theories including all children
- Demonstrate the ability to create a classroom environment that reflects built-in elements of guidance that provide reasonable limits while encouraging children's independence and self-regulation through the teacher's role in supporting learning
- Demonstrate foundational knowledge of the connection between social-emotional learning and success in all aspects of learning and growth throughout childhood
- Document personal application of professional knowledge of the role of the teacher in establishing relationships, building partnerships with parents, and identification of the importance of the family in the life and development of a child
- Demonstrate the personal and professional ethics and interpersonal skills that are expected in the workplace
Graduates of the technical certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education Basics will be able to complete the following tasks:
- Demonstrate a foundational knowledge of how the role as a child development specialist will influence and be applied as a teacher of young children by citing specific teaching approaches, strategies, methods, and tools for early education
- Document personal definition on ways teachers can promote and protect the health and safety of young children
- Demonstrate the ability to create a classroom environment that reflects built-in elements of guidance that provide reasonable limits while encouraging children's independence and self-regulation through the teacher's role in supporting learning
- Demonstrate the personal and professional ethics and interpersonal skills that are expected in the workplace
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Essential Functions
The purpose of the essential functions list is to allow prospective students who are considering a career to be informed of the physical, emotional, and psychological demands related to training and employment in a field of study. These lists are provided to allow prospective students to make informed career choices by providing them with a summary of the physical abilities and personality traits that are generally required for the successful completion of a curriculum and result in employment in their field of study after graduation.
For students to be successful in the Early Childhood Care and Education programs, they must be able to perform the following essential functions:
- Administer, score, and record such achievement and diagnostic tests as policy, school, center, and/or teacher recommends or is required for individual students
- Work with individual students or large or small groups of students to teach and/or reinforce the learning of skills
- Assist in devising special strategies for reinforcing skills based on a sympathetic understanding of individual students and their needs, interests, and abilities
- Operate and care for equipment used in the classroom for instructional purposes
- Help students master equipment or instructional materials
- Distribute and collect workbooks, papers, and other materials for instruction
- Guide independent study of enrichment work and remedial work
- Supervise students during emergency drills, assemblies, play periods, and field trips
- Perform clerical duties assigned by the director, principal, or other staff members
- Obtain, gather, and organize pertinent data as needed and put it into usable form
- Keep bulletin boards and other classroom learning displays up to date
- Assist with large group activities, including drill work, reading, and storytelling
- Keep work area and/or classroom clean and organized
- Be able to stand at least 50 percent of the time
- Be able to sit in a chair or on the floor for only 20 percent of the time
- Be able to squat 20 percent of the time
- Be able to reach overhead and to the floor
- Be able to lift at least 50 pounds
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Program Expenses
The Higher Education Act requires all colleges and universities to notify students and prospective students of all program costs for which they will be responsible. Students will be responsible for the following expenses each semester (unless otherwise noted):
- Tuition ($75 per credit hour)
- Registration fee ($39)
- Student activity fees ($30)
- Accident insurance fee ($6)
- Instructional and technology supply fee ($55)
- Background check (Approximately $9 per required check)
- Malpractice insurance ($11 per year)
- Program supply fee (Varies - see course descriptions for amounts)
- Textbooks (Approximately $2,000 for the associate degree program, $1,350 for the diploma program, and $450 for the technical certificate programs)
These expenses are based on costs in effect at the time this catalog was published. Prices are subject to change.
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Gainful Employment
Information on graduation rates, job placement rates, median loan debt incurred by students and other gainful employment information is available on the college website.
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Admission Requirements
Applicants must submit the following information to the Admissions Office:
- Completed and signed application for admission and a $20 nonrefundable application fee
- Official high school or GED transcripts and/or official college transcripts from all colleges attended in the past (see General Admission Requirements)
- Valid COMPASS, ASSET, SAT, or ACT test scores (see COMPASS and ASSET Placement Tests)
Prior to enrolling in a lab course, students must provide the following documentation:
- Satisfactory criminal record check
(Georgia law prohibits the placement of persons with criminal records in childcare facilities. Anyone convicted of felony offenses, neglecting or abusing a dependent person, sexual offenses, or any other "covered crime" cannot work in childcare facilities. Students affected by this law, or who think they might be, should discuss their situations immediately with their respective advisors. Because employment options may be severely limited in the early childhood profession, applicants who receive unsatisfactory criminal records checks are discouraged from pursuing the Early Childhood Care and Education program of study and may need to consider other options.)
- Verification of Malpractice insurance
- Basic cardiac life support and first aid training
- Verification of health and accident insurance
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