Early Childhood Education [8005] ‡

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Bachelor of Science

(120 Credit Hours)

Program Director

Dr. Kathryn Stuckey
941-363-7265 Lakewood Ranch
941-408-1300, ext. 61412 Venice
stuckek@scf.edu

Program Description and Goal

The Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (with emphasis in birth through age 4 teacher certification) Program is a unique program that is designed for students seeking employment in the field of child care and children’s services. The program fulfills the legal requirements being implemented for Head Start teachers and directors, the requirements included in the Florida Statutes regarding Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) teachers, and the point system for the child care center certification process promoted by Florida’s Office of Early Learning (OEL) under the Department of Education (DOE) and the Early Learning Coalitions (ELC) throughout the state. The program prepares students to be highly qualified teachers (including VPK and Head Start) and managers or administrators of programs. The degree prepares participants for teacher certification as well as equips them to meet the requirements for workplace retention or hiring within a high-quality setting for this age group.

There are two tracks for a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education:

Track 1: This is a 2+2 program whereby a student has been working toward an A.A. degree or A.S. degree in Early Childhood.
Track 2: This program is designed for high school students taking dual enrollment courses while still in high school. Dual enrolled students must apply for Track 2 upon entering the College. Fifteen credit hours must be completed either by dual enrollment registration or earned course credit by taking an Advanced Placement (AP) or College Level Examination Program (CLEP). All course work must have a grade of “C” or higher. Dual enrolled students must apply for Track 2 during their senior year in high school.

Separate Application

‡ Degrees/programs will require a separate application and acceptance notification from the specific department before enrollment in the desired program.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements include:

A 2.0 GPA on a scale of 4.0
Completion of 45 semester hours. Included in this must be ENC 1101 and MAT 1033 (or a course at that same or higher level).
Successful completion (i.e. a grade of C or better) of at least 50 percent of the prerequisite courses.

Early Childhood Education Program Requirements

Prerequisite Courses: 22 Credit Hours

EDF 1005 - Introduction to the Teaching Profession & Field Experience (3 Credit Hours)
EDF 2085 - Introduction to Diversity for Educators & Field Experience (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 1000 - Introduction to Early Childhood Education (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 1001 - Early Childhood Growth and Development (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 1319 - Portfolio Development and Performance Observation (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 1601 - Observing and Recording Children’s Behavior (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 2318 - Program Orientation with Portfolio Development (1 Credit Hour)
EME 2040 - Introduction to Technology for Educators (3 Credit Hours)

General Education Courses: 36 Credit Hours

General education courses from Areas I - V.

Lower/Upper Level Electives: 8 Credit Hours

Any A.A. elective over and above A.A. general education requirements. To meet the requirement of A.A. elective, any course that has (A.A.) after the course title in the catalog description.

Upper Level Core Courses: 54 Credit Hours

EDF 3430 - Education Measurement and Evaluations (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 3214 - Early Childhood Education Learning Environment (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 3731 - Health, Nutrition and Safety of Young Children (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4204 - Infant/Toddler Curriculum (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4267 - Curriculum Programs - Preschool (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4268 - Curriculum Activities in Early Childhood (Child Dev.) (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4400 - Parents as Teachers and Field Experiences (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4402 - Cultural and Family Systems (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4613 - Assessment and Evaluation for Young Children (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4661 - Theory and Practice in Early Childhood Education (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4706 - Language and Emerging Literacy (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4941 - Internship I: Early Childhood Education (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4942 - Internship II: Early Childhood Education (3 Credit Hours)
EEC 4943 - Internship III: Early Childhood Education (3 Credit Hours)
EEX 3226 - Assessment of All Young Children & Field Experience (3 Credit Hours)
EEX 3401 - Special Needs of Children and their Families & Field Experiences (3 Credit Hours)
EEX 4603 - Behavior Management in the Preschool & Field Experience (3 Credit Hours)
EEX 4701 - Blending Early Childhood Methods & Field Experience (3 Credit Hours)

Graduation Requirements for Bachelor’s Degrees

The following general requirements for graduation from SCF must be met by all candidates for the Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. Additional requirements may exist for individual programs.

Students must satisfactorily complete 120 credit hours. For residency purposes, a minimum of 30 credit hours required for graduation must be completed at SCF. All other specific degree requirements also must be met. Developmental education (formerly college preparatory) instruction may not be counted toward fulfilling the total number of credit hours required for residency purposes or graduation.
For purposes of conferring the bachelor’s degree, students must complete at least 30 credit hours of courses numbered 3000 level or above. Of these, at least 15 credit hours must be taken at SCF.
Students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher on a 4 .0 scale for all work completed at SCF and a 2.0 grade point average or higher for combined coursework with SCF that includes all transferable credits.
Students must earn a grade of C or better in all upper division program requirements.
Students must complete the general education requirements (36 credit hours) as defined in the Associate in Arts degree. Students who transfer to SCF with either an Associate in Arts degree or a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are considered to have met the general education component of the degree. Courses will be reviewed for equivalency for students who transfer without an Associate in Arts or bachelor’s degree.
Students must have completed Florida’s foreign language requirement prior to the completion of the bachelor’s degree. Students may meet this competency by: A) successful completion of two years (four semesters) of the same foreign language officially documented on a high school transcript; or B) successful completion (grade C or better) of two semesters of the same foreign language at a college or university officially documented on a college/university transcript; or C) education completed outside the United States as documented on an official foreign high school transcript that reflects a primary language other than English; D) or Successful completion of two foreign language equivalents through Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), or UEXCEL exams. One or more of these exams can be in combination with successful completion of college/university credit in the same foreign language subject area. Official transcripts from a high school, college and/or university and/or official examination results must be submitted to the educational records office.
For students wishing to pursue another bachelor’s degree, the student must complete a minimum of 15 additional credit hours beyond the first bachelor’s degree as well as any other degree requirements and graduation requirements listed above for the second program.

SCF reserves the right to make changes in the regulations, offerings, requirements and any provisions announced in this Catalog at any time as circumstances require.