Early Childhood Care and Education

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Idaho State University, College of Technology, Early Childhood Care and Education Associate Degree Program is to meet the specific training needs of early childhood care and education personnel working in child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start programs, and private preschool programs by educating individuals in the theory, practice, and policies necessary for quality care and education of children from birth to eight years of age.

Conceptual Framework:

Idaho State University is a public research-based institution that advances scholarly and creative endeavors through academic instruction, and the creation of new knowledge, research, and artistic works. Idaho State University provides leadership in the health professions, biomedical, and pharmaceutical sciences, as well as serving the region and the nation through its environmental science and energy programs. The University provides access to its regional and rural communities through delivery of preeminent technical, undergraduate, graduate, professional, and interdisciplinary education. The University fosters a culture of diversity, and engages and impacts its communities through partnerships and services.

The College of Technology provides students with the opportunity to acquire a career-technical education in a university setting. The college is not only designed to meet the needs of students, but also area business, industry, and community partners.  The mission of the College of Technology is to provide students with technical skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for successful performance in a highly effective workplace.

The vision of the Early Childhood Care and Education program is to advocate for children’s well-being and for high quality early childhood care and education by providing a high quality post-secondary education for those who are preparing to teach and care for young children.

We strive to instill in our students the passion to provide high quality early care and education experiences for children and families and the integrity to be guided by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) early childhood program accreditation standards, the NAEYC standards for associate degree programs, and the NAEYC code of ethics.

We prepare our students to provide high quality early care and education experiences to children and families by providing them with the “technical skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for successful performance in a highly effective workplace,” as is our assignment from the Idaho Division for Career & Technical Education.  

Program Objectives:

This program will provide students with the skills and knowledge to be responsible for meeting the specific needs of a group of children by nurturing the children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs; setting up and maintaining the early care and education environment; and establishing a liaison relationship between families and the program.

To promote Child Development and Learning in Context by:

1: Understanding the developmental period of early childhood from birth through age 8                              

2: Understanding and valuing each child as an individual                                                                                             

3: Understanding the ways that child development and the learning process occur in multiple contexts

4: Using this multidimensional knowledge to make evidence-based decisions to support each child.                                                                                        

To Build Family-Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections by:       

1: Knowing about, understanding and valuing the diversity of families                                                                   

2: Collaborating as partners with families                                                                                           

3: Using community resources to support young children’s learning and development                                                                                  

To use Child Observation, Documentation and Assessment by:     

1: Understanding that assessments are conducted to make informed choices about instruction and for planning                

2: Knowing a wide range of types of assessments, their purposes, and their associated methods and tools                           

3: Using screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, ability, culturally, and linguistically appropriate                                                                                     

4: Building assessment partnerships with families and professional colleagues                                                                                  

To use Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices by:           

1: Understanding and demonstrating positive, caring and supportive relationships and interactions

2: Understanding and using teaching skills that are responsive to the learning trajectories of young children and to the needs of each child                                                                                 

3: Using a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias, evidence-based teaching skills and strategies                                                                                         

 To use Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum by:      

1: Understanding content knowledge and resources for the academic disciplines in an early childhood curriculum               

2: Understanding pedagogical content knowledge and how to use the teacher knowledge and practices described in Standards 1-4 to support young children’s learning in each content area                                

3: Modifying teaching practices by applying, expanding, integrating, and updating their content knowledge in the disciplines, their knowledge of curriculum content resources, and their pedagogical content knowledge                                                                                 

To use Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator by:

1: Identifying and involving themselves with the early childhood field                                                                   

2: Knowing about and upholding ethical and other professional guidelines                                                         

3: Using professional communication skills                                                                                         

4: Engaging in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice                                                                       

5: Developing and sustaining the habit of reflective and intentional practice        

Canidate Learning Outcomes

Outcome Measure #1: The Number of Program Completers

 Program name: Early Childhood Care and Education AAS

Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate

 Program Name: Early Childhood Care and Education AAS

Outcome Measure #3: The number and percentage of program graduates employed in the early childhood profession or pursuing further education in the profession within one year of graduation.

*The figures in these two columns do not need to add up to 100%

Canidate Learning Outcomes

Canidate Learning Outcomes