Early Childhood Studies

• Early Childhood Studies, A.A.S.
• Early Childhood Studies, Level II Certificate
• Early Childhood Administration Certificate – Level 1

The ECS program substitutes the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential for TECA 1318 and CDEC 1380. The student must provide a copy of the CDA to the Early Childhood Studies program for course substitution.

The San Antonio College Early Childhood Studies program mission is to prepare early childhood educators, provide quality educational experiences, advocate for children and families, and collaborate with the community we serve.

Developmentally appropriate practice is at the core of our program.  First and foremost, students are taught to always consider the child’s age, individual interests, abilities, and cultural background. We prepare students with a strong knowledge base in growth and development along with the understanding of how young children learn. Diversity, in all forms, is appreciated and welcomed in our program. Each child and student are appreciated for their unique qualities. In support of the research, play is valued as an important part of childhood and recognized as the way children strengthen development in all domains. Acknowledging the importance of accountability, the state standards for early childhood are utilized to plan meaningful curriculum and playful learning experiences. We educate our students not only what to teach, but how to teach.

Hands-on experience is an important part of our curriculum.  Our AAS degree plan requires two field experiences and three practicums working with children in order for students to connect theory with practice.  The field experiences expose students to how specific course information is implemented in the field. Our practicums involve applying course knowledge and practicing teaching and guidance strategies as they work directly with young children. We have two early childhood settings on-campus, our early childhood center, which is accredited by NAEYC and an Early Head Start program. Students can learn under the guidance of early childhood educators who model intentional teaching and best practice.  Students receive individual feedback from faculty members after scheduled observations. These experiences prepare students to teach in a variety of early childhood settings. Working students may use their center for their lab setting. Our classes are designed to foster a community of learners through many active learning opportunities such as group projects, case studies, role-playing, and class presentations.

We recognize the importance of teacher and family relationships. When working with young children, early childhood educators collaborate with their families, respect their role in development of their children, and involve them as partners in decision making. The three R’s, being respectful, reciprocal, and responsive are applied to children, as well as families to support meaningful, nurturing relationships.  Students are challenged to create an antibias approach to working with children and families. Class activities and field experiences engage students in understanding the rich diversity of our community.

Professionalism is interwoven throughout the program.  The NAEYC Code of Ethics is explored throughout our courses.  Faculty provide all students equitable learning opportunities so they may be successful, including course deliveries designed to meet the adult learners’ needs. Faculty model professionalism by being engaged in the community and profession, at the local, state and national level.  We are committed to advocating for quality early childhood programs, engaging in community initiatives, serving on boards, and providing training in the ECE community.  Students are also encouraged to be active participants in the early childhood field.  The Early Childhood Studies student club involves students in on-campus events, as well as community-wide events such as conferences, advocacy events and professional organization experiences.

The program is guided by the NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs Standards which have been adopted as our program learning outcomes (Advancing the Early Childhood Profession, NAEYC Standards and Guidelines for Professional Development, NAEYC, 2012).  Also directing our program are the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, The Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession, and Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education.

It is our utmost goal that graduates embrace the profession with a disposition of joy in learning and teaching.  We want students to be passionate about working with young children and their families. We stress the importance of being life-long learners as new research findings and practices evolve in our field.

The Early Childhood Studies program operates within the context of San Antonio College’s mission and values.

Mission:

To empower our community for success by meeting the postsecondary learning needs of all San Antonio College Students through equitable educational practices for diverse populations in a globally networked society. To help students achieve their full potential by preparing them to graduate, transfer, or enter the workforce with effective critical thinking skills, communication proficiency, leadership ability, personal and civic responsibility, empirical and quantitative understanding, performance proficiency, and the ability to work effectively in teams.

Values:

• Students First
• Respect for All
• Collaboration
• Community Engaged
• Can Do Spirit
• Data-Informed

Revised July 2023

Outcome Measure #1: The Number of Program Completers

• Academic Year: 2023 - 2024
  • • Number of program completers: 39
    • % of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion): 15.4% (6)*
    • % of program completers who were attending part-time (at the time of completion): 82.1% (32)*
    • *1 student was not enrolled in a SAC course during the 2023-24 AY
• Academic Year: 2022 - 2023
  • Number of program completers: 18
  • % of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion): 0%
  • % of program completers who were attending part-time (at the time of completion): 100%
• Academic Year: 2021 - 2022
  • Number of program completers: 21
  • % of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion): 14.3%
  • % of program completers who were attending part-time (at the time of completion): 85.7%

Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate
Published timeframe for full-time students to complete the early childhood program: Two years (4 semesters).

• Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program (select three sequential years): Fall 2020

• Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150% of the published timeframe: 13.3%
• Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 200% (twice) of the published timeframe: 13.3%

• Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program (select three sequential years): Fall 2019

• • Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150% of the published timeframe: 25%
  • Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 200% (twice) of the published timeframe: 25.0%

• Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program (select three sequential years): Fall 2018 

• • Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150% of the published timeframe: 14.8%
  • Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 100%, 200% (twice), or 300% (three times) of the published timeframe: 18.5%

Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data
The fall-to-fall retention rate in the program for each of the three most recently completed academic years.

• Academic Year: 2024 (Fall 2023)
• % of Part-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 72.5%
• Retention Rate among Part-Time Candidates: 33%
• % of Full-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 27.5%
• Retention Rate among Full-Time Candidates: 38.5%

• Academic Year: 2023 (Fall 2022)
  • % of Part-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 76.9%
  • Retention Rate among Part-Time Candidates: 48.7%
  • % of Full-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 23.1%
  • Retention Rate among Full-Time Candidates: 52.9%
• Academic Year: 2022 (Fall 2021)
  • % of Part-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 78%
  • Retention Rate among Part-Time Candidates: 36.9%
  • % of Full-Time Candidates Enrolled in the Program (% of Total Enrollment): 22%
  • Retention Rate among Full-Time Candidates: 31.1%

Fall 24 Data (coming soon)

Standard 1: Child Development and Learning in Context

1a: Understand the developmental period of early childhood from birth through age 8 across physical, cognitive, social and emotional, and linguistic domains, including bilingual/multilingual development.

1b: Understand and value each child as an individual with unique developmental variations, experiences,

strengths, interests, abilities, challenges, approaches to learning, and with the capacity to make choices.

1c: Understand the ways that child development and the learning process occur in multiple contexts, including family, culture, language, community, and early learning setting, as well as in a larger societal context that includes structural inequities.

1d: Use this multidimensional knowledge—that is, knowledge about the developmental period of early childhood, about individual children, and about development and learning in cultural contexts—to make evidence-based decisions that support each child.

Standard 2: Family-Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections

2a: Know about, understand, and value the diversity of families.

2b: Collaborate as partners with families in young children’s development and learning through respectful, reciprocal relationships and engagement.

2c: Use community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support families, and build partnerships between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.

Standard 3: Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment

3a: Understand that assessments (formal and informal, formative and summative) are conducted to make informed choices about instruction and for planning in early learning settings.

3b: Know a wide range of types of assessments, their purposes, and their associated methods and tools.

3c: Use screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, ability, culturally, and linguistically appropriate in order to document developmental progress and promote positive outcomes for each child.

3d: Build assessment partnerships with families and professional colleagues.

Standard 4: Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices

4a: Understand and demonstrate positive, caring, supportive relationships and interactions as the foundation of early childhood educators’ work with young children.

4b: Understand and use teaching skills that are responsive to the learning trajectories of young children and to the needs of each child, recognizing that differentiating instruction, incorporating play as a core teaching practice, and supporting the development of executive function skills critical for young children.

4c: Use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias, evidence-based teaching skills and strategies that reflect the principles of universal design for learning.

Standard 5: Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum

5a: Understand content knowledge—the central concepts, methods and tools of inquiry, and structure—and resources for the academic disciplines in an early childhood curriculum.

5b: Understand pedagogical content knowledge—how young children learn in each discipline—and how to use the teacher knowledge and practices described in Standards 1 through 4 to support young children’s learning in each content area.

5c: Modify 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.

 Standard 6: Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator

6a: Identify and involve themselves with the early childhood field and serve as informed advocates for young children, families, and the profession.

6b: Know about and uphold ethical and other early childhood professional guidelines.

6c: Use professional communication skills, including technology-mediated strategies, to effectively support young children’s learning and development and to work with families and colleagues.

6d: Engage in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice.

6e: Develop and sustain the habit of reflective and intentional practice in their daily work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession.

To graduate with an A.A.S. in ECS, all 6 key assessments need to be completed at San Antonio College. This is one of our accreditation requirements. If you have taken courses at other colleges and have transferred the credit to SAC, you will still need to take the key assessment for that particular course during the capstone course. The Key Assessment Courses are:

• CDEC 1381 or CDEC 1194/2287
• CDEC 1195/2288 (Capstone)
• CDEC 1313
• TECA 1354
• TECA 1303

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Texas is a comprehensive scholarship model designed to retain early childhood professionals through increasing their education and compensation. Our scholarships utilize a cost-sharing model that creates a partnership between the scholarship recipient, their employer, and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Texas. With more robust scholarship models and expanded eligibility, earning your credential or degree is more possible than ever!

1. T.E.A.C.H. Scholarships

Eligibility Criteria:

• High school diploma or GED
• Earn less than $20 per hour
• Employed at least 30 hrs/week at a licensed child care center OR licensed or registered family child care home

CDA Assessment Fee Scholarships provide:

• 95% of CDA Assessment Fee
• $200 award for earning CDA credential
• $250 award for remaining employed for 6 months

Associate and Bachelor Scholarships provide:

• 90% of tuition and books
• $200/semester travel stipend
• Release time to attend class and study
• $350-$500 award for completing academic year
• $500-$1,000 award for remaining employed for 12 to 18 months

Benefits for Employers:

• Release time reimbursed at $22/hour
• Staff recruitment and retention too
• Aligns with Texas Rising Star Criteria

2. San Antonio Area Foundation

3. Café College