This program offers the theory and skills required for working in various settings that serve young children birth through grade three. Graduates may qualify as a teacher in an early childhood center classroom. The A.A.S. partially fulfills the New Mexico Public Education Department’s competency requirements for a birth through grade three licensure.
Note: A.A.S. degrees are designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in specific occupations; they are not generally intended to transfer to four-year institutions.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Describe the processes of and influences on development in young children.
- Identify the adult’s role in supporting each child’s growth, development and learning.
- Create and promote supportive environments that engage parents, guardians, families and the community to meet the needs of each child.
- Select and use diverse assessment tools to monitor child development.
- Select and use diverse assessment tools to monitor the quality of early childhood programs.
- Design, implement and evaluate curricula and instruction that promote optimal development and learning for all children.
- Make appropriate and ethical decisions to positively influence children’s development.
- Analyze safe environments and appropriate nutrition that promote positive physical and mental health for young children
Class Requirements
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (26 HRS. MIN.)
Communications (9 hrs.)
ENGL 111 Composition and Rhetoric (3)
ENGL 112 Composition and Literature (3)
[or]
ENGL 119 Professional Communication (3)
[or]
ENGL 216 Technical Writing (3)
Any SPCH course (3)
Mathematics (3 hrs. min.)
Choose from the following:
BSAD 112 Business Math (3)
MATH 111 Math for Elementary School
Teachers I (3)
MATH 112 Math for Elementary School Teachers II (3)
MATH 119 Applications of Mathematics for Nonscience Majors (3)
MATH 121 College Algebra (4) or higher
Laboratory Science (4 hrs. min.)
Social/Behavioral Sciences (6 hrs.)
Humanities and Fine Arts (3 hrs.)
The combined total of Social and Behavioral Sciences
and Humanities and Fine Arts areas should equal
9 credit hours.
Health and Wellness (1 hr.)
CORE REQUIREMENTS: (32 HRS.)
ECED 111 Child, Growth, Development, and
Learning (3)
ECED 112 Health, Safety, and Nutrition (2)
ECED 113 Family and Community Collaboration (3)
ECED 114 Assessment of Children and Evaluation of Programs (3)
ECED 211 Introduction to Reading and Literacy Development (3)
ECED 215 Professionalism (2)
ECED 216A Curriculum Development and
Implementation I (3)
ECED 216B Curriculum Development and Implementation Practicum I (2)
ECED 217A Curriculum Development and Implementation Age 3-Grade 3 (3)
ECED 217B Curriculum Development and Implementation Practicum Age 3-
Grade 3 (2)
ECED 218 Guiding Young Children (3)
ECME 111 Foundations of Early Childhood (3)
RELATED REQUIREMENTS: (3 HRS. MIN.)
Choose from the following:
EDUC 228 Technology in the Classroom (3)
MART 119 Digital Skills (3)
OFTC 111 Business Software Essentials I (4)
Six credit hours of the A.A.A. and A.A.S. must come from an approved list of courses that satisfy the following requirements. These are not meant to be additional hours in the degree but are, instead, existing courses that satisfy the requirement and appear anywhere in the degree.
- Cultural Perspectives (3 credit hours)
- Sustainable Living (3 credit hours)
TOTAL 61 CREDITS MIN.