What Courses Will I Take in a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education Program?

With an early childhood education (ECE) degree, you can become a childcare worker, preschool teacher, or daycare director. But what classes will you take during a bachelor’s in early childhood education?

While pursuing an ECE degree, you’ll typically take courses related to child development, program administration, and classroom management. These classes can strengthen your planning, communication, and leadership skills. Then, you will apply your classroom learning during a hands-on practicum. By graduation, you’ll have the knowledge and skills necessary for leadership roles in early childhood education.

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Curious about what to expect in an early childhood education program? Learn more about some of the most common courses that prepare graduates for careers in early childhood education.

In introductory classes, you’ll explore the core principles and concepts of early childhood education. The course introduces child development and learning theories, trends in preschool education, and the best practices for educating young children.

Depending on the program, you might observe early childhood educators and classrooms.

Understanding child development will help you create supportive, safe learning environments. This class covers brain development and its relationship to emotional, physical, and social development.

You’ll examine language skills, physical changes, and cognitive growth from birth through adolescence. The course links child development to environments like the home and classroom.

Learn how to observe children in diverse environments to understand their development and growth. You will examine assessment techniques and explore the relationship between assessment and program development.

Research-based approaches will help you strengthen your classroom leadership skills. The course also emphasizes classroom management and the tools you can use to create a safe classroom.

Before kindergarten, children begin to develop many key literacy skills. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to integrate literacy skills into daycare and preschool settings, including emerging reading skills.

During the class, you’ll study language and literacy development. You will also apply your knowledge in projects such as designing literacy activities.

Social and emotional learning play important roles in early childhood education. Learn how to help children develop their self-regulation skills and strengthen their emotional resilience.

The course will teach you how to encourage healthy social relationships between children. You’ll also learn how fostering trusting relationships supports social and emotional learning.

Are you interested in roles like lead teacher or program director? A course in early childhood education administration can help you build key leadership and management skills.

You will learn how to evaluate programs, train teachers, and implement improvements. The course may also cover budgeting, parental relationships, and licensing requirements.

In daycares and preschools, children strengthen their fine motor skills, creative abilities, and foundational math and literacy skills. Learn how to build and implement a curriculum that teaches core skills.

You will study developmentally appropriate activities, curriculum assessment, and learning theory to create a strong curriculum.

Explore the best practices when caring for young children with exceptional needs. The course covers instructional strategies, inclusive approaches, and differentiation in early childhood settings.

You will also learn how to work with families to support children with disabilities. The class might incorporate a practicum component to gain hands-on experience.

The best early childhood education programs blend classroom learning with experiential components. You will likely complete a practicum, internship, or student teaching experience as part of your fieldwork requirement.

During the practicum, you will visit diverse ECE settings and interact with teachers and children. By applying your classroom knowledge, you will gain valuable hands-on training.

The fieldwork requirement prepares you for early childhood education jobs like preschool teacher, childcare worker, or preschool director.

Note: The insights on this page — excluding school descriptions — were reviewed by an independent third party compensated for their time by BestColleges. Page last reviewed April 16, 2024.