New Program Proposal Associate In Public Service In Early Care And Education printable pdf download

CAAL

10/20/04

Agenda Item 2b.

New Program Proposal

Associate in Public Service in Early Care and Education

Midlands Technical College

Summary

Midlands Technical College requests approval to offer a program leading to

the Associate in Public Service degree in Early Care and Education with

concentrations in Business Management and Instruction, to be implemented in Fall

2005.

The proposal was approved by the State Board for Technical and

Comprehensive Education on July 12, 2004, and submitted for Commission

review on August 9, 2004.

The proposal was reviewed without substantive

comment and voted upon favorably by the Advisory Committee on Academic

Programs at its meeting on September 30, 2004.

The purpose of the program is to meet the needs of the early childhood

industry within the Midlands Technical College service area. Program graduates

will be employed by area childcare centers and both public and private faith-based

organizations providing child care services.

The intent of the program is

occupational, and consequently does not lead to teacher licensure or certification,

nor is the program intended or designed to articulate with teacher education

programs at four-year institutions.

Research in the area of Early Childhood Education illuminates the need for

high-quality childcare programs, and in particular the need for personnel with

specific training that targets the unique developmental needs of children from the

ages of three to five. Nationally, recent Head Start legislation has placed greater

emphasis on advanced educational levels for their teachers by requiring “…at least

half of all Head Start teachers in center-based programs to have an A.A., B.A., or

advanced degree in Early Childhood Education or in a related field with preschool

teaching experience.” Locally, South Carolina’s First Steps to School Readiness

program has emphasized quality training for its childcare providers.

The proposal cites statistics from “Interfaith Community Services” (a

childcare monitoring agency), noting that within the institution’s service area there

are 320 licensed childcare centers and homes, employing nearly 2,300 staff

members. These organizations and small businesses project that in each of the

next three years they will need approximately 174 full-time and 85 part-time

New Program Proposal Associate In Public Service In Early Care And Education