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Online Bachelor of Science in Education With a Concentration in Early Childhood Care and Education (Birth to Age 5)

Program Highlights

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Teacher with little kids in classroom

Program Highlights

120 credit hours |  *In-state tuition: $380.51/credit hour | *Out-of-state tuition: $486.11/credit hour

  • Unique undergraduate program with a specific focus on culturally and linguistically sustaining methods for teaching children birth to age 5
  • The entire program can be completed FULLY ONLINE, either all at UTEP or with combined coursework from El Paso Community College (EPCC) and UTEP
  • Award-winning faculty who are ready to help you acquire the knowledge and skills needed to optimize the health, development, education, and well-being of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers through developmentally and culturally appropriate practices

PROGRAM ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Make a Difference, One Child at a Time

Our Early Childhood Care and Education bachelor’s degree will provide you with the skills you need to optimally nurture young learners in a variety of early education settings including Head Start programs, childcare centers, and community and child welfare programs. As a graduate of this program, you will be able to earn more and advance in your chosen profession; typical positions held by our graduates include:

  • Early Childhood Lead Teacher
  • Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator/Administrator
  • Childcare Owner

This program does not provide licensure.

apply your prior learning to your degree!

Students who have earned the following professional credentials—the National CDA (Child Development Associate) Credential and/or Virtual Lab School Certificate—may be able to accelerate degree completion toward the BSED-ECCE through the application of prior learning credit. Clck on each of the following tabs for details.  

If students have earned a National CDA Credential in any area, UTEP may award up to 9 credit hours toward the
BSED-ECCE degree.

To have credit awarded for a National CDA Credential at UTEP, students must submit the official Credly
transcript (American Council on Education or ACE transcript). To submit an ACE transcript or registry of
credit recommendations to the Office of Admissions and Recruitment, request an official copy by following the
steps below: 

  • Log in: Open the Credly Platform and go to your dashboard.
  • Menu: Click your profile icon drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
  • Select Option: Choose Send Transcripts from the list.
  • Fill Details: Type in your date of birth and the recipient’s information (onlinedocs@utep.edu)
  • Review and Send: Click Continue, check your details carefully, and press send.

If electronic submission is unavailable, mail the official transcript to the Office Of Admissions and Recruitment: The University of Texas at El Paso, Office of Admissions and Recruitment, Mike Loya Academic Services Building, Room 102, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968.

If students have earned a Virtual Lab School (VLS) Certificate in any area, UTEP may award up to 9 credit
hours toward the BSED-ECCE degree.

To have credit awarded for a Virtual Lab School (VLS) Certificate, students should submit official VLS documentation to the Office of Admissions and Recruitment at onlinedocs@utep.edu.

To access your records:

  • Log in to your VLS account.
  • Navigate to your profile dashboard.
  • Download your official completion certificate and transcript records.
  • Submit the documents electronically as directed to onlinedocs@utep.edu.

For additional assistance, please visit the Virtual Lab School website. 

If students have both a National CDA Credential and a Virtual Lab School (VLS) Certificate, UTEP may apply up to 18
credits for this prior learning to the BSED-ECCE degree. For submission, follow both sets of directions above.

Course Overview

The 120-credit online B.S. in Early Childhood Care and Education program requires you to complete 42 credit hours of a core curriculum, 60 hours of college coursework and 18 hours of electives. All required College of Education coursework requires a combined minimum grade point of 3.0. A total cumulative grade point of 2.75 or higher is required for this degree program. 

Note: Some courses require field observation hours; see course description for details. 

College of Education Required Courses

Examine professional and ethical codes of conduct in the field of Early Childhood Education. Focus on the components of developmentally appropriate and culturally sustaining programming for young children, as well as the roles and responsibilities of caregivers and educators in these settings. Explore legislation and public policy related to the education of young children, analyze various Early Childhood programs according to state and national standards, and articulate your emerging identity as an early childhood education professional.

Focus on the theories, methods and materials of early care and education for infants (children birth to eighteen months) in diverse educational settings. Explore the following topics in depth: social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of infants; basic principles of infant care giving, including providing culturally sensitive and consistent care; arrangement of the environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to promote infant growth and learning; and establishing respectful and responsive partnerships with families. Prereq: ECED 2300 with C or better; field-based experience.

Focus on the theories, methods and materials of early care and education for toddlers (children eighteen to thirty-six months) in diverse educational settings. Explore the following topics in depth: social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of toddlers; basic principles of toddler care giving, including providing culturally sensitive and consistent care; arrangement of the environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to promote toddler growth and learning; and establishing respectful and responsive partnership with families. Prereq: ECED 2300 with C or better; field-based experience.

Focus on the appropriate use of assessment/observation strategies to document the development, growth, play and learning of young children; and how authentic assessment methods can be used to guide experiences to meet differentiated needs.The course will aid undergraduate ECCE students in being able to better perform systematic observations and assessments in the classroom. ECED faculty will develop content exploration and synthesis for this course at a 3000/junior level (replaces 2000-level course) to align with the new program progression and national accreditation standards.

Examine the design, implementation and evaluation of activities and environments for young children to encourage learning related to STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics] in diverse bilingual contexts. Learn how environmental interactions, socio-cultural relationships, STEM process, skills/practices and artistic expression interact to form the basis of early problem solving, critical and creative thinking, and study STEAM conceptual development in young children. Gain knowledge of state and national teaching standards. Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practices; STEM/STEAM Education.

Examine the psychological and psychosocial bases of early childhood as they relate to educational practice with young children, birth to age 8. Focus on young children's physical, cognitive, communicative, social and emotional development -- both as contributors to, and as consequences of, early learning experiences. Examine early learning in relation to biological factors, child and family factors, program/ schooling factors and social factors, particularly in diverse bilingual education settings. Prereq: ECED 2300 with C or better.

Undertake a comprehensive exploration of the historical, philosophical, sociological, and political bases for the care and education of young children. Study historical and contemporary approaches to early childhood education; multicultural and social ecological factors in early care and schooling, particularly for diverse bilingual settings; advocacy and current issues in early childhood education practice. Prereq: ECED 2300 with C or better.

Prepare to integrate the Arts (visual arts, creative writing, music, theatre and dance) across the early childhood/elementary curriculum. Learn about art content; theories, methods and materials of instruction; lesson planning and classroom management techniques for Arts-based teaching, with a particular emphasis on engaging diverse students in personally and culturally meaningful self-expression. Explore developmentally appropriate practices that nurture artistic development and experience the creative process through hands-on study of the Arts. Prereq: Junior/Senior; field-based experience.

Study the philosophical, historical, and legal foundations of special education, including the definitions and characteristics of disabilities as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Examine professional roles and responsibilities, ethical requirements, inclusive practices, and strategies for collaboration between general and special educators, family members, and related service providers. This course requires at least 15 documented field-based experience hours in public-school settings.

Get an overview of the integrated aspects of literacy, with an emphasis of foundational concepts, principles, and practices related to literacy development. Study the linguistic underpinnings of emergent literacy, as well as evidence-based approaches to literacy instruction. Special emphasis is placed on literacy with emergent bilingual students (English Language Learners). Prereq: CORE complete.

Study the development of advocacy within families and community as a means of participation in the educational process of their children with particular emphasis on parents of children in Bilingual/ESL education programs. Emphasis is on appreciation of cultural diversity and alternative ways of knowing among family and community. Restricted to majors of ED87 and IDST. Restricted to Class of SO, JR, and SR. Prereq: at least Sophomore.

Focus on the theory and practice of bilingual/dual language and English as a second language (ESL) education. Examine concepts of language and language instruction, identification of programs models in bilingual/ESL Education (including their historical, legislative, and philosophical foundations) and strategies for teaching language and content. An additional emphasis is on the implementation of dual language education with U.S.- Mexico border elementary student populations. Prereq: CORE complete.

Learn about the knowledge, skills and abilities young children develop for oral language use, emergent reading and emergent writing. Study current research and educational practices; the role of sociocultural influences and children's literature; and the components of literacy-rich classrooms will be analyzed in relation to theoretical views of early literacy development. Explore developmentally appropriate practices that nurture the early language and literacy development of diverse learners through the selection and development of curricula for early elementary grades. Prereq: RED 3315; BED 4340; field-based experience.

Get a comprehensive overview of classroom management, including: positive child guidance strategies, inclusive social organization strategies and the design of engaging learning environments. Explore the psychosocial foundations of current child guidance strategies and practical approaches to promoting effective child-teacher, peer-peer and large group interactions. Emphasis is placed on ways teachers can foster respectful and responsive relationships with and between students, as well as techniques for nurturing self-regulation, self-motivation and self-esteem in children. Prereq: Junior/Senior.

Learn about promoting and guiding children's play as a fundamental learning mechanism within culturally and linguistically diverse early elementary classrooms.  Study research and theories of play; strategies, materials, and activities that support and encourage play and creativity; and the role of play-based instructional approaches in fostering learning across all academic content areas. Design learning experiences that emphasize play, multi-sensory engagement and active, hands-on problem-solving to promote early learning and growth in all developmental domains. Prereq: Junior/Senior.

Examine management and leadership models within programs serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. Study leadership perspectives which mirror Early Childhood teacher roles, including creating a culture of responsive care, coaching, mentoring, and reflective supervision. Explore supervisory practices from culturally and individually appropriate lenses to address leadership initiatives in such areas as organizational management and mission alignment, teacher performance assessment and professional development. Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practices Early; Early Childhood Program Management/Leadership.

Designated area of study; may be repeated for credit when topic varies. Restricted to minor: ALTC. Prerequisite: Department approval.

Designated area of study; may be repeated for credit when topic varies. Restricted to minor: ALTC. Prerequisite: Department approval.

Investigate how the human brain develops during early childhood, including the structure and function of key brain regions. Emphasis is on the rapid brain development that takes place in the first three years of life and connections to observed behaviors, language and socioemotional development and early learning. Explore how early experiences affect the architecture of the developing brain and associated developmental outcomes, as well as teaching practices and strategies designed to support positive brain development. Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practices; Brain Development.
Denisse Medrano, BSEd student

 

"As a single mom of three beautiful girls and a full-time employee, it was impossible for me to attend to in-person classes. An online degree gave me the opportunity to continue my education at my own limited free time without sacrificing my job hours to provide for my family. I am extremely thankful to this program. " - Denisse Medrano, Student

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The University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Online Programs
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500 W. University Ave.
El Paso, Texas 79968
E: utepconnect@utep.edu
P: 1-800-684-UTEP