Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education

B.Ed. EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

Overview

The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education program is focused on developing the skills to understand many aspects of children’s behavior and development. This program blends childhood development theory and practices with real experiences applied in a child care setting. This bachelor’s culminates with a mentored internship in a child care setting.

The program is offered entirely online, which means you can log in anytime and from anywhere to complete coursework before weekly deadlines. We use an online learning management system to host course materials and interactions with your peers and professors. While most learning occurs asynchronously, you’ll enjoy some real-time collaboration opportunities.

The curriculum provides a rigorous foundation in childhood mathematics methods, inclusive practices in early childhood education, educational philosophy, and more.

To earn your Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education, you'll need to complete all required courses along with any remaining general education courses and electives. The program’s duration varies based on the amount of college credits you’ve previously earned. Full-time students typically graduate in about three years, while part-time students usually graduate in about four years.

At Glance

Technical requirements

You will need access to reliable high-speed internet, webcam, microphone, and a device capable of capturing video and audio, like a smartphone. The program may require additional software that IIU offers at low or no cost, with tutorials provided.

How Can You Benefit from a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education Degree?

The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education graduates can pursue careers in the following in-demand fields.

• Childcare Center Owner
• Preschool director
• Childcare center director
• Infant teacher
• Preschool teacher
• Childcare teacher
• Toddler teacher
• Teacher’s assistant or aide
• After-school program worker
• Self-employed worker

Fieldworks

You will have many opportunities to integrate your classroom experience into your Community Based Learning Experience. You will build on your cultural and contextual knowledge of children’s learning through real-world opportunities to apply your knowledge and skills in early learning settings.

Advising

Prospective students

You can connect and schedule an advising appointment with our Lead Admissions & Outreach Adviser who can provide one-on-one support with:

• Admissions process
• Scholarships and financial aid
• Transferring to IIU

Experiential Learning

Our students participate in two types of experiential learning:

• Community-Based Learning Experience: Weekly time spent engaging with young children through your work or volunteering in an early learning setting is required for many courses.
• Applied assignments: Examples of applied assignments include videos of your practice, environment or child observations, case studies, and an interview with a professional or parent. These may be completed at your Community-Based Learning Experience site.

Already working or volunteering with children in an early learning setting? You can complete the community-based learning experience at your current job! If you need support finding a setting, our CBL coordinator will help you find a place to do your community-based learning.

Materials

In addition to an application form, you will need to submit:

• Official transcript from each college you have attended
• Include transcripts from all institutions attended
• Your transcripts must include your name and coursework
• If you have fewer than 40 transferable credits at the time of application, you must also submit and official or unofficial high school transcript

Responses to the application questions

Instructions

Respond to each of the questions below using these instructions. You may choose to submit either written or recorded responses:

• Written responses: Write a short paragraph (150 words or less) in response to each question.
• Recorded responses: Make a video or audio recording with your responses (1-2 minutes per question). You will need to upload your recording to a cloud service such as Youtube, Google Drive, or Sharepoint and share the link in your application form.

Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you have questions about how to submit your application questions.

After graduation

The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education program equips you with the skills, knowledge, and experiences that will elevate your strengths and talents to excel in your career development. Graduates in this program continue their professional development in current or new roles and transition into leadership positions. These positions include lead teachers, coaches, and program directors in non-profit community-based settings and early learning sites.

• Preschool teaching
• Early childhood administration
• Children’s museums educator and communications
• Early learning assessment
• Early learning coach and specialist
• Early education policy and advocacy
• Education research
• Family & community support

The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education program can also serve as a pathway for graduates interested in K-8 education, health related fields, child life specialist, social work, psychology, or other fields related to children’s learning, development and well being.

Curriculum

Once you enroll, your academic adviser will review any transfer credits and help you create a personalized graduation plan to complete your degree, which may include general education and elective courses. The sample graduation plans outline the required Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education courses only and do not include general education or other graduation requirements.

Admission requirements and process

Please read the information of each tab of this section to learn more about the application process and required materials. You can reach out to us at [email protected] if you need any support during the application process!

New students start each autumn, and you can choose either full-time or part-time enrollment. Applications open in January each year. Applicants who submit by our priority deadline (April 1) will be notified first about admissions decisions. They will also be notified about scholarship opportunities in May. Because of the different steps and requirements, we recommend starting your application process as early as possible.

We believe early childhood professionals learn by applying knowledge through action, observation and reflection. The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Early Childhood Care and Education program students take part in Community Based Learning (CBL), a place-based education, centering learning in the physical environment, local culture, history, language, and with the people of a community.

Requirements

To be eligible for this program, you must have met the following requirements:

• Earned a cumulative transfer GPA of 2.0 or higher.
• Completed at least 45 transferable quarter credits from regionally accredited colleges or universities (1 semester credit is equivalent to 1.5 quarter credits)
• Live in the United States and do not require an F-1 visa.

If you have completed fewer than 40 transferable quarter credits at the time you submit your application, you will also need to complete the College Academic Distribution Requirements (IIU admission requirements that can be satisfied by high school and/or college coursework). Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions about this requirement.