Facilitating Children's learning through play.

The two-year Early Childhood Education Ontario College Diploma program prepares you to become an educator in a variety of early learning and care settings. You gain the knowledge and skills necessary to work with children, families and other professionals.

Benefit from three practicum experiences focusing on working directly with children and their families ranging from birth to age 12. You support children's learning and development through planning and implementing play and inquiry-based curriculum and creating stimulating learning environments. You gain valuable hands-on skills and experience by taking on the roles and responsibilities of an early childhood educator.

Through a combination of theoretical and practical experience, you develop in-demand skills and knowledge in areas of:

• child development
• curriculum design and implementation
• observation and reflective practices
• learning theories
• inclusive practices
• early literacy and language development
• science, technology, engineering and mathematics
• play and creativity
• family and community partnership
• professionalism and ethics

By the end of the program, you will be well-prepared to pursue career opportunities in diverse industry sectors, including but not limited to:

• early learning and care programs
• nursery schools
• kindergarten classes
• community health agencies
• home child care organizations
• entrepreneurial opportunities

Upon graduation, you are eligible to register with the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE). Registration with the CECE is required to work as an Early Childhood Educator in Ontario.

Careers

Registered Early Childhood Educators may find employment in early learning and care programs, nursery schools, kindergarten classrooms, community health agencies, home childcare organizations in addition to entrepreneurial opportunities.

Pathways

Please note: There may be more pathways available for this program than are listed here. Please use our Pathways search tool to see every option.

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

1. Create learning contexts to enable, build and maintain caring, responsive relationships in partnerships with children, families and communities that value and respect social, cultural and linguistic diversity including Indigenous peoples' worldviews and Francophone identity.
2. Co-create, facilitate and reflect upon inquiry and play-based early years and childcare programs and pedagogical approaches to support children's learning, holistic development and well-being following children's capabilities, interests, ideas and experiences.
3. Co-design and maintain inclusive early learning environments to value and support equitable, accessible and meaningful learning opportunities for all children, their families and communities in a range of early years and childcare settings.
4. Collaborate with children, families, colleagues, agencies and community partners to create, maintain, evaluate and promote safe and healthy early learning environments to support independence, reasonable risk-taking and healthy development and well-being.
5. Use observation strategies to identify children's strengths and challenges and to ascertain when children and families might benefit from additional support or community resources.
6. Use professional communication in interactions with children, families, colleagues, employers, the regulatory body, government authorities and children's service agencies to meet legal and ethical standards of the early years sector.
7. Act in accordance with relevant legislation, regulations, College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, agency policies and procedures and principles of evidence-informed practice and reflect upon their impact on one's own role in early years and childcare settings.
8. Identify, report and document when a child is in a situation of perceived risk for, or actual neglect or abuse, in accordance with legislation, the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, policies and procedures.
9. Create and engage in partnerships with families, communities, colleagues, inter-disciplinary professionals, authorities and child service agencies to advocate for quality early years and childcare programs and services.
10. Engage in reflective practice and continuous professional learning in accordance with principles of lifelong learning, evidence-informed practices in the early years sector and requirements of the College of Early Childhood Educators.
11. Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

Application Information

Read this before applying:

Part-time students are required to apply for this program. Once accepted, you can register on a course by course basis through your ACSIS account. The courses take place entirely online except for the three Practice Teaching courses which are completed in the field on a full-time basis. 

Program Resources

The Early Childhood Education program offers multiple delivery options through the Ottawa, Pembroke and AC Online campuses.

Online Part-time: This program is delivered online over multiple semesters depending on individual students' availability and needs. Students registered in a part-time Ontario College Diploma program must complete program requirements within six academic years of being admitted to the program.

For part-time AC Online students there is an Academic Planner which provides registered students the ability to declare into a Program of Study. The Academic Planner outlines successfully completed courses to date, as well as courses that need to be completed to meet graduation requirements. The tool is available in ACSIS, located under 'Part-Time Students' on the left-hand toolbar.

Practicum:

Students in the Early Childhood Education program complete three practicums in a variety of settings with different age groups during their course of study. The first two practicums are four weeks in length whereas the final is five weeks.

Practicum Eligibility:

All students must be cleared through Placement Pass to be eligible for each practicum. Failure to complete these requirements will prevent students from participating in the practicum component of the program.

Upon acceptance into the program, the following requirements and associated costs must be met.

• Health Requirements: Applicants must provide evidence of full and complete immunizations. Placement Pass will review the student's record of immunization and provide authorization for entry into practicum. More information in this regard is available on the Placement Pass website.
• Standard First Aid and CPR Certification: Valid standard First Aid and CPR Certification (St. John Ambulance, Red Cross or equivalent) must be completed prior to the commencement of classes. This certificate must be valid for the duration of the program.
• Vulnerable Sector Police Check:Early Learning programs require you to have a clear Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC). If you register in the program without a clear VSC and as a result are unable to participate in practicum, you will not be able to graduate. You will be required to disclose the contents of the VSC, including all notations, to the practicum agencies.

It is your responsibility to obtain the VSC prior to the deadline identified by ECE program and to pay any associated costs. It may take 8 to 12 weeks to obtain this documentation; please submit your application as early as possible. Should you require a letter please reach out to the Placement Officer or Coordinator of the program.

Practicum Information:

Students may be required to travel up to 90 minutes to reach their practicum. While every attempt is made to provide students with a practicum close to a preferred area, this is not always possible. Students are ultimately responsible for their own travel arrangements during all practicums.

Please note that due to limited practice teaching field placements in the Ottawa area (including surrounding areas), part-time students are not guaranteed to undertake placements in their preferred term. We are committed to accommodating students where possible. Students residing outside the Ottawa area must contact the Placement Officer to discuss practicum opportunities.

These practicums are assigned by the Placement Officer with an emphasis on having students experience different settings. Students are not permitted to contact early learning programs to arrange practicums. Practicums are completed during regular, full-time working hours, approximately 8 to 9 hours per day (Monday to Friday). Students will follow the same daily/weekly schedule as their on-site supervisor for each practicum. Students are not permitted to choose their own practicum schedule. Hours vary from program to program. Students may be starting as early as 6:45 a.m. and ending as late as 6:15 p.m.

It is important to recognize that students completing practicums must be able to lift children, materials and equipment (up to 32 kgs) and run/move quickly between areas in the room and outside to ensure children's safety. In addition, students are required to consistently observe children to ensure appropriate levels of supervision and assess children's abilities, skills and interests to develop meaningful curriculum. These requirements are applicable to all practicums, which must be successfully completed to graduate.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR):

Students who wish to apply for PLAR need to demonstrate competency at a post-secondary level in all the course learning requirements. Evidence of learning achievements for PLAR candidates may include a comprehensive challenge examination and/or completion of a portfolio.

More information can be found at www.algonquincollege.com/plar.

Please note, with respect to practicums, students can only obtain PLAR credits toward Practicum 1.

AC Pathways:

Algonquin College has several articulation agreements with other colleges and universities whereby ECE graduates receive credit towards these diplomas or degrees. More information can be found at www.algonquincollege.com/pathways

Academic Probation:

Students who have two or more F grades in a given term or whose term grade point average falls below 1.7 are considered to be on academic probation (Policy AA14 Grading System). This requires the student to meet with their academic advisor or program coordinator to sign a learning contract which identifies the conditions which must be met to continue in the program. Students who do not meet the terms of their learning contract are withdrawn from the program.

Program Progression:

As per policy AA39: Program Progression and Graduation Requirements, when students are admitted to a program, they are assigned to the Program of Study that aligns with their start date. If a student takes a break for two or more consecutive terms the Program of Study is reset to align with the current version (when studies are resumed).

Future Students

For additional information, please contact our Customer Service Representative team at online@algonquincollege.com and they will direct you to the best person to answer your specific questions.

Current Students

For additional information, please reference the AC Online Circle of Care.