Early Childhood Education

Admission Requirements
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
Grade 12 English (C, U) (Minimum 60% GPA required).

Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (word processing, spreadsheets), web search engines and e-mail systems. Students may assess whether or not they meet the computer proficiency expectations for this program by taking the free online assessment at Computer Self Assessment Tool.

Or equivalent

Or mature student status (an applicant who does not have a high school diploma or equivalent, and will have reached the age of 19 years on or before the start of the program). Mature students must undergo academic testing prior to admission into a program and demonstrate equivalency with admission English requirement. Call the Admissions Office at 705-235-7222 for more details. Note: Academic prerequisites for this program may be obtained free of charge through Academic Upgrading.

Additional Admissions Requirements / Other Requirements for Admission to Field Work Placement

In order to prepare you for fieldwork placement, you will be required to have a current resume and cover letter. Fieldwork placement (FWP) agencies may require additional documentation in order for you to begin FWP.  The specific documents will be made know to you in your Reflective Practice course. A recent criminal reference check – (within 3 months) maybe required prior to the start of classes in September.

Students who do not comply with the immunization requirements may not be allowed into the field work settings and as such may not be able to complete the placements and practicums required for graduation from the program. CPR re-certification, WHMIS, criminal reference checks and immunization updates are required annually. Students will not be allowed on placement lab component if documentation is not completed.

To be eligible for participation in field work practice, students must not have been convicted of any criminal offence for which that person has not been pardoned. An unpardoned criminal record may result in inability to participate in fieldwork practice courses and will prevent the student from graduating. Any costs for these tests/certifications will be the responsibility of the applicant.

It is important to note that this program requires a field work component. While the intent is for placements to be arranged in the student’s own community, when this is not possible, alternate communities will need to be considered. Students are responsible for the costs of travel to and from field work placement sites, parking costs, etc. A dress code is in effect during all lab practice sessions and during the field work component of the programs. All course work must be successfully completed prior to field work placements.

A passing grade of 60% is required for all Community Services program courses and electives. To succeed in this program, students must be highly motivated, highly committed as well as physically and mentally fit. Post-acceptance into the program, a questionnaire outlining previous experience, volunteer activities and interests must be completed and returned to the College.

Semester 1
AA1063 Behaviour Intervention
AA1093 Developmental Disabilities Across the Lifespan
CM1913 Communications I – Model B
EC1023 Principles of Child Care
EC1033 Methods of Child Care
EC1053 School Age Environment
HS1022 Community Services 1st Year Orientation
PS1163 Developmental Psychology

Semester 2
AA2041 – Community Service Learning
AA2063 Autism Spectrum Disorders
CM2913 Communications II – Module B
DS4063 Health and Nutrition
EC2003 Creative Teaching Strategies
EC2013 Creative Arts Workshop
EC2023 Pre-School Environment
EC2043 ECE Reflective Practice
SW2023 Conflict Resolution/Mediation

Semester 3
AA3053 Understanding the Family
AA3063 Building Family Support
EC2033 Working with Diversity
C3001 ECE Fieldwork Seminar
EC3016 ECE Fieldwork Placement
EC4016 Child Care Administration
EC4033 Infant Toddler Programming

Semester 4
EC4000 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
EC4001 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
EC4051 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
EC4061 Fieldwork Seminar (1 day/month)

Semester 1

AA1063 Behaviour Intervention
This course is designed to familiarize students with behaviour theory and support them in developing the skills required for designing and implementing successful behaviour intervention plans. The course focuses on exploring the reciprocal links between behaviour and environment and teaches students how to manipulate the environment so as to increase positive behaviours and decrease negative one’s. The course aims to provide the student with the tools needed to answer questions such as ‘why is this negative behaviour occurring or continuing to occur?’, ‘what can be done to increase the frequency of this positive behaviour?’, ‘how can I teach someone to respond in a more appropriate way?’. It will also provide students with strategies for developing and maintaining effective learning environment and skills for addressing challenging behaviour across various settings; such as home, school, and residential and community environments. Students will explore and critique various behavioural intervention strategies. This course will increase awareness and understanding of how functional behavioural assessment and intervention can be applied in promoting positive behaviour change when working and supporting children, youth and adults exhibiting challenging behaviour. Learners will develop a framework for understanding and dealing with aggression and crisis. They will explore the theoretical bases for aggression and will learn strategies to prevent and intervene during crises and aggressive episodes. Students will have the opportunity to become certified in Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behaviour (PMAB). Students are encouraged to ponder their own behaviour change attempt in order to extend their understanding of the concepts.

AA1093 Developmental Disabilities Across the Lifespan
Students will utilize a developmental approach for studying the lifespan of children, youth and adults with disabilities. The causes, prevalence, classification, developmental consequences of both high incidence and low incidence disabilities will be outlined. Current best practices when working with people with disabilities as they negotiate developmental stages and tasks will be emphasized.

CM1913 Communications I – Model B
Communications I is a practical course designed to help strengthen both oral and written skills. Students will be exposed to a variety of learning methods and communication formats. Emphasis will be placed on the use of appropriate structure, writing conventions and style. Students will also develop discipline-specific documents as well as learn the basics of portfolio assembly and presentation.

EC1023 Principles of Child Care
The purpose of this course is twofold. The first part is designed to assist the student to develop skills for observing and assessing the development and behaviour of young children. The second part focuses on developing skills for planning, implementing, supervising, and evaluating large and small group activities, both indoors and outdoors.

EC1033 Methods of Child Care
This course is designed to introduce the student to the philosophy and practice of providing high quality care and education in an Early Childhood Education setting. The intent of this course is to equip students with techniques for guiding children as they move through the routines of the Child Care Centre and Full Day Early Learning programs. The student will also become acquainted with the educational purposes and goals that underlie current practice.

EC1053 School Age Environment
This course is designed to introduce you to school-age children and their care as part of a child-care and school setting. In addition, this course will provide you with information and techniques to help you work effectively with diverse families and to design and develop age-appropriate activities and learning experiences. Since most ECE students will likely provide care for school-age children through before- and after-school programs, Full Day Early Learning programs in JK/SK Classrooms as well as summer and week-end programs, the focus of this course will be on school-age children’s social, emotional, physical, moral, cognitive and self development. In the end, the intent of this course is to enable you to use your knowledge of school-age children to develop skills to plan, carry-out and evaluate a well rounded school-age program.

HS1022 Community Services 1st Year Orientation
This course is an orientation to the academic, and technological tools, required for the students successful completion and submission of course work, assignments, tests, and exams as well as the support services available to students here at Northern College. Students will learn how to navigate both Citrix and Blackboard, use WORD to complete academic papers, complete searches in the electronic library and adhere to expected written guidelines. Students will also receive tips on getting the most out of class time, and developing studying and stress management skills. Students will be made aware of the support services available to them and know when and how to access these services.

PS1163 Developmental Psychology
This course emphasizes the continuity of development throughout the lifespan. It will focus on the interrelationships among the different stages of the lifespan and among physical, cognitive, social and personality development. The course will cover the lifespan from the crucial prenatal period through late adulthood, as well as death and the grieving process.

Semester 2
AA2041 Community Service Learning
Volunteer hours in the Community Services programs are designed to help students develop a sense of community identity. As professionals in training, it is vitally important that students have an awareness of community strengths and needs. These volunteer hours will provide students with the opportunity to positively engage with community while having fun.

AA2063 Autism Spectrum Disorders
This course will assist the learner in developing a basic understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Characteristics of Autism will be explored; the triad of common difficulties will be explained and used as a basis for better understanding of individuals with an ASD. The learner will identify the particular needs of individuals with an ASD, as well as the needs of the family, the school, the community, etc. Evidence-based intervention techniques will be studied in order to provide the learner with recognized intervention methods when dealing with individuals with an ASD.

CM2913 Communications II – Module B
Communications II is a continuation of Communications I and is designed to strengthen practical written and oral presentation skills. Students will apply the appropriate principles and formats to job-related documents and will continue to review grammatical structures and apply editing strategies using APA format.

DS4063 Health and Nutrition
Nutrition plays a significant role in promoting health and preventing disease. Major nutritional concerns facing Canadians of all ages and walks of life are obesity and chronic diseases influenced by diet. This course will introduce the student to basic health and nutrition principles that promote healthy food choices and positive lifestyles. Diet modifications that may be required by individuals across the lifespan will be discussed.

EC2003 Creative Teaching Strategies
This course is designed to enable the student to develop skills to plan, carry out, and evaluate a well-rounded creative program.

EC2013 Creative Arts Workshop
The purpose of this course is to enable the student to plan and implement a creative arts program suitable for children aged one to twelve years.

EC2023 Pre-School Environment
During this course, students will study the history and philosophy of Early Childhood Education, as well as the various program models most commonly found in today’s childcare/early learning settings. Students will learn to develop a philosophy, goals and objectives for a child care/early learning program in order to plan, implement and evaluate child-centred experiences and environments that promote a developmentally appropriate curriculum for groups of children and contribute to their growth or self-esteem.

EC2043 ECE Reflective Practice
Students will develop an awareness of the importance of the integrative experience of fieldwork that assists with blending theory and practice. This course is meant to serve as an opportunity to facilitate the process of weaving together academic concepts and real experience in fieldwork placement. The Fieldwork Placement Manual will be reviewed; specific competencies and requirements for placement will be identified. The student will examine his/her role in relation to field placement expectations. Policies, processes, roles, responsibilities, and expectations relating to fieldwork placement will be discussed. This course will introduce the student to the concept of reflective practice and professional development. Self-assessment activities will be used as a means of helping the student to reflect on achievements and to examine the implications for further learning. This course will help the student clarify his/her expectations and prepare for a successful fieldwork placement experience.

SW2023 Conflict Resolution/Mediation
Conflict is a natural part of human interaction. This course takes a systematic approach to analyzing the elements of conflict and explores both the individual and systemic responses to it. Students gain a solid foundation in negotiation skills and strategies, followed by a more in-depth introduction to mediation as a viable response to conflict. The course provides an opportunity to apply the skills required by mediators through role play. Students also gain an appreciation of the potentially challenging effects of culture, gender, and power on any negotiation or mediation process, and acquire strategies to respond to these. Finally, Choices in Approaching Conflict explores applications of mediation in the areas of community, business, and restorative justice to provide students who wish to pursue a career involving mediation with a practical context. It also examines the ethical and legal considerations required by the practice of mediation as a profession.

Semester 3

AA3053 Understanding the Family
This course is designed to familiarize students with the theoretical concepts related to understanding and working with contemporary Canadian families. The course focuses on exploring the reciprocal effects between families, children and adolescents. The course examines such topics as membership, roles, power, conflict, stress and transition. Students will explore and critique the value of System’s Theory for appraising family functioning and planning and implementing objectives and interventions. Much of the classroom discussions will focus on strategies helpful in engaging families in journeys of change. Students are encouraged to ponder their own Family and “Families of Origin” in order to extend their understanding of the concepts and to explore how their own experiences and beliefs affect their practices in human services.

AA3063 Building Family Support
Building Family Supports is designed to introduce the students to the philosophy and practice of successfully engaging and working with families within a collaborative team approach in order to help family members achieve optimal positive outcomes through partnerships and trust. This course will introduce students to the myriad of service options and service coordination responsibilities involved in delivering human services to families in Ontario. Its purpose is to demystify practices such as accessing services, making referrals, treatment planning, case management and case conferencing as they apply to families. The student will explore several case studies in case conference services to illustrate each of the central tenets of the approach:
• A practice of unconditional care
• A focus on individual strengths
• A family-driven, family-strengths-focused process
• An individualized approach
• An emphasis on serving families within their communities
• A commitment to culturally competent care
• An emphasis on inter-agency collaboration
• A net result of cost-effectiveness, and
• An outcome-driven process

EC2033 Working with Diversity
Diversity is a broad word used to describe many things that people represent and that represent people. Students will be asked to reflect upon and have the opportunity to question their own beliefs and assumptions. In doing so they will be able to recognize the subtle but potentially harmful responses they may give to people they are trying to support in their practice. There are a number of terms and key phrases used when discussing diverse clients. We will examine some of these be able to define and explain their meaning. They include but are not limited to: cultural sensitivity, cultural competence and cultural safety. Students will be introduced to regionalism and demographic trends in Canada as well as Canada’s rich cultural landscape. They will be introduced to Canada’s policy and practice toward its original people, the Aboriginal population, its growing immigrant population and the long established European settlers. Examining our own attitudes, values and beliefs helps to open doors and allows us to see things in an objective way. As students become aware of experiences surrounding ideas of culture, immigration and other differences in their own lives they can create more sensitive and stronger helping relationships within the workplace and beyond. Changes in attitudes go beyond the individual and extend to the work environment through policy changes and health promotion. These will be briefly visited during the course. Questions may arise around specific issues that certain marginalized groups face on a regular basis. Students will have the opportunity to look more closely at some of these issues and bring the information back to their peers. At the end of the course students will be better prepared to respond to the diversity of clients who look to them for help. Being able to recognize their own limitations and how their beliefs impact others, plus having the skills necessary will ensure that help is provided in a sensitive, appropriate and respectful way.

EC3001 ECE Fieldwork Seminar
Students, while on fieldwork placement, will have a variety of experiences in agency settings, child welfare, mental health, custody settings, health care settings, government and municipal services, school settings, or childcare agencies. They will work to solidify and practice a variety of critical skills, professional relationship building, interventions, counseling approaches, self-evaluation, self-care, and professional development. The specifics of these learning goals can be found in the fieldwork placement manual. Students will take part in Fieldwork Seminars one day a month throughout the placement. The content of the fieldwork seminar will include presentations of work-related experiences, done in the context of skills applications and professional practices. Early Childhood Educators and Child and Youth Workers have to be skilled in carrying out various helping roles such as advocate, broker, educator, group leader, mediator, community planner and organizer, administrator, and so forth. While students may not be able to acquire expertise in each of these roles during a single fieldwork placement, placement in an agency allows them the opportunity to observe other professionals and to learn from their actions. Students learn from many of the staff around them – all play a role in helping students to become more proficient. Students not only acquire practice experience from the field, they are also socialized into the professional subculture. There are two importance aspects of this socialization: acceptance of individuals into a professional group where common expectations are held of all members and the development of a professional self concept consistent with role models. During field instruction, encounters with clients, colleagues, and the professional community help to educate and indoctrinate students into the culture, norms, and values of community work. Fieldwork placement assists students in making the transition from passive learners to active professionals.

EC4016 Child Care Administration
This course is designed to introduce students to the skills needed to plan and administer a childcare centre.

EC4033 Infant Toddler Programming
This course will cover the basic elements of Infant and Toddler programming and how it differs from the programming of preschool children. Successful students will be able to plan activities that will facilitate growth and development and that are age appropriate. They will be able to create a responsive environment that promotes health and safety as well as guides behaviour

EC3016 ECE Fieldwork Placement

Semester 4

EC4000 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
Students are placed in three different day care centres/nursery schools over three five-week periods in Semester IV. These placements provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and gain practical experience in preschool teaching. The placements will provide diverse opportunities for learning as well as personal growth. One of the five-week blocks may be at an alternate setting such as an elementary school class (JK – Grade 2), home child care environment or other related setting.

EC4001 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
Students are placed in three different day care centres/nursery schools over three five-week periods in Semester IV. These placements provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and gain practical experience in preschool teaching. The placements will provide diverse opportunities for learning as well as personal growth. One of the five-week blocks may be at an alternate setting such as an elementary school class (JK – Grade 2), home child care environment or other related setting.

EC4051 Fieldwork (5 weeks)
Students are placed in three different day care centres/nursery schools over three five-week periods in Semester IV. These placements provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and gain practical experience in preschool teaching. The placements will provide diverse opportunities for learning as well as personal growth. One of the five-week blocks may be at an alternate setting such as an elementary school class (JK – Grade 2), home child care environment or other related setting.

EC4061 ECE Fieldwork Seminar (1 day/month)
This monthly seminar is held in conjunction with ECE field work placement in the fourth semester. The purpose is for students to work to solidify and practice a variety of critical skills, relationship building, professionalism, behavioural interventions, counselling approaches, self evaluation, self care, and professional development. Students will be expected to present on work related experiences, done in the context of skills applications and professional practices.

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