Early Childhood Education (Two Year)

Duration:67 weeks total including 5 practicums. Click here for specific start dates.
Faculty: Personal Care
Certification: Diploma of Health and Human Sciences
Entrance Requirements: Please click here

NEW: In July 2022, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced a new Early Childhood Education Needs-Based Incentive Grant will provide eligible students with non-repayable grants of up to $10,000. Learn more about this exciting announcement here.

Also, to make it more affordable to train to become an Early Childhood Educator, the Department of Education offers a Graduate Bursary program with up to $2,500 per year for 3 years being awarded to qualifying ECE graduates. More information about this bursary can be found here.

In July 2021, the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador announced an agreement that will transform early learning and child care in the province starting in 2022. This plan has multiple components that include increasing access to regulated child care by creating nearly approximately 5800 child care spaces, reducing cost of regulated child care, further increasing inclusivity by creating more spaces, funding and ECE training for diverse populations, increasing bursary funding for ECEs, as well as increasing the number of fully certified ECEs working in the child care sector by 15 percent by the end of 2023 and to at least 60 percent by the end of 2025.

Source: https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2021/exec/0728n08/

Program Description

Academy Canada’s Early Childhood Education (Two Year) program prepares students for this high-demand career in the field of early childhood education, working with children from infancy to 12 years. Students will learn how to create, develop and maintain programs and learning environments that are appropriate for the ages and stages of development of the children under their care. Students will also learn how to guide staff in the development, implementation and evaluation of program goals and objectives. Through both classroom instruction and practicum placements, students will also learn how to create environments that promote children’s social and emotional development, how to maintain a healthy, safe, welcoming and supportive environment that respects diversity and culture, and how to develop and maintain a warm, caring, and responsive relationship with an individual child as well as with a group of children. Graduates of this program will qualify to apply for Level II Child Care Services (CCS) Certification.

Program Courses:

• Curriculum and Program Development
• Play and Development – Language Arts
• Child Guidance
• Observation and Assessment
• Practicum Preparation
• Practicum 1
• Child Development – Prenatal to Toddler
• Family Issues
• Play and Development – Creativity
• Communications ECE Job Search Skills
• Practicum 2
• Play and Development – Exploration
• Child Development – Toddler to Early School Age
• Health, Safety, and Nutrition
• History and Philosophy of Early Childhood Education
• Practicum 3
• Administration and Legal Responsibilities
• Infant and Toddler Care
• Student Success
• Word Processing
• Standard First Aid
• Practicum 4
• School-Age Care
• Inclusion in Child Care Practicum 5
• Verbal Intervention

Employment Opportunities

Upon successful completion of the Early Childhood Education (Two Year) program, students may be eligible to work (depending on specific hiring practices) in a variety of settings, including publicly funded child care settings, privately operated child care settings, home-based child care settings and family resource programs.

Changes to Early Childhood Education wages were announced in March 2023. Wages for new graduates now start at $25 per hour. Learn more here.

Articulation Agreement

Graduates of this program can continue their education with direct-entry acceptance into College of the North Atlantic’s Advanced Diploma in ECE Administrative Leadership. Upon successful completion of the Advanced Diploma in ECE Administrative Leadership, students may apply directly to the fourth year of CNA’s Bachelor of Applied Arts in Early Childhood Education. Learn more about this exciting and groundbreaking collaboration here.

Entrance Requirements

High School or Equivalent
High School Graduates or equivalent are eligible for admission to the Early Childhood Education (Two Year) program. Students must complete an application form and provide a copy of High School, Adult Basic Education, or G.E.D. results. Under certain circumstances, students who do not complete the formal High School requirements may be accepted upon the recommendation of a High School Principal or Guidance Counsellor. Please contact an Admissions Officer for further details.

Mature Students

Mature Students are eligible for admission to the Early Childhood Education (Two Year) program. These students must be at least 19 years of age, complete an application form, provide a copy of recent marks, and write a Canadian Adult Achievement Test (CAAT) as arranged by Academy Canada.

Specific Entrance Requirements

Students must submit two written letters of reference (no personal references), a Certificate of Conduct with Vulnerable Sector Check and Child Protection Record Check from their local Police Department; students are solely accountable for any offences not uncovered by the investigation which may preclude the student from subsequent practicums or employment. Applicants to this program must also attend a personal interview.

Subject to change