
Early Childhood Education (Consecutive Diploma/Degree)
Toronto, Canada
DURATION
4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2025
TUITION FEES
CAD 18,130 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Early Childhood Education (Consecutive Diploma/Degree) is a four-year program that leads to both an Early Childhood Education (ECE) diploma from George Brown College and a Bachelor of Arts Early Childhood Studies degree from Ryerson University.
As a student in this program, you will spend the first two years earning an ECE diploma at the Sally Horsfall Eaton Centre for Studies in Community Health, located at George Brown's Ryerson Campus (co-operatively managed with George Brown College), and the latter two years completing a degree in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University.
While earning your ECE diploma in years one and two, you will learn how to support children as they grow. You will:
- study the holistic development of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children
- learn how to plan and implement programs that support children’s learning
- have an opportunity to engage with families and the broader community
In the final two years of the program as you earn your degree, you will:
- study policy, advocacy, and legislation as it relates to the Early Childhood sector
- explore the cognitive development of young children as it relates to literacy, creativity, science, technology, and more
- engage in a research project
- get hands-on experience in the field
This program offers some distinct advantages:
- college-level tuition fees for the first two years, rather than higher university fees
- classes with George Brown College faculty who are national leaders in applied ECE
- practical training at one of George Brown’s 12 child care lab schools located across the Greater Toronto Area
- direct entry into the third year of the Ryerson degree program
- expanded career scope and direction by earning both a diploma and degree in ECE
Our system of alternating blocks of classroom theory and field practice will give you the knowledge and skills you need to work with infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-aged children in a variety of early childhood education settings.
Please note: While George Brown College encourages all members of our college community to get vaccinated, we only require students who will be living in our residence, The George, or who are varsity athletes, to be vaccinated for Fall 2021. Some of our field placement partners may require students to be fully vaccinated prior to being placed with their agency. As such, students who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may not be able to complete the required field placement component of their program in the regularly scheduled time frame.
Your Field Education Options
Field placement plays a significant role in this program by providing students the opportunity to integrate and apply classroom theory to practice. Placements are offered in semesters 1, 2, 3, and 4 for three days per week, seven weeks per semester. During this time, students will have the chance to work with children of different age groups in a variety of settings.
To support student learning outcomes and ensure that our students have access to facilities that reflect the best practices we consider essential, we own and operate 12 child care centers located across the Greater Toronto Area. These lab schools expose you to the kinds of environments where you will eventually work and provide valuable services to the families and communities that they serve.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Scholarships for international students at George Brown College are generally in-program awards based on students’ academic performance (and other criteria) at George Brown College after the beginning of the academic program.
Curriculum
Required Courses
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
|
|
Semester 3 | Semester 4 |
|
|
*Students take one additional university-level course per semester and will be invoiced and required to pay for the one course each semester.
Program Outcome
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
- 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' world views and Francophone identity.
- Co-create, facilitate and reflect upon inquiry and play-based early years and child care programs and pedagogical approaches to support children's learning, holistic development and well-being following children's capabilities, interests, ideas and experiences.
- 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 child care settings.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 child care settings.
- 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.
- Create and engage in partnerships with families, communities, colleagues, interdisciplinary professionals, authorities and child service agencies to advocate for quality early years and child care programs and services.
- 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.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Your Career
Graduates of this program may find employment in:
- child care centers
- early years centers
- full-day kindergarten
- parent resource centers
- pediatric playrooms
- special education settings
- integrated kindergartens
- therapeutic nursery programs
- in-home care
Upon successful completion of the ECE diploma, graduates are eligible for entrance to Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE).
Future Study Options
Students who complete the Early Childhood Education program with a GPA of 2.70 or higher may apply to complete the bridge courses for entry into the third year of the Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership (C301) program.
Your Early Childhood Education diploma will give you credit towards degree programs at other institutions. It also makes you eligible for entrance to Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Educators.