Early Childhood Education courses in Canada teach future early childhood educators to inspire young learners and create a supportive environment that stimulates their curiosity and joy for learning. In addition, students learn how to teach children of different age groups, typically between the ages of 2 and 8 years old. You will work with children in settings like childcare, day care, nursery school, preschool, and kindergarten.
Early childhood educators gain tools that support the development of young children on a physical, cognitive, social and emotional level. The students gain knowledge of the major child developmental stages and learn how to guide young learners to successfully reach each developmental milestone. You as a student will develop expertise in basic English, special education, talent development, literacy, mathematics, and arts.
During the early childhood education programme, you will develop great observation and listening skills to be able to remain aware of the needs of young students and answer these needs which are the learning and emotional needs, while not being too intrusive.
The students will also need to find creative ways of interacting with their students through play and engaging activities. You as a student of ECE, will also have to develop great communication skills to maintain good relationships with parents and advise them on ways to help their children develop properly.
Having a early childhood education career involves working in public or private kindergartens and schools, in special education settings, in hospitals, in administrative positions, or advocating for improved state education systems.
In this article, we will answer a few questions students ask about early childhood education courses in Canada and list out colleges and the courses they offer in this program. We are not leaving out the requirements needed to get admitted in these colleges. These requirements are general and could have additional requirements based on the school.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Early Childhood Education in Canada
1. How Much Do Early Childhood Educators Earn?
The average early childhood educators in Canada earn a salary of $37,050 per year or $19 per hour. The entry-level positions start at $33,150 per year, while most experienced workers salary is up to $44,850 per year.
2. How Many Hours do Early Childhood Educators work?
The early childhood educators work an average of 37.3 hours a week which is 3.6 hours lower than the average working hours for all occupations. So studying in Canada in this program is less stressful.
3. Is Early Childhood Education A Good Career?
Being committed to an early childhood education career means you could help young learners reap long-term benefits, from success in elementary school to potential lifelong earnings. You as a practitioner of this career may even be able to play a part in ensuring these children are less likely to have run-ins with the law as adults. As you can see, it is a great career choice.
4. Is there a demand for early Childhood Educators in Canada?
Yes and there are factors that have influenced the industry’s growth and among these include changes to educator-to-child ratios that require additional educators per child, and an increase in the number of children attending children’s services due to a general increase in the demand for childcare makes early childhood one of the most in-demand professions.
Other factors that have increased this demand may include: dual income families, greater awareness of the benefits of an early childhood education, an increase in the number of early childhood services and an increase in the access and support for vulnerable children among others.
Some Colleges that Offers Early Childhood Education Courses in Canada
1. Seneca College
Founded: 1967
Location: Toronto
Duration of study: 2 years (4 semesters)
About University:Â
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college and it offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate and graduate levels.
The Early Childhood Education (E.C.E) in this college is studied at the school of Early Childhood Education which is located at the King, Newnham campus.
Early Childhood Education Courses in Seneca College
The E.C.E courses studied in this college includes;
- Communicating Across Contexts or Communicating Across Contexts (Enriched)
- Visual Arts in Preschool Curriculum
- Â Healthy Safe Environments
- Curriculum and Applied Theory: 2-6 Years
- Observation and Development: 2-6 Years
- Field Placement: 2-6 Years
- Understanding Self and Others
- Â Curriculum and Applied Theory: 6-12 Years
- Child Development and Observation: 6-12 Years
- Â Interpersonal Relationships
- Introduction to Psychology, Music and Movement in the Early Years and many more.
2. Conestoga College
Founded: 1967
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Duration of Study: 2 years
About University:Â
Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college. Conestoga teaches approximately 23,000 registered students through campuses and training centres in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford, Ingersoll and Brantford with a student body of 11,000 full-time students, 30,000 part-time students, and 3,300 apprenticeship students.
This program, the ECE prepares students for professional practice in the field of early learning and child care. Through interactive classroom learning and work-integrated learning experiences, students will develop skills that will enable them to work in collaboration with families, colleagues and communities for the purpose of designing, implementing and evaluating inclusive play-based early learning programs.
Early Childhood Education Courses in Conestoga College
The courses available in this program in this college are;
- College Reading & Writing Skills
- Foundations of Curriculum, Play, and Pedagogy
- Child Development: The Early Years
- Â Introduction to Early Learning and Care
- Field Placement I (Early Childhood Education)
- Safety in the Workplace
- Health Safety & Nutrition
- Â Child Development: The Later Years
- Responsive Curriculum and Pedagogy
- Partnership With Families
- Field Placement II (Early Childhood Education) and many more.
3. Humber College
Founded: 1967
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Duration of Study: 2 years
About University:Â
The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, popularly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology, having 2 main campuses: the Humber North campus and the Lakeshore campus.
Humber’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) diploma program prepares the student to work with children (birth to 12 years) and their families. The students can expect to attain and exceed the practice-ready knowledge, skills and attitudes employers are seeking from ECE graduates in supporting children, families and the community by engaging in innovative learning and simulation experiences.
Early Childhood Education Courses in Humber College
The courses studied during an ECE program are;
- Responsive Relationships in Inclusive Environments, Children, Play and Creativity
- Child Development: Prenatal to 2 and 1/2 Years
- Promoting Health and Safety
- Introduction to the Early Childhood Education Profession
- Understanding children through Observation, College Reading and Writing Skills
- Â Social Justice: Nurturing Communities
- Â Curriculum Design
- Child Development: 2 to 6 Years
- Field Practicum 1
- An Introduction to Arts and Sciences
- Workplace Writing Skills and many more.
4. Ryerson University
Founded: 1948
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Duration of Study: 4 years
About University:
Ryerson University is a public research university and it’s main campus is situated within the Garden District. This university operates 7 academic faculties, which are; the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Communication and Design, the Faculty of Community Services, the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, the Faculty of Science, the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, and the Ted Rogers School of Management.
The Early Childhood Education program of this university, provides in-depth knowledge of child development from birth through 8 years of age. You as a student will study physiological, psychological and social perspectives and develop understanding and skills pertaining to family support, early childhood education, arts, literacy and disabilities in young children.
Early Childhood Education Courses in Ryerson University
Ryerson University has the following ECE courses which they offer and they include;
- Human Development 1
- Observation/ELC
- Curriculum 1: Environments
- Introduction to Psychology 1
- Human Development 2
- Field Education 1
- Curriculum 2: Program Planning
- Understanding Society
- Â Families in Canadian Context 1
- Children with Disabilities
- Â Field Education 2
- Physical Development
- Children’s Social/Emotional Well-Being
- Â Language Development and many more.
5. Fanshowe College
Founded: 1967
Location: London, Ontario, Canada.
Duration of Study: 2 years
About University:Â
Fanshawe College is a large, publicly-funded College and it’s approximately a two-hour drive from Toronto and Niagara Falls. There are 21,000 full-time students in thia college, including more than 6,000 international students from 97 different countries across the world.
Early Childhood Education diploma program combines both theory and coursework work with real experiences in the field. Students will learn the significance of play in children’s learning, the family involvement, and curriculum design. Graduates from this program will be qualified to work in a variety of jobs including child care centres, early learning and family centres.
Early Childhood Education Courses in Fanshawe College
The courses studied in this institution are:
- Reason & Writing 1 for Community Studies
- Foundations of ECE
- Â Emotional Development & Early Relations
- Child Development: Intro
- Interpersonal Development
- Field Orientation
- Communications for Community Studies
- Child Development: 0-3 Years
- Field Practicum 0-3 Years
- Curriculum & Pedagogy: 0-3 Years
- Health Safety & Nutrition in ECE 2
- Partnerships with Families and many more.
Requirements to Study Early Childhood Education Courses in Canada
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), or equivalent, or a mature applicant
- English: Grade 12 C or U, or equivalent course. Are you an international student? They you have to score high in your IELTS and TOELS.
- The Canadian citizens and permanent residents may satisfy the English requirement for this program through successful school pre-admission testing.
Additional Requirements
After admission but before beginning of classes, the student must obtain the following:
- Current immunization report and report of chest x–ray or tuberculin skin test.
- Valid Standard First Aid with CPR C certificate (two-day course)
- Police Vulnerable Sector Check
In conclusion, the Early Childhood Education Courses are mostly practical than theory in these colleges. They make you a professional early childhood educator and you do not need to bother about spending most of your life in school because they are mostly a 2-year program.
So go ahead, put in your heart to learning and become a professional. Do you think tuition fees would be an issue? There are scholarships in Canada you would like to apply for.
We wish you the very best Scholar.