Early Childhood Education AAS Degree

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Throughout your coursework, you gain the knowledge and skills you need to work effectively and safely with infants through preschool-aged children.

Field-specific knowledge areas you focus on include:

• Child growth and development
• Health, safety and nutrition
• Infant and toddler care
• Program administration
• State regulations

Career-specific skills you’ll build include:

• Classroom management
• Curriculum planning and assessment
• Decision-making abilities
• Effective written and oral communication with children, families, and other educators
• Positive emotional and behavioral guidance techniques
• Plan and implement imaginative and creative activities for children

Teach and care for infants through preschool-aged children in childcare centers, preschools, child development homes, public and private schools, and more.

Field Experiences

You can start building confidence right away. You get up to 240 hours of work experience in the Hawkeye's NAEYC accredited Child Development Center and local Head Start, preschool, and early childhood programs. You must complete your field experience during the day.

Classroom Technology

Experience the technology of the modern-day classroom, including Owlets in infant classrooms, electronic assessment practices, and interactive technology on whiteboards, iPads, and laptops.

As part of this program, you may receive the following certifications:

• First Aid
• CPR
• Blood Borne Pathogens/Universal Precautions
• Mandatory Reporter

Our program curriculum prepares you for licensing and work in this field in the state of Iowa. Hawkeye has not determined whether the program curriculum meets all other states’ educational requirements for licensure or certification.

If you wish to work outside the state of Iowa, please contact the state agency in which you hope to work for details about licensure or certification.

This is a partial list of employers that hire graduates of this program.

• Community United Child Care Centers, Waterloo and Cedar Falls, IA
• Dike New Hartford Elementary School, Dike, IA
• Discoveries Learning Center, Denver, IA
• Exceptional Persons, Inc., Waterloo, IA
• Hawkeye Child Development Center, Waterloo, IA
• Purple Bloom School, Coralville, IA
• The Goddard School, Waukee, IA
• Tri-County Child & Family Development Council, Inc., Waterloo, IA
• Trinity Preschool and Child Care, Waterloo, IA
• Vinton Shellsburg Community Schools, Vinton, IA
• Waterloo Community School District, Waterloo, IA
• Waverly Child Care and Preschool, Waverly, IA

You can get right to work after your program. Or, if you plan to go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, consider your transfer options.

There is a documented pathway from the Early Childhood Education AAS to these programs:

Upper Iowa University

• Bachelor of Arts, Education (Birth-Grade 3: Inclusive Settings Emphasis)

University of Nothern Iowa

• Bachelor of Arts, Early Childhood Education Teaching

Northwestern College

• Bachelor of Arts, Early Childhood + Teaching Licensure
• Bachelor of Arts, Early Childhood (Non-Licensure)

If you’re interested in transferring, you must work closely with an academic advisor at Hawkeye and at the transfer institution. This is important to ensure courses transfer and you meet program requirements.

Plan your transfer