EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Associate in Arts
Program Details
The Early Childhood Education Associate of Arts Degree provides a solid foundation for students entering the education field and prepares students to work with children from infancy into middle childhood in a variety of environments. The core eight courses (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 215 and 216) match the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Teacher Permit Early Childhood Education course requirements. Students who complete coursework at this level (the core eight, of the nine required courses) will receive a Child Development Teacher Certificate of Achievement from Cuesta College. Students need an additional 16 units of General Education to meet the Child Development Teacher Permit Education Requirement. The Early Childhood Education Associate Degree courses (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 215, 216 and 245) with the additional six specialization units match the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Master Teacher Permit Early Childhood Education course requirements. Students who complete coursework at this level will receive a Child Development Master Teacher Certificate of Achievement from Cuesta College. Students need an additional 16 units of General Education to meet the Child Development Master Teacher Permit Education Requirement. The Early Childhood Associate Degree and an additional six administration units (ECE 246 and 248) included in the Site Supervisor Certificate of Achievement match the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Site Supervisor Permit Early Childhood Education course requirements.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Pathways
Pathways listed below are for the catalog year 2026-2027. Maps for previous years are available on each pathway page. What is a catalog year?
Featured Careers
Find your calling. Explore high-earning careers with entry-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Art Therapists
Master's degree
- Job growth: Rising
- Low salary: 38,840
- High salary: 120,050
- Average salary: 65010
Childcare Workers
High school diploma/GED, Associate's degree
- Job growth: Rising
- Low salary: 22,900
- High salary: 44,560
- Average salary: 32050
Clinical Neuropsychologists
Post-doctoral training
- Job growth: Stable
- Low salary: 51,410
- High salary: 163,570
- Average salary: 117580
All Careers in EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (18)
Program Pathways Mapper incorporates information from O*NET Web Services by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes help you work towards your educational goals.
- Analyze and apply strategies that promote partnerships between teachers and families, identifying program and community resources that promote children's health, development, and learning.
- Demonstrate effective guidance and interaction strategies that support children's social learning and promote positive and reciprocal relationships among culturally and linguistically diverse teachers, children, and their families.
- Demonstrate understanding of human development theory and the multiple interacting influences on a child's development.
- Develop and design curricula and environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for the children.
- Identify and conduct themselves as a member of the Early Childhood field, employing work skills, ethics, and dispositions that support professionalism and continued professional development.