Study Early Childhood Education in South Carolina
For several years now, the early childhood education sector has experienced a lack of qualified teachers. On the one hand, this means that states are making training a priority at colleges and universities. On the other hand, it means that early childhood education jobs are generally plentiful in all corners of the country, including in South Carolina.
With so many early childhood education programs available and a great need for workers, now is an excellent time to get your degree. Whether you want to complete an associate’s degree for an entry-level position, a bachelor’s degree for a teaching position, or a graduate degree to advance your career, South Carolina has what you’re looking for.
Early Childhood Education Programs in South Carolina
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering early childhood education programs in South Carolina:
- University of South Carolina
- Capella University
- Columbia College
- University of South Carolina – Aiken
- Clemson University
- Walden University
To find out how we select colleges and universities, please click here.
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina, which is located in the state capital of Columbia, was founded in 1801. Over its more than two centuries in existence, USC has become a leading research institution with well-regarded academic programs in dozens of areas. In fact, USC has an R1 research designation from the Carnegie Foundation, which indicates the school takes part in a very high level of research activities.
The Columbia campus of USC is the flagship institution in the University of South Carolina System. The school has more than 35,000 students, of which about 28,000 are undergraduates. If you study on campus, you can participate in a wide variety of student organizations when you aren’t in class, including sororities and fraternities, service organizations, and honor societies, to name a few.
Early Childhood Education Program Information
The Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina is a traditional four-year, 122-credit, on-campus program that readies you to be a certified early childhood teacher of children from birth through the third grade.
Your coursework enables you to teach all subjects – from math and science to social studies to reading and writing – while also learning crucial skills for classroom management, instructional design, and child development. Some of the specific courses you will take include:
- Community of Learners and Classroom Management in Early Childhood
- Introduction to Classroom Assessment
- Physical Education for the Classroom Teacher
- Introduction to Exceptional Children
- Integrating Music Into Pre-K and Elementary Classrooms
This program also has two internships, both of which occur during the final year of the program. The first internship focuses on teaching methods in math, science, social studies, writing, literacy, and integrated curriculum. The second internship focuses on curriculum, assessment, teaching, and professional roles.
You can apply to USC as a first-year student by filling out the common application. You must provide the following along with your application:
- A $65 application fee
- Unofficial high school transcripts
- A school report form from your high school counselor that outlines your academic progress
Columbia College
Columbia College was founded in 1854 by the Methodist Church. It opened to students in 1859 as a school for women. However, the school closed during the Civil War and wouldn’t reopen until 1873 during Reconstruction. Once the school reopened, it relocated to a new campus where it remains today.
Columbia College has always been a small school. Today, there are about 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students, making its campus a quaint place to learn. With small class sizes and a low student-to-teacher ratio, Columbia College provides you with a small-school experience that enables you to form strong bonds with classmates and get the individual attention from your professors that you need to succeed.
Early Childhood Education Program Information
Columbia College’s Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education focuses primarily on teaching children from ages three to eight, though some coursework introduces you to teaching children from birth to age three. Whatever age range you work with, this program will prepare you for delivering a well-rounded, developmentally-appropriate curriculum that facilitates children’s academic and social growth.
As a student in this program, you will take typical education courses that prepare you for your licensed teaching career. Some of these courses include:
- Issues in Early Childhood / Special Education
- Development and Learning: Birth through Age Eleven
- Early Childhood Curriculum, Organization, and Management
- Early Childhood Curriculum: Methods and Materials
- Professional Development and Teacher Leadership
You will also complete coursework in Exceptional Learners, Moral and Political Foundations of Teaching, and Facilitating Positive Learning Behaviors. Of course, you will also complete a student teaching assignment during which you will teach full-time under the supervision of an experienced classroom teacher. You must pass the Reading, Writing, and Math components of the Praxis Core exam as well.
You can start your application to Columbia College online. As a first-year student, you will also need to submit your high school transcripts. SAT or ACT scores are optional, as are letters of recommendation.
University of South Carolina – Aiken
The University of South Carolina – Aiken had very humble beginnings. The school was founded in 1961 with just three faculty and a student body of 139. And while Aiken is still a small school – around 4,000 students – it has shown solid growth over the decades. Today, the school offers a wide range of programs for undergraduate students. There are also a handful of graduate programs.
Though USC-Aiken isn’t a very large school, it’s big on opportunities. The school ranks highly among regional comprehensive public colleges, ranking third in the region, according to U.S. News and World Report. Military Times also recognizes USC-Aiken as one of the best military-friendly schools in the country. On top of that, the school offers many different organizations for students to enjoy outside of class.
Early Childhood Education Program Information
USC-Aiken’s Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education is a four-year program that readies you for a teaching career with children in Pre-K through the early primary grades. The curriculum focuses on crucial areas of content knowledge, such as math, science, and language arts. But it also helps you develop the necessary skills to teach these subjects, manage a classroom, and develop curricula that stimulate your students’ learning.
As part of your studies, you will take courses in the following areas:
- Introduction to Educational Psychology
- Math in Early Childhood Education
- Assessment in Reading in Early Childhood Education
- Environmental Design and Management in Early Childhood Education
- Children’s Literature
As is required for programs of this type, you will also participate in a field experience during which you student teach in an early childhood education environment. This placement occurs during the final semester of your program and puts you in a classroom with an experienced teacher who supervises and guides your development as an independent educator.
You can fill out USC-Aiken’s online application to get the process started. To qualify for admission, you must:
- Finish the required high school prerequisites
- Have a strong record of academic performance in high school
- Meet minimum SAT or ACT scores
- Meet the university’s Admissions Index, which uses your high school GPA and your SAT or ACT score
- Pay a $45 application fee
- Submit official high school transcripts
Clemson University
Clemson University was founded in 1889 using the fortune of Thomas Green Clemson as funds to establish it. Mr. Clemson had long championed for there to be an agricultural college in Upstate South Carolina. As a land-grant university, Clemson initially focused on agricultural education. It was an all-male, all-white military school back then, but in the 1960s, the school integrated and added more academic programs.
Today, Clemson has around 26,000 students, the bulk of which are undergraduates. Undergraduate students can choose from around 80 majors and 90 minors, while graduates have their choice of more than 130 academic programs. Although Clemson is a large school, you can enjoy small class sizes with a student-to-faculty ratio of just 16-to-one. However, its size means you can participate in any number of academic, social, and service programs that help enhance your education.
Early Childhood Education Program Information
Clemson’s Early Childhood Education program culminates with a Bachelor of Arts degree. This program focuses on a home-school-community perspective, meaning, you will learn how your role as a classroom teacher is just one component of a child’s development in the early years. Moreover, you will learn how family systems, beliefs, and community influences play into a child’s learning experience.
As is typical of early childhood education programs, you will gain skills needed to provide a comprehensive education to children from birth to age 8. To do so, you’ll take 124 credits over four years that focus on subjects like:
- Foundations of Early Childhood Education
- Family, School, and Community Relationships
- Foundations of Digital Media and Learning
- Concepts of Play and Social Development of Infants and Young Children
- Early Literacy: From Birth to Kindergarten
The final year of the program focuses on advanced educational topics like Observation and Assessment, Cultural Diversity, and the student teaching experience. Student teaching takes place during the final semester of the program, though you’ll take part in practicum experiences prior to that.
You can apply to Clemson online. To do so, you must pay a $70 application fee, submit ACT or SAT scores, and provide a Self-Reported Academic Record that outlines the courses you took and grades you earned during high school. If admitted to Clemson, you must also provide official high school transcripts.
Early Childhood Education Work Opportunities in South Carolina
As noted earlier, early childhood education jobs are plentiful around the nation, including in South Carolina. At the time of writing, nearly 1,300 such jobs are listed for South Carolina on Indeed.
Aside from the current teacher shortage, another reason why there are so many jobs available is because early childhood educators can work in such a wide range of areas. For example, with one of the bachelor’s degrees discussed above, you can work as a kindergarten teacher in a public school in South Carolina. You can also teach primary grades (first through third) in a public school.
Likewise, private schools have a need for early childhood teachers. Though the pay structure and requirements for employment might be a little different from public schools, your role in an early childhood classroom in a private school will be generally the same as in a public school.
Your degree in early childhood education also qualifies you to work with children in pre-K settings. For example, you might teach at an early learning center where your students are three to four years old. In this context, you might focus mostly on basic academic skills and social skills.
Alternatively, you might work in a preschool or daycare setting with children from birth to three years old. The focus at this age might be on language acquisition and social development. Whatever the age range, your position as an early childhood educator is crucial for helping students build a strong foundation for future academic success.
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