which our students will compete for the opportunity to become a director for a day. This is a collaborative effort with early childcare sites in our service area that are willing to allow one of our students to shadow them for the day so they can see first-hand the job responsibilities expected from a director. This will be an on-going process that students will be able to apply for on a monthly basis.
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Criterion 5: Quality of Field Experiences
The program’s field experiences support students’ learning in relation to the NAEYC standards.
Rationale: Students will understand and apply the competencies reflected in the NAEYC standards when they are able to observe, implement, and receive constructive feedback in real-life settings.
Indicators of strength:
Field experiences are consistent with outcomes emphasized in NAEYC’s standards, are well planned and sequenced, and allow students to integrate theory, research, and practice.
When the settings used for field experiences do not reflect standards of quality, students are provided with other models and/or experiences to ensure that they are learning to work with young children and families in ways consistent with the NAEYC standards.
Faculty and other supervisors help students to make meaning of their experiences in early childhood settings and to evaluate those experiences against standards of quality.
Adults who mentor and supervise students provide positive models of early childhood practice consistent with NAEYC’s standards.
Field experiences expose students to a variety of cultural, linguistic, and ethnic settings for early childhood care and education.
Sources of evidence:
1) Report:
a) A one page description of program’s approach to using field experiences.
b) A one-page description of plans to address challenges and build on current strengths in this area.
2) Site Visit: Interviews with faculty, students, cooperating teachers, and other supervisors
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Narrative description of field experiences:
As evidenced through our conceptual framework, field experience is an essential component of the ECE program and can be found woven throughout our courses. It is our belief, that field experiences provide concrete, meaningful, and active experiences that help our students to make connections between theory and practice. The standards set forth by the NAEYC exemplify what we, as an ECE department,
represent. The field experiences within the ECE classrooms range from very specific to very general in nature. Students are encouraged to observe childrens’ and teachers’ characteristics, behaviors,
interactions with others, and so much more. Environments are observed, evaluated and examined for developmental appropriateness. Field experiences are documented in a number of ways from informal notes to formal documentation being presented for grading. Thorough examples and more details in relation to required field experience opportunities within the ECE program are documented in the curriculum chart of sample learning opportunities and assessments.
Throughout students field experiences they are required to integrate theory and research in their
assignments. With regard to a research component, depending on the prerequisites of a particular course, faculty may have to devote a portion of class time to teaching students about the research process itself.
Early childhood educators are in a unique position. They are the bridge that connects research to children and vice versa. Therefore, students are taught to recognize and use credible sources of information and to discard and/or question sources of information that seem incomplete or biased. Students are also
encouraged to follow current research within the field of early childhood as students, as well as in their futures as early childhood educators.
One great example of our commitment to ensure that student field experiences are reflective of quality and supportive of the NAEYC standards can be seen in EDU 284, Early Childhood Practicum. This is the culminating course for the ECE program. In this course, students are required to do 160 hours of field experience in a three star (minimum) or NAEYC accredited or equivalent, quality early childhood environment. Our diverse county is comprised of 121 childcare centers and homes. It is our desire that every early childhood practicum student is placed in a center that practices high-quality care. Due to many facilities being available for possible placement sites, our ECE department felt it necessary to develop criteria for which facilities would be available as placement sites.
In the North Carolina Star-Rated License process, childcare facilities may earn points in two areas:
Program Standards and Staff Education, and a possibility of one (1) Quality point in staff education and program standards. Program standard points are based on an evaluation of the daily environment at each facility. This includes: sufficient space for activities, a variety of play materials, and a clean and
comfortable play area for the program environment. It also includes the staff to child ratio and the
interactions between the adults and the children as well as the interactions between the children and other children. Staff education is a driving force to more highly qualified child care teachers/providers. To earn higher points in the education component of the rated license, child care staff must complete more formal education and have experience working with children.
Our field placement sites have been carefully chosen using criteria set forth by the North Carolina Star-Rated License process. We value our selection of sites based on higher program standards and staff education. Our students gain hands-on experiences in a variety of early childhood settings such as:
licensed child care centers, Title I Preschools, NC Preschools, child care programs, and Headstarts. These settings afford our students the opportunity to interact with children and families from various cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds.
Each practicum student is assigned an on-site mentor who has a background in early childhood. These mentors are positive role models who practice developmentally appropriate curricula practices and