I've moved to Texas from Pa. about 5 years ago and would like to finish my AA degree in ECE. I absolutely love learning about Infant, toddler and preschool development as well as curriculum writing for that age group.
I have researched several schools here and most degree paths seem to focus on Elementary School teaching certification. I do not have an interest in that area and would love to find a school with a different course load with more of a child psychology, infant/toddler/preschool development studies, curriculum writing, or possibly family studies. My goal is to gain more knowledge in preparing children successfully for Kindergarten in Texas.
I have my CDA in Early Childhood Care for Infants/Toddlers/Preschool as well as the Maryland 90 hour Preschool certification.
Where did you go to school?
Are online schools as credible as they sound?
Is there such a thing as getting an ECE degree entirely "online"
I second UNT and TX Womens. I am a regular sub (10+ yrs, same school) and many of the teachers have gone back to those 2 schools for Master's programs, etc.
University of Texas at Dallas is a great school but I don't know about the childhood programs. It has a good business program.
Check out SMU as well, you never know.
I don't know about your question of online schools, sorry. However, University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University have very good early education departments. Most of the teachers in this area, have graduated from those schools. I was going to college to get a Library Sciences degree, but decided to start a family instead. I couldn't afford university tuition, so I took basic classes at North Central Texas College, with the intention of transferring. (They are a community college and offer many AA degrees. You could look into that, as well. They have a new campus in Flower Mound and the original campus in Corinth.)
I got my master's degree in family studies at UNT! Got my undergrad there too. You will be impressed with their faculty, facilities, and programs. Lots has changed since I finished in 04 but those changes make their programs even better.
I have my undergrad from SMU in engineering and a Master's from UTD in Early Childhood Disorders. I think your best bets are UNT or TWU. SMU is also good but very expensive!
TWU may have online courses. I personally prefer "live" classes. I would not go with any online college that did not have an outstanding rep. You might check with the districts you want to work for to see if they accept grads from the schools you are considering.
