Our program stands out from other college programs - we are a teacher preparation program. At Santa Ana College, students will engage in coursework and fieldwork/clinical practice that will teach you how to teach. 

• Our courses are aligned with the California Early Childhood Educator Teaching Performance Expectations (ECE TPEs). 

• The ECE TPEs are researched based and aligned with the expectations set forth by the California Early Childhood Educator Competencies, California Infant/Toddler and California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) national program standards.

• Our program is aligned with the California Early Childhood Formative Teaching Performance Assessment (Cal FTPA), the performance assessment for students to become and Early Childhood Education Teacher.  The Cal FTPA is designed based on the ECE TPEs.
  

Successful completion of this program will allow students obtain an Early Childhood Education Teaching Credential (child development permit​) which is needed to teach in a state funded early childhood program or a federally funded early childhood program (Head Start). This program prepares students to learn how to teach and also prepares students to transfer to a university to complete a bachelor’s degree and a higher-level teaching credential.  Students will take specialized courses that provide opportunities to learn how to teach while using developmentally appropriate practices, as well as observe and work alongside early childhood education teachers in an Early Childhood Laboratory School setting.  These specialized courses include:

Students will conduct all observations and assignments during the early childhood education laboratory school’s regular operating hours, Monday-Friday between 7:30am-5:00pm. 

Certificate Programs: ​Add Specialized Training to the Degree 

Early Childhood Special Education Teacher (Pre-Professional)