Early Childhood Education (Online Program)

The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECE) is an online Honours degree that builds on the foundational knowledge gained from a two-year Early Childhood Education Diploma program or equivalent.

Students enrolled in the BECE program gain a comprehensive and critical understanding of the issues and trends in early care and education for children in their foundational years as well as insights into general educational contexts and theories. Graduates of the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Honours) program are expected to take on positions that require a strong foundation in early care and education or apply to graduate studies or to teacher education programs that lead to a Provincial Teaching Certificate.

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Program Description

Students have the opportunity to interact with peers across varied disciplines and locales while also engaging in coursework, research opportunities, conferences, advocacy, and community internships, deepening both their professionalism and perspectives of the field of early childhood education. Twenty credits are required to complete the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Honours) degree program. Please note: Unless otherwise specified, courses will be delivered online within this degree program.

In addition to receiving up to seven transfer credits, you will need to complete at least 13 Brock credits. As a college transfer student, you will be entering year three of your degree. The following section details the courses to be taken each of year three and four of the program, as well as the elective context requirements between year three and four.

Contact your Academic Advisor to build your program plan. Learn more about registration and timetables on the website of the Office of the Registrar.

Online Required First Year of program (Year 3 of your degree) courses:

  • 1.0 INDG/ECEC 2F95: Indigenous Culture and Early Childhood Education
  • 0.5 ECEC 3P54: Evaluating The Science Behind the Developing Child
  • 0.5 ECEC 3P55: Young Children with Exceptionalities
  • 0.5 ECEC/CHYS 3P50: Early Childhood Education
  • 0.5 ECEC 3P51 Early Childhood Education for Sustainability
  • 0.5 ECEC 3P53: Ethics, Policy, & Care in ECE
  • 0.5 ECEC 3P85: Internship 1
  • and 1 full credit elective from list EDUC 2P65, EDUC 3F01, 4P03, 3P40, 3P70, 3P00, 3P91, 4P46, 4P62, 4P70, ADED 2F90, ADED 2F91, ADED 3F90, ADED 3P12, ADED 3P41 (note: some of the elective courses may be offered in a variety of formats — face-to-face, blended, online — see the Registration Timetable)

Required Spring/Summer term courses:

  • 5 EDUC 4P35 – Global Education: A Cross Curricular Approach
  • 0.5 ECEC 4P81: Research Methods in Early Childhood Education
  • 1.0 Humanities context credit requirement (for complete listing of context credits including those offered online see Brock University Undergraduate Calendar and the Registration Timetable)
  • 1.0 Science context credit requirement (for complete listing of context credits including those offered online see Brock University Undergraduate Calendar and the Registration Timetable).
  • 0.5 elective credit. If you requested an early start, you would only need to complete one half-elective beyond the two half credit courses in Adult Education. Elective courses can be chosen from any format of online, blended, face-to-face.
  • Students are recommended to meet annually with an Advisor to discuss potential options for fulfillment of context credit requirements and electives.

Online Required Second Year of program (Year 4 of your degree) courses:

  • 1.5 ECEC 4D50: ECE Honours thesis
  • 0.5 ECEC 4P52: Inclusive Programming in ECE
  • 0.5 EDUC 4P35: Global Education: A Cross Curricular Approach
  • 0.5 ECEC 4P24: Literacy in the Early Years
  • 0.5 ECEC 4P14: Mathematics in the Early Years
  • 0.5 ECEC 4P85: Internship II
  • 1 credit unspecified elective (Elective courses can be chosen from any format of online, blended, face-to-face).

Note: In 20 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99, including transfer credits.

Admissions and Applications

Graduates of a two year Early Childhood Education Diploma program (or equivalent) with a cumulative 75% average are eligible to apply for entry into the limited enrolment Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Honours) degree online program, and may receive a maximum of seven transfer credits if admitted to the program.

All full-time applicants please use the OUAC 105 application. If applicants wish to apply for part-time study they should use the Brock Internal application. Learn more about applications and application fees on Brock’s Admissions website.

For more information, go to the Admissions’ Transfer Student page.

Early childhood educator teaches children on an outdoor trail

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