Associate in Child Development
The aim of the Programme of Child Care is to educate child development and education professionals who serve children, families, educators and society by providing children between 0-6 years of age (preschool) who have normal development and who have special educational needs with theoretical and practical education programmes that support all areas of development (mental, language, motor, self-care, social and emotional).
In order to educate graduates suitable for the purpose, syllabuses have been created by considering the physical, mental, cognitive and psycho-motor development processes of children. In this context, mental health, special education, gymnastics, animation, drama, music, painting, puppet and toy making, games and playing materials are selected as the core courses. Compulsory field courses are supported with elective courses such as computer and foreign language.
In the Programme of Child Care, the basic principle is to determine the skills and behaviours of children, their abilities according to multiple intelligence theory and to organize the appropriate education and training. In order to develop creative thinking in children and to enable children to learn by doing – living, it is aimed to give importance to motivation. Another aim of ours is to give children the opportunity to think correctly and make the right decisions so that they can easily cope with the problems they face both in preparing for school and in their daily lives.
Program Specific Requirements
- None.
Learning Outcomes
- The aim of the Child Development programme is to train personnel for the education of children between 0-6 years of age who have both normal and special education needs. For this purpose, taking into account the general characteristics of children and the basic principles of development; it aims at providing fundamental professional competencies by offering theoretical and practical courses defined as compulsory and elective courses.
Career Opportunities
- Our graduates have the opportunity to work as an administrator, teacher and assistant teacher in private nursery and kindergartens; administrator, teacher and assistant teacher in special education and rehabilitation centers; master teachers in kindergarten and primary classes affiliated to the Ministry of National Education; parent trainer in private research and consultancy companies; caregiver in Child Health Centers, Inpatient Care Institutions and Social Services Child Protection Institutions; designer in child publications and toys sectors and a child care staff for children of working parents. Graduates can also gain the right to register to the Undergraduate Programmes with the Vertical Transfer Exam if quota is provided in their fields by making use of the Regulation on Transition to Undergraduate Program of Vocational School Graduates and Open University Associate Degree Graduates. The graduates who successfully complete the Associate Degree education can transfer to the Undergraduate Programmes such as “Pre-school Education Teaching” and “Child Development Education” provided that they have enough score in Vertical Transfer Exam.