Would an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education be enough to teach at a day center or preschool?

Question

Would an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education be enough to teach at a day center or preschool?

Answer 1

My sister ran her own home day care and taught at a day center/preschool and never had any kind of degree,  she actually never finished more than 3 semesters in college.  I also have a friend that has never attended college and she was a teacher at a day center/preschool, so I would think your degree would be sufficient.

Answer 2

What units does your AA cover, and does that meet the requirements of your states licensing?

In California, you are required to have 12 units of specific classes. You do not have to have an AA. As long as the required classes are met, you can teach. If you called any local preschool, they would be able to tell you exactly what you need.

Answer 3

Yes, But the more education you have the more knowledgeable you will be. Hence a better and more professional teacher.

Answer 4

It depends on the regulations in your state. In NY you could be lead teacher in a day care center classroom.

Answer 5

The short answer is yes.  You can in CA anyway.  But in CA, in addition to a AA you earn certificates for each level of teaching-Assisstant, Lead, Master Teacher, etc.  The AA is in line with the Lead Teacher Cert so you usually get them at the same time.  And your pay level is based on the amount of units you have.

Answer 6

You will get paid according to education.  At my son's pre-school, ALL the teachers and teacher's aids have bachelor's degrees in education, with a childhood emphasis. Though most of the resumes they receive have such backgrounds, they only hire one for each three they interview.

The schools in your area, obviously, may have less strict requirements and different salaries.

Answer 7

It might be, but to teach in a public or private school you will usually need a bachelor's degree.  Most day care centers will hire those with Associate's Degrees though.

Answer 8

Yes.  Most centers only require 12 units to be a lead teacher, 6 to be an assistant, and often none to be an aide.  It depends on your state's specific requirements, and you can easily find out by looking up your state's requirements through the Dept of Education website for your state.  I live in CA, and here you need the minimum 12 units to be a lead teacher.  I will mention that higher quality centers, who want to have lower ratios and better care will probably require higher standards of their staff.  At the center I work at, the lead teacher must have 24 units of ECE, and assistants must have 12.  Of course, staff is paid higher to compensate for the higher qualifying standards, and our ratio is a very low 1:4.  Typically for an associates, you need to have the minimum 12 units of ECE to get the degree, so you'd have the minimum for hiring no problem.