Conestoga’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs have been ranked as Canada’s best according to findings released by CourseCompare on November 21.
“This achievement is a testament to the dedication, expertise, and tireless efforts of our faculty, and field placement advisors, along with the invaluable contributions to student learning supported by our lab school supervisors, educators, and Professional Resource Centre (PRC) teams,” said Carolyn Finlayson, chair, Child Development and Education Studies.
“The commitment to excellence demonstrated by each member of our community has played a pivotal role in shaping the success of our program. This accomplishment reflects the collective passion and hard work that define Conestoga's early learning programs.”
The two-year Early Childhood Education diploma program prepares students for professional practice in the field of early learning and child care. Through interactive classroom learning and work-integrated learning experiences, students develop skills that enable them to work in collaboration with families, colleagues and communities for the purpose of designing, implementing and evaluating inclusive play-based early learning programs.
Conestoga also offers a four-year Bachelor of Early Learning paid co-op degree program related to the early childhood field and is home to the only Early Childhood PRC located on a college campus.
Available at Conestoga’s Kitchener - Doon campus, the centre is designed to successfully respond to the diverse system needs of the early learning and childcare sector and provides educational resources including books, media, research articles, reference materials, curriculum kits and educational materials to support early learning and care professionals.
Continuous learning opportunities such as workshops, symposiums, conferences and networking are offered to build community capacity and quality learning. The PRC also provides on-site pedagogical consultation to Waterloo Region’s early years sector.
Visit the School of Community Services to learn more about ECE programming at Conestoga.
CourseCompare is billed as Canada’s marketplace for education by connecting people to top-rated courses and training programs across the country. In compiling its rankings, it reviews job placement rates and four additional performance metrics: verified ratings from recent graduates along four separate dimensions of quality; industry recognition and satisfaction based on employer survey data; graduate earning potential, typically based on salaries within six months of graduation; and graduation rates taken from a variety of sources.