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Early Childhood Education Degrees in North Dakota

Research has done a lot to improve the field of education over the last 100 years. While students once spent their entire school careers with a single teacher, they may now see several teachers throughout the day starting in preschool.

By requiring teachers to specialize in certain subjects and age groups, the field of education has ensured that students have access to schooling that is relevant to their stage of development, age, and academic needs.

Becoming an Early Childhood Teacher in North Dakota

Have you ever considered a career in early childhood education? Early education, which refers to schooling offered to children ages birth through eight, is becoming increasingly important in the American education system.

Discover how you can earn an early childhood education degree and change how children in your community learn.

In North Dakota, those who work in this field are united through the North Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children. This group is part of a larger national organization that advocates for this field on a national level, while state groups like this one work to improve and maintain state-specific standards. If you plan on staying in North Dakota after graduation, you may join this group to get in-depth insight into early education and the unique needs of North Dakota students.

Education is the first step to any teaching career.

If you’re excited about becoming a teacher, learn more about your options by getting in touch with early childhood education schools.

Getting Your Early Childhood Education Degree in North Dakota

To become an early education teacher, you must meet the standards of the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board. They require that you graduate from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree in early education. This means that you must earn at least 120 credits and get several hundred hours of classroom experience.

While making progress on your early childhood education degree, you may learn about general educational theories and ideas that are applicable to students of all ages. From there, you drill down into the theories used in early educational settings. Instructors may show you how to teach specific subjects to students and build a foundation of knowledge that helps them succeed in elementary, middle, and high school settings.

Early Childhood Teacher Courses

  • Observation and Description of Young Children
  • Education of the Exceptional Student
  • Administration and Leadership in Early Childhood Education
  • Methods and Materials in Pre-Kindergarten
  • Understanding Readers and Writers
  • Primary Reading and Language Arts
  • Multicultural Education
  • Science in Elementary Schools

It’s not enough just to master the theory of teaching. You must also be able to use these theories to address actual classroom situations.

The way to succeed in any field is to practice, practice, and practice some more. That’s why many North Dakota schools put you in a local classroom in your very first semester as a teaching student, and throughout your education until you graduate. By working with as many different students as possible and working in various educational settings, you can learn how to adapt and recover in any situation.

Feedback is crucial to your growth as a teacher. In this field, you’ll find many passionate professionals who have refined their craft over the years. Whenever you complete a supervised classroom rotation, take the feedback you get from your supervising teacher and apply it to your next semester of schoolwork. This can help you make a strong impression when you reach your student teaching semester.

If you’re ready to change your future with a new career, this is the time to make your move.

Contact North Dakota early childhood education schools to learn more about your degree options.

Working as an Early Childhood Educator in North Dakota

Depending on where you live in North Dakota, your experience as a teacher may take on many different forms. If you work on a reservation or in a rural area, you may have to adjust your teaching to suit the needs of smaller classrooms with fewer resources. In a larger urban area, you may have a larger classroom and more widespread academic needs.

Having a well-developed support system can ease your transition into the world of teaching. You may want to get involved in the Healthy North Dakota Early Childhood Alliance to learn from experienced educators.

The teacher shortage in North Dakota is growing faster than it is in many other states. Through the year 2024, O*Net expects an 18% increase in job openings for preschool teachers (2016). During this time, demand for elementary school teachers may swell 10% (O*Net, 2016).

While preschool teachers in this state earn an average income of $37,960 per year, elementary school teachers earn an average of $47,110 annually (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016).

You can start the journey to a teaching career by deciding which school fits your learning style.

Get in touch with North Dakota early childhood education programs below.