{"id":210451,"date":"2025-02-07T13:54:47","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T23:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=210451"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:54:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T00:54:22","slug":"new-early-childhood-education-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/07\/new-early-childhood-education-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa launches new early childhood education degree"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"adult<\/p>\n

Responding to a critical shortage of early childhood educators in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Education, is launching a new Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE<\/abbr>) program<\/a> in fall 2025.<\/p>\n

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UH<\/abbr> leaders, lawmakers and educators gather at the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Children’s Center for a press conference announcing the new degree program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The goal of the program is to provide candidates with the needed competencies and experiences to nurture and guide children from birth through age 8, laying the foundation for their learning and discovery within their individual social-cultural contexts.<\/p>\n

The program offers a full-time schedule with evening classes in a hybrid statewide format. Graduates will be recommended for a Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> early childhood teaching license for preschool through third grade. The deadline to apply is March 1. The UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa College of Education held a joint news conference with Lt<\/abbr>. Gov<\/abbr>. Sylvia Luke on February 7 at the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Children\u2019s Center to encourage students to enroll.<\/p>\n

“The College of Education is committed to addressing Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s critical need for early childhood educators by providing a high-quality, accessible pathway for future teachers,” UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa College of Education Dean Nathan Murata said. “This new program reflects our dedication to supporting children, families and communities by ensuring a well-prepared workforce that understands the importance of early learning and care.”<\/p>\n

Expanding early learning access<\/h2>\n

\"boy<\/p>\n

This initiative is a major step in streamlining the pathway to becoming a pre-K teacher by separating early childhood education from the broader K<\/abbr>–8th grade track. It aligns with statewide efforts to expand early learning access, and emphasizes the critical role of care and learning from birth—a priority under the state\u2019s Ready Keiki initiative<\/a>, led by Luke. By 2032, Ready Keiki aims to provide preschool access for all Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 3- and 4-year-olds, creating more than 400 classrooms statewide. However, the expansion of early childhood education is being hindered by a lack of qualified teachers.<\/p>\n

“Expanding access to early childhood education is at the heart of the Ready Keiki initiative, and this new degree program is a critical step in ensuring we have the qualified teachers needed to support Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s youngest learners,” Luke said. “By streamlining the pathway to becoming a pre-K educator, we are investing in our children, families and the future of our state.”<\/p>\n

The curriculum aligns with the National Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, as well as the Interstate New Teacher Assessment Consortium Model Core Teaching Standards, ensuring graduates meet national benchmarks for high-quality teaching. Grounded in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s unique cultural and educational landscape, the program integrates community input to address local needs.<\/p>\n

“I am incredibly excited for the students of this new program to be able to learn about early childhood from infancy through the early elementary school years through the lens of both education and care, both of which are fundamental aspects of working with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> keiki and families,” \u200b\u200bsaid Valley Varma, a teacher at the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Children\u2019s Center and graduate of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s early childhood education master’s program who has more than 30 years of experience in the early childhood education field. “I’m really proud and excited to see what comes from this new program.”<\/p>\n

The BEd<\/abbr> in ECCE<\/abbr> program was developed through collaboration among UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa faculty and early childhood education faculty at multiple UH<\/abbr> community colleges, including Honolulu CC<\/abbr>, Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr>, UH<\/abbr> Maui College and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“This new degree program is a testament to the power of collaboration across our UH<\/abbr> campuses, ensuring that students statewide have access to high-quality training for critical early childhood education roles,” UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel said. “By preparing future educators to meet Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s workforce needs, UH<\/abbr> is helping to strengthen our communities and investing in a brighter future for our families.”<\/p>\n

To apply and\/or to sign up for virtual or in-person info sessions, visit the College of Education website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The goal of the program is to provide candidates with the needed competencies and experiences to nurture and guide children from birth through age 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[95,908,204,1466,9],"class_list":["post-210451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-college-of-education","tag-early-childhood-education","tag-education","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-uh-manoa","entry","no-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210451"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210490,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210451\/revisions\/210490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}