Our Philosophy

The Santa Barbara City College Early Childhood Education Department is a human relations laboratory that challenges its students to understand the complexities of their own behavior and the behavior of others.

The Early Childhood Education Department believes that adult learners are responsible and self-directed, experience is valuable, and adult learners are a rich source of information. The ECE Department also believes learning should focus on the things one needs to know to cope with real life situations. Learning is considered life-, task-, or problem-centered. Motivation is internal, including increased job satisfaction, self-esteem, and improved quality of life. Therefore, the ECE faculty supports the process approach to learning for all students.

The Early Childhood Education Department believes that the learning process must be authentic, interactive, learner-centered, inclusive, and continuous. The faculty of the ECE Department acknowledges that each student brings a very different set of needs, skills, interests, knowledge, background, and experiences to the learning process. By individualizing the approach, the faculty strives to adapt whenever possible to support each student's growth.

The Early Childhood Education Department is committed to perpetuating attitudes and practices that celebrate all cultures, ages, roles, and other human diversities in the learning process.

Because the Early Childhood Education Department is such an integral part of the lives of its students, the faculty recognizes that we are an important link between home life, the community, and Santa Barbara City College.

We appreciate your interest in pursuing a career as an Early Childhood Educator. For information about the ECE Department, continue to read other sections of this web site. For specific course information, check the current semester's schedule of classes.