Early Childhood Education (B.A.)

• Information on the admission requirements and application procedure can be found on the pages which describe the application process for our Bachelor programmes

The job market in the Early Childhood Education sector continues to enjoy steady growth, there is a great lack of specialists in children’s day nurseries. The two specialisations in the degree programme - education and care of children or management and organisational design - offer graduates a wide range of opportunities to make the transition into employment or for career development, such as...

• leading a group, deputising for managers, managing child daycare facilities
• tasks relating to conceptualisation and didactic aspects of after-school activities in all-day schools, social work in schools
• parent education and advisory services
• planning and educational policy tasks
• training measures in daycare facilities
• educational advisory services
• further and advanced education and training.

Master’s programme

On completion of the Bachelor’s programme, you can continue with a Master’s programme, which paves the way to a doctoral degree. At Esslingen University of Applied Sciences you can continue with the Master's degree in Applied Socio-Pedagogical Educational Research.

Competence profile of graduates

Competence profile of programme graduates PDF (German)

Theory and practice go hand-in-hand during the whole programme. Research access and participant observation or interviews allow the students to gain insights into the interaction between educators and children, into the interests and issues of children from their perspective, or into the view of specialists in various fields of work.

Further noteworthy elements of the interlinking of theory and practice are listed below:

Semester of practical study

The 4th semester is thesemester of practical study. Its objective is to provide students with an overview of the professional field of early childhood education, promote skills in educational work with children and those to whom they relate, further develop professional skills & knowledge, and offer an insight into the administrative work involved. The semester of practical study can be undertaken in Germany or abroad. During this time, the students are mentored by an instructor in the facility where they are undertaking their practical work.

Apart from spending 100 days at this facility, students also have a separate schedule of classes to accompany the practical work in this semester. In addition, the university offers students the opportunity to participate in a voluntary supervision programme.

• Further information on the semester of practical study

One-week practical training courses

In each of the first three semesters, students undertake a one-week practical training course. These weeks of practical work provide the students with an insight into the educational work with children in the three age groups 0-3 years, 3-6 years and 6-10 years, and demonstrate ways of implementing education and supervision for these age groups.

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Project work

In the 5th and 6th semesters, students undertake a project in which they tackle a practical problem, sometimes in collaboration with others working at the sharp end or possibly together with other degree programmes.

ProfilE

The approach followed by the Early Childhood Education degree programme is consistently sensitive to diversity and oriented towards inclusion. It is anchored in the Faculty of Social Work, Education and Nursing Sciences, thus ensuring it is oriented towards social education.

The degree programme at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences is characterised by the two specialisations it offers:

• Education and care of children and education partnership with parents
• Management and social care management

High-quality teaching, innovative teaching formats

The programme consists mainly of seminars which incorporate innovative teaching & learning formats such as research workshops, working in the education workshop, student projects, experimental games or case work. Students can avail themselves of intensive support and advice. Tutorials help students to find their way around at the beginning of their studies.

Interlinking of theory and practice and collaborations

The interlinking of theory and practice is very important and safeguarded by the integrated semester of practical study (100 days) in top-class institutions, one-week practical training courses and seminars with a practical focus.
The degree programme cultivates the exchange of ideas and collaborations with those working on the practical side, e.g. with institutions, funding providers, specialist staff and those with specialist responsibility in the region.
Students are encouraged and supported to spend one or two semesters abroad. Collaborations are cultivated especially with the Erasmus partner, the Free University of Bozen (Brixen campus) in South Tyrol, Italy.

Esslingen’s feel-good factor

Esslingen can boast a medieval old quarter and a picturesque location on the River Neckar, flanked by vineyards, and thus offers a wide range of diverse leisure activities. Narrow lanes and half-timbered houses, pretty cafés, restaurants serving Swabian and international cuisine, theatres and museums - there is something for everybody. A great many events are organised throughout the year.

And Stuttgart, the federal state capital, offers lots more activities and is only a 15-minute ride on the S-Bahn.

The teaching is based on the Hilltop Campus in Esslingen. All important facilities such as the library, computer centre, sports facilities and the cafeteria are just a stone’s throw away from the lecture theatres and laboratories.

PR Film "EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION"