EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Early Childhood Education Bachelor of Science (B.S.) program is to prepare competent, reflective, and caring early childhood education professionals with the knowledge and skills to impact a wide range of young children and families, representing various backgrounds and experiences, using evidence-based, developmentally appropriate practices. The mission includes the philosophy that early childhood professionals are to create safe, nurturing, and culturally conscious learning environments that are affirmative and respectful of children’s and families’ identities, assets, and funds of knowledge, as well as children’s ability to co-construct knowledge.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The Early Childhood Education program prepares students for roles in various early learning and childcare settings (as well as related contexts) serving primarily infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The following six tenets frame the program’s identity, core values, and student learning outcomes – child development, play-based learning, responsive teaching, reflection, honoring children, and professionalism.Two foremost instructional values guide and direct teacher preparation in the Early Childhood Education program: hands-on learning and student-centered practices. The Program Conceptual Framework is described in more detail in the attached document (PDF).
B.S., Early Childhood Education Program Outcome Data
Data are provided by The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA), the university’s central resource for official data, institutional reporting, and campus analytics.
| Degree Year | Degrees Awarded | Full-Time | Part-Time | Average Cumulative UA GPA | ||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |||
| 2025-26 | 24 | 11 | 45.80% | 13 | 54.20% | 3.16 |
| 2024-25 | 15 | 3 | 20.00% | 12 | 80.00% | 3.56 |
| 2023-24 | 24 | 15 | 62.50% | 9 | 37.50% | 3.16 |
| 2022-23 | 23 | 7 | 30.40% | 16 | 69.60% | 3.35 |
| 2021-22 | 26 | 9 | 35.00% | 17 | 65.00% | 3.26 |
| 2020-21 | 31 | 13 | 42.00% | 18 | 58.00% | 3.10 |
| 2019-20 | 48 | 27 | 56.00% | 21 | 44.00% | 3.24 |
| 2018-19 | 60 | 39 | 65.00% | 21 | 35.00% | 3.25 |
| 2017-18 | 75 | 35 | 46.66% | 40 | 53.33% | 3.17 |
| 2016-17 | 74 | 50 | 67.56% | 24 | 32.43% | 3.20 |
| 2015-16 | 73 | 46 | 63.01% | 27 | 36.98% | 3.14 |
| 2014-15 | 99 | 52 | 52.52% | 47 | 47.47% | 3.14 |
| 2013-14 | 71 | 43 | 60.56% | 28 | 39.43% | 3.14 |
| 2012-13 | 80 | 43 | 53.75% | 37 | 46.25% | 3.04 |
| 2011-12 | 52 | 24 | 46.15% | 28 | 53.84% | 3.00 |
| 2010-11 | 68 | 31 | 45.58% | 37 | 54.41% | 3.06 |
| 2009-10 | 37 | 23 | 62.16% | 14 | 37.83% | 3.04 |
| 2008-09 | 38 | 19 | 50.00% | 19 | 50.00% | 2.95 |
| 2007-08 | 39 | 23 | 58.97% | 16 | 41.02% | 2.94 |
| 2006-07 | 38 | 24 | 63.15% | 14 | 36.84% | 2.94 |
| 2005-06 | 31 | 19 | 61.29% | 12 | 38.70% | 2.88 |
A degree year consists of the August, December, and May commencements (summer, fall, spring).
Outcome measures:
• The number of program completers
• Average GPA of graduating class
Retention and Graduation Rates
Fall 2016 – 2026
| Fall Cohort | Number | Average ACT | Retention Rates | Graduation Rates | ||||
| Cont 2nd Yr | Cont 3rd Yr | Cont 4th Yr | Grad in 4 Yrs or Less | Grad in 5 Yrs or Less | Grad in 6 Yrs or Less | |||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |||
| 2016 | 14 | 23.2 | 92.9 | 85.7 | 92.9 | 71.4 | 85.7 | 85.7 |
| 2017 | 6 | 23.3 | 83.3 | 83.3 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 66.7 |
| 2018 | 6 | 19.0 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 50.0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 22.0 | 77.8 | 77.8 | 77.8 | 44.4 | 55.6 | 55.6 |
| 2020 | 6 | 22.7 | 83.3 | 66.7 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
| 2021 | 6 | 23.5 | 83.3 | 83.3 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 66.7 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 21.0 | 75.0 | 62.5 | 37.5 | 50.0 | ||
| 2023 | 13 | 22.4 | 92.3 | 84.6 | 61.5 | |||
| 2024 | 11 | 20.4 | 81.8 | 81.8 | ||||
| 2025 | 12 | 17.3 | 66.7 | |||||
| 2026 | 9 | 24.8 | ||||||
Retention rates: Second-, Third-, and Fourth-Year Retention
Graduation rates: Four-, Five-, and Six-Year Graduation Rates
Full-Time, First-Time Undergraduates
Within-Program Retention and Graduation Rates
Fall 2016 – 2026
| Fall Cohort | Number | Avg ACT | Retention Rates | Graduation Rates | ||||
| Cont 2nd Yr | Cont 3rd Yr | Cont 4th Yr | Grad in 4 Yrs or Less | Grad in 5 Yrs or Less | Grad in 6 Yrs or Less | |||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |||
| 2016 | 14 | 23.2 | 35.7 | 35.7 | 35.7 | 28.6 | 35.7 | 35.7 |
| 2017 | 6 | 23.3 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 16.7 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 33.3 |
| 2018 | 6 | 19.0 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 22.0 | 44.4 | 22.2 | 22.2 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| 2020 | 6 | 22.7 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 | 6 | 23.5 | 33.3 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 21.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 12.5 | 25.0 | ||
| 2023 | 13 | 22.4 | 38.5 | 30.8 | 15.4 | |||
| 2024 | 11 | 20.4 | 45.5 | 45.5 | ||||
| 2025 | 12 | 17.3 | 58.3 | |||||
| 2026 | 9 | 24.8 | ||||||
Retention and graduation rates for students who remained and graduated with the Early Childhood Education Major
The University of Alabama’s B.S. Early Childhood Education program prepares degree candidates to be proficient in the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.
| Candidate Performance AY 2023-2024 | |
| Standard | Candidate Performance Summary |
| Standard 1 Child Development and Learning in Context | 93% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
| Standard 2 Family-Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections | 80% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
| Standard 3 Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment | 66% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
| Standard 4 Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices | 100% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
| Standard 5 Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum | 89% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
| Standard 6 Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator | 78% of teacher candidates met or exceeded expectations |
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
| Key Competency | Did Not Meet Expectations | Met Expectations | Exceeded Expectations |
| 1a | 6% | 94% | — |
| 1b | 6% | 97% | — |
| 1c | 8% | 75% | 17% |
| 1d | 14% | 68% | 18% |
| 2a | 18% | 77% | 5% |
| 2b | 14% | 61% | 25% |
| 2c | 27% | 55% | 20% |
| 3a | 44% | 26% | 30% |
| 3b | 75% | 25% | — |
| 3c | 6% | 94% | — |
| 3d | 13% | 70% | 17% |
| 4a | — | 17% | 83% |
| 4b | — | 9% | 91% |
| 4c | — | 6% | 94% |
| 5a | 9% | 9% | 82% |
| 5b | — | 17% | 83% |
| 5c | 22% | 17% | 61% |
| 6a | 71% | — | 29% |
| 6b | 21% | 43% | 36% |
| 6c | 11% | 43% | 46% |
| 6d | 29% | 43% | 29% |
| 6d | 14% | 57% | 29% |