Early Childhood Education Programs

Choose a Career That Never Gets Old

George Brown College’s School of Early Childhood has been preparing Early Childhood Educators (ECE's) for more than 40 years. For those just out of high school, we offer two Diploma and two Consecutive Diploma/Degree program streams.

About Our Early Childhood Education Diploma Programs

Geoge Brown’s Early Childhood Education diploma will help you develop the knowledge and practical experience you need to support children’s learning as they grow. You will study the developmental stages of infants (from six weeks), toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children (to 12 years) and learn how to design educational programming and respond to a child's unique needs and interests. Our program streams include a two-year, full-time program (C100) and a 16-month accelerated program (C160) for those wanting to get into the workforce as soon as possible. Each stream includes seven weeks of field placement each semester.  Regardless of the program stream you pursue, you will graduate with a Diploma in Early Childhood Education.

About Our Consecutive Diploma/Degree Programs

George Brown offers two consecutive Diploma/Degree programs to help you develop the leadership skills you need to work in a broad range of Early Childhood roles. For the first two years of these four-year degrees, you will study the holistic development of infants (from six weeks) through to school-age children (up to 12 years old) and will learn to design curriculum to support children as they grow. During the second two years of your program, you will study leadership and sector-specific policy. You will also complete a research project that focuses on an area of your choice and will participate in a field internship.

Our Approach is Based on Three Guiding Principles

Block placement

Our experience has shown that the best way to build confidence and support our students as they develop their early childhood skills is through a block placement format – seven weeks in class followed by seven weeks at a child care centre. This gradual but immersive approach, helps students apply what they've learned in the classroom to a child care setting working with children and their families.

GTA Child Care Centres

George Brown’s School of Early Childhood offers Ontario’s largest network of school owned and operated child care centres. These 12 centres model the best practices that we teach in our classrooms and provide top-notch training for our students as well as care for the children and families that we serve. Learn more about our 12 child-care centres here.

Connected to Industry

With over 150 partners across the Greater Toronto Area, we have well-established partnerships that extend into a variety of sectors that include public and private child care centres, school boards, community organizations, hospitals, and government to name a few. Learn more about our industry partners here.