Do you want to give children with different backgrounds a good start to their education?
As a prospective childhood educator studying for a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, you will learn to professionally accompany, support and promote children's development and learning processes.
As childhood educators, you accompany children in a particularly formative phase of their lives. You create framework conditions that promote development and education, thereby making an important contribution to equal opportunities and participation.
You will build up a broad skills profile in the Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education - from development diagnostics and documentation to quality management, parental work and counselling through to inclusion, multilingualism and intercultural education. This will enable you to professionally support children in different environments.
You will combine theory and practice through internships in various organisations. You will gain valuable experience in crèches, daycare centres or educational establishments, reflect on your actions and prepare yourself specifically for working with children aged 0 to 10.
Once you graduate, you will be a state-recognised childhood educator and have a wide range of career opportunities - from daycare centre management and early intervention to working in government offices or family centres. Further qualification is also possible, e.g. in our Master's programme in Educational Sciences.
University entrance qualification (entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences, subject-restricted university entrance qualification or general university entrance qualification/Abitur)
The degree programme is offered free of admission . If you have a valid university entrance qualification, you will be admitted.
The Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education (FELBI for short) qualifies you for professional educational work with children aged 0-10 years. You will learn how to implement educational and childcare tasks in a scientifically sound and goal-oriented manner in elementary institutions (e.g. kindergartens, crèches, educational centres).
During your studies, you will acquire basic knowledge of developmental psychology and educational science, developmental diagnostics and scientific working and research methods. You will gain an overview of different fields of education (e.g. music, art, science, movement and media-orientated education) and acquire key skills in the areas of literature, mathematics and language. Dealing with heterogeneity and inclusion enables you to organise the daycare centre as an inclusive place of learning.
With content from quality management, counselling, law and business administration, you will be prepared for the leadership and management of educational institutions. This will enable you to work professionally with parents and act as a colleague in your team.
During your studies, you will have the opportunity to test, practise and further develop your skills in practice in many internships.
Standard period of study: 6 semesters
The degree programme comprises 180 credit points. One credit point corresponds to around 30 hours of student work (attendance, preparation and follow-up work, self-study, examination).
The close link between theory and practice is a key feature of the programme.
Learning content from modules in the fields of child education and development is translated into concrete early childhood and elementary education activities with children of the relevant age groups in the practical placements. Educational programmes, support measures and diagnostic activities are tested, practised and documented.
As students, you will be accompanied, guided and supervised by mentors from the centres. On the other hand, the internships are linked to courses in which work assignments are given for the internships, the results of which flow back into the courses. The internships are accompanied by colloquia in the 'PRO | Professionalisation' module.
The interaction of these three areas - courses, work placements and PRO events - is visualised as a 'three-room model'.
The 4th semester is a particularly suitable mobility window for a stay abroad. The university attaches great importance to recognising achievements abroad wherever possible. In addition, the block internship 3 is designed so that you as a student can broaden your view of the professional field beyond child day care centres in Germany. It offers the opportunity to familiarise yourself with institutions in the field of early childhood and elementary education on an international level, including those outside your own cultural sphere. Culturally and/or professionally different or unfamiliar framework conditions, ways of thinking and forms of work should be experienced in order to develop further in dealing with them.
Students who are interested in studying abroad can find professional advice and support from the FELBI programme director and, in particular, from the International Office (AAA) of the university, including in the search for scholarships.
To the International Office
You complete the Bachelor's degree programme as a "Childhood Educator" (B. A.) .
After your Bachelor's degree, you can, for example, work in
- Child day care centres (including management roles),
- Family centres or
- Child and youth welfare offices
work.
