Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies

The Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early childhood Studies will prepare graduates with the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively work with young children and their families from birth through eight years of age. Students will acquire knowledge and skills in order to serve typically developing young children and those with disabilities within the natural settings of home, community, and schools.

The academic program will offer core curricula and practica in early childhood development and pedagogy while highlighting the contextual influences of family, culture, language, and society. The Early Childhood Studies Program is distinctive in that the major emphasizes the first eight years of life as extremely significant in children's development. The philosophy implicit in the Early Childhood Studies Program is reflective of the Position Statements and Early Childhood Professional Preparation Standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children that include:

• Promoting child development and learning
• Building family and community relationships--whatever their structure, language, ethnicity, and child's ability or disability
• Delivering developmentally effective assessment and teaching practices
• Preparing early childhood professionals beyond a foundational level in order to support the acquisition and application of advanced knowledge and skills.

There is a specific programmatic focus on the preparation of graduates who possess knowledge and skills in second language acquisition and literacy for young English learners.

Careers

The program will prepare graduates for multiple career paths in the fields of teacher education, health and human services. These careers include infant/toddler and preschool teachers, early interventionists, administrators of centers for young children and families. The program will provide the subject matter preparation for the multiple subjects and special education teaching credentials, as well as related professional programs in health and human services such as child life specialists and counselors. Graduates will also be prepared to pursue graduate studies in related fields such as, education, social work, human development, and counseling.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students can teach and administer in programs serving young children (with and without disabilities) from birth through eight and their families
• Students are able to teach all subjects in their area of specialty
• Students understand and relate to diversity of languages and cultures in and among children and families
• Students can meet the diverse needs of all children including those with special needs
• Students are reflective and deliberative practitioners
• Students link content to pedagogy
• Students actively engage children in their learning
• Students integrate research, theory and best practice into their teaching

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Studies (120 Units)

Lower Division Requirements (47–48 Units)

Major Courses (30 Units)

Course Name	Units	Prerequisites, GE & Comments
ART 102 - Multicultural Children’s Art	3	G.E., C1, C3b
BIOL 100 - Exploring the Living World	4	G.E., B2
OR
BIOL 170 - Foundations of Life Science	4	G.E., B2
PHSC 170 - Foundations in Physical Science	4	G.E., B1
COMP 101 Computer Literacy	3	G.E., B4
ECS 101 Introduction to Early Childhood Education	3	G.E., D
ECS 221 Child, Family and Community in California in the 21st Century	3	__
HIST 211 World Civilizations: Origins to 1500	3	G.E., D
ENGL 212 Introduction to Children’s Literature	3	—
MATH 208 Modern Mathematics for Elementary Teaching I: Numbers & Problem Solving	3	G.E., B3
PSY 150 Foundations of Child and Adolescent	3	__
One Semester of Spanish I	4	G.E., C3a

American Institutions Requirements (6 units)

Course Name	Units	Prerequisites, GE & Comments
HIST 275 The United States to 1900	3	U.S. History & Constitution Requirement
POLS 150 American Political Institutions	3	Local Government Requirement

UPPER DIVISION REQUIREMENTS (49 UNITS)

Course Name	Units	Prerequisites, GE & Comments
ECS  320 Early Childhood Service Delivery Models & Programs for Young Children	3	—
ECS 322 Early Childhood Program Administration	3	—
ECS 325 Typical & Atypical Development: Birth-Age 8	3	—
ECS 456 Working with Parents	3	—
ECS 460  Infant/Toddler Assessment & Intervention	3	—
ECS 461  Infant/Toddler Student Teaching & Seminar	4	—
ECS 468  Early Numeracy & Literacy for Children Ages 3-8: Multicultural/Multilingual	3	—
470  Preschool/Primary Assessment & Teaching Strategies	4	—
ECS  471 Preschool/Primary Student Teaching & Seminar	4	—
EDML 461 Theory,  Methods and Applications In Bilingual Education	3	Senior Standing
EDMC 560 Application of Mainstream & ELD Methods	2	Senior Standing
EDUC 512 Equity, Diversity & Foundations of Schooling	3	G.E., C3b, Senior standing
ENGL 475 Language in Social Context	3	—
HIST  369  California History & Culture	3	—
PHED 302  Motor Learning, Fitness & Development in Children	2	G.E., E
HLTH  322 Health Issues in Education	2	G.E., E
SPED 345 Individuals with Disabilities in Society	3	PSY, G.E., D E,
SPED 546  Consultation & Collaboration with Families and State and Professionals	3	Senior Standing

University Electives (23–24 Units)

Requirements	Units	Prerequisites, GE & Comments
Electives	17	Students preparing for the multiple subjects or special education credentials are strongly urged to take MATH 308
Interdisciplinary Electives	6	G.E., C2

Total Units for Graduation

Requirements	Units
Electives Lower Division Requirements	47-48
Upper Division Requirements	49
University Electives	23-24
Total	120

For information about this program contact:

Dr. Elizabeth Quintero, Ed.D.
Coordinator of Early Childhood Studies
Elizabeth.quintero@csuci.edu
805-437-3306