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Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education

Program Overview

The Master of Arts in Education, option in Early Childhood Education is a two-year, 30-33 unit program that fosters the development of diverse educators who apply research-based knowledge in designing developmentally and culturally appropriate  curriculum and assessment strategies for children ages birth through 8.  Candidates develop family-school-community partnership strategies,  evaluate the quality of early childhood programs in their communities, and critically evaluate policies that impact young children and their families locally and globally. The ECE program develops teacher leaders and advocates of young children, families, and the field. Students gain a deeper understanding of global perspectives in early childhood education.

 

Program Highlights

The program adopts a cohort model and offers hybrid courses with Saturday and evening classes to accommodate working professionals. The program provides mentoring by faculty members and program graduates, and the college and university provide a wide-array of support services. General academic scholarships and ECE program specific scholarships are available for eligible candidates. The ECE degree meets the California requirement of Transitional Kindergarten (TK) teachers needing to complete 24 early childhood education units.

Areas of Training

Students will be able to:

  1. Analyze in-depth theoretical perspectives that apply to young children and their families
  2. Demonstrate competency in building family and community relationships 
  3. Apply educational theories of teaching and learning to early childhood classrooms
  4. Analyze personal and professional philosophies and practices within culturally diverse early learning contexts
  5. Synthesize understanding of leadership roles that benefit children and families
  6. Evaluate current issues, debates, trends, and research in the field of early childhood education
  7. Evaluate children’s issues and early childhood education around the world

Our Graduates

In addition to teaching in infant, toddler, preschool, transitional kindergarten, and elementary school classrooms, our graduates obtain a host of leadership positions such as community college instructors and tenure track faculty members in private and public universities in the US and internationally; ECE curriculum specialists; ECE program directors; ECE consultants; mentor teachers; research/development specialists; and leadership positions in national organizations. Our graduates also open their own ECE programs locally and in international contexts, and pursue doctoral programs in various universities in the US and universities in other countries.