Early Childhood Studies

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http://www.cpp.edu/~ceis/early-childhood-studies/index.shtml

Nancy Hurlbut, Chair
Eden Haywood-Bird, Associate Chair

Early Childhood Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, is committed to the pursuit of excellence in education and to the search for new knowledge about the teaching and learning process. Early Childhood Studies, through the College of Education and Integrative Studies prepares future professionals to work with children and families from prenatal to grade 12, and strives to provide equal educational opportunities for all qualified candidates who wish to become professional leaders.

Vision

Our program prepares early childhood professional to make a difference in the lives of young children and families at the local and national levels. Our graduates will lead the field of early childhood through innovation, creativity, collaboration, and critical analytical skills that embrace the diversity and inclusivity of young children and their families.

Mission Statement

The Early Childhood Studies Program provides students the knowledge and skills needed to make a positive difference in the lives of children from prenatal to age 12 and their families. We are dedicated to fostering a student-centered, active learning environment where students take theory into practice using a social justice, anti-racist lens that values inclusivity and diversity and advocates for ethnic/racial, gendered, and other underrepresented individuals in society. 

Core Values

• Academic Excellence - We promote academic quality, excellence, intellectual curiosity, and rigor through our students’ critical engagement with our programs evidence-based culture and our faculty’s teaching, scholarship, and creative activities.
• Experiential Learning - We foster an integrative approach through collaboration, discovery, learn-by-doing, community involvement, and the innovative use of technology. We value critical thinking, reflection, informed risk-taking, and lifelong learning.
• Student Success - We are committed to educational and supportive experiences that engage and challenge our students, build on student strengths, culture, and funds of knowledge, enhance personal well-being and growth, provide career opportunities in early childhood, and foster ethical citizenship.
• Inclusiveness Through Affirmation and Celebration of Diversity - Our diversity reflects and enhances our community. We value, respect, and celebrate diversity and individuality. We promote social justice and anti-racist through equity and advocacy.
• Community Engagement and Collaboration- We develop reciprocal, meaningful, and socially-just relationships with community partners and stakeholders in all spheres of Early Childhood Studies.
• Social and Environmental Responsibility - We are committed to socially responsive actions that reflect our commitment to the society and the environment as we shape the future in positive ways.

General Information

The purpose of the BA in Early Childhood Studies (ECS) is to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that reflect the perspective of quality, equity, anti-racism, and fairness in their work. The program’s primary focus is on work with children from prenatal to age eight and their families.  While at Cal Poly Pomona, undergraduate students study processes important for early childhood development, identify implications of theory in the examination and application of principles and practices within diverse family, program, and community contexts.

The strength of the program redoubles the institution’s commitment to the value of diversity in preparing future practitioners to be integrative thinkers and model leaders. The program philosophy as reflected in the BA Program Learning Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes emphasizes the importance of the University as a locus for “experiential” learning; in this context, there is a reciprocal relationship between theory and application so that knowledge serves to inform practice and practice continues to inform knowledge. In addition, the sociocultural strengths of both the Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) students themselves and the nature of the community contexts in which they will serve are foundational in the conceptualization of the ECS BA Program.

Results from recent brain research indicate that young children who experience positive early social-emotional interactions and are engaged in appropriate educational activities are more likely to succeed in school and throughout their lives.  Through positive adult-child and peer relationships fostered in early childhood program settings, children learn to be resilient, to welcome and persist in problem-solving, resolve conflict, and to develop an early appreciation for inquiry-based learning.  Understanding the relationship between theory and practice is a key component of the CPP Early Childhood Studies Program.

Goals for students include the development and demonstration of culturally competent communication and also the ability to engage in reflective practice/supervision.  Students will build responsive/reciprocal relationships with children and families and the leadership skills and dispositions necessary for ethical and equitable decision-making.  Through their understanding of diversity as an asset to be cultivated and celebrated, our students are prepared to promote social justice for young children and their families.

The program has been designed to incorporate transfer students from community college Child Development/Early Childhood Education programs by providing a track for the approved Early Childhood Education Transfer Model Curriculum (ECE TMC or ECE ADT) and/or the approved Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP) courses from any California Community College, as well as to serve native CPP students.  Transfer students who have completed the ECE ADT (ECE AS-T or AA-T) will be able to graduate in two years by completing the 60 semester units of required coursework at Cal Poly Pomona.  Native full-time students will be able to graduate in four years by completing the 120 semester units of required coursework.  The program follows the general Cal Poly Pomona admission requirements.

Programs

• Early Childhood Studies, B.A.: 120 units

Courses

• ECS 1000 - Child Growth and Development (3)
• ECS 1100 - Child, Family and Community (3)
• ECS 1200 - Health, Safety and Nutrition for Early Childhood (3)
• ECS 2000 - Special Study for Lower Division Students (1-3)
• ECS 2010 - Early Childhood Observation and Assessment (2)
• ECS 2010A - Early Childhood Observation and Assessment Activity (1)
• ECS 2100 - Early Childhood Clinical Practicum I (1)
• ECS 2100A - Early Childhood Clinical Practicum I Activity (2)
• ECS 2200 - Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (3)
• ECS 2300 - Early Childhood Teaching in a Diverse Society (3)
• ECS 2350 - Introduction to Early Childhood Curriculum (3)
• ECS 2400 - Administration of Early Childhood Programs I (3)
• ECS 2500 - Administration of Early Childhood Programs II (3)
• ECS 2600 - Supervising Adults in Early Childhood Settings (2)
• ECS 2990 - Special Topics for Lower Division Students (1-3)
• ECS 2990A - Special Topics for Lower Division Students Activity (1-3)
• ECS 2990L - Special Topics for Lower Division Students Laboratory (1-3)
• ECS 3000 - Early Childhood Inquiry and Methodology (3)
• ECS 3100 - Applied Infant/Toddler Studies (3)
• ECS 3200 - Applied Preschool/Primary Studies (3)
• ECS 3300 - Early Childhood Education Leadership and Social Justice (3)
• ECS 3400 - Language and Literacy in Multilingual Families and Communities (3)
• ECS 3500 - Contextual Approaches to Early Childhood Curriculum (3)
• ECS 3600 - Emergent Literacy in First and Second Language Acquisition (3)
• ECS 3650 - Early Childhood Leadership in the 21st Century (3)
• ECS 3700 - Early Childhood Assessment II (3)
• ECS 3750 - Curricular Approaches for Working with Infants and Toddlers (3)
• ECS 3800 - Early Childhood Physical Growth and Health (3)
• ECS 3850 - Relationship-Based Approaches in Home and Community Settings (3)
• ECS 3900 - STEAM: Early Childhood Project Approach to Integrated Learning (3)
• ECS 4000 - Special Study for Upper Division Students (1-3)
• ECS 4010 - Dynamics of Early Childhood Play (3)
• ECS 4100 - Early Childhood Clinical Practicum II (1)
• ECS 4100A - Early Childhood Clinical Practicum II Activity (2)
• ECS 4200 - Numeracy and Inquiry in Multilingual Contexts (3)
• ECS 4300 - Working with Exceptional Children and their Families (3)
• ECS 4600 - Programs and Policies for Infant, Toddlers and Their Families (3)
• ECS 4650 - Early Childhood Leadership in the 21st Century (3)
• ECS 4700 - Infant/Toddler, Family and Program Perspectives in Intervention (3)
• ECS 4990 - Special Topics for Upper Division Students (1-3)
• ECS 4990A - Special Topics for Upper Division Students Activity (1-3)
• ECS 4990L - Special Topics for Upper Division Students Laboratory (1-3)

Return to: College of Education and Integrative Studies