Early Childhood Studies

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

Denise Kennedy, Chair

Miachelle Andrade
Elvia Cortes
Michelle DeJohnette
Marisol Diaz
Sally Guyon
Eden Haywood-Bird
Mastaneh Hazegh
Nancy Hurlbut
Soon Young Jang

Elmira Jannati
Kheng Ly-Hoang
Giselle Navarro-Cruz
Adda Nunez
JoNeen Ohlaker
Teresa Pedro
Holly Reynolds
Anushi Seneviratne
Jocelyn Tucker

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 age eight, 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 eight 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

Bachelor

Roadmap: 4-year

Roadmap: 2-year ADT

Courses

Early Childhood Studies