Minor in Early Childhood Development

The Early Childhood Development minor is designed to provide undergraduates with a focused exposure to early childhood development, with an emphasis throughout on the promotion and advocacy of social justice through cultural awareness, sensitivity, and responsiveness across the ecological contexts of young children. The minor will provide undergraduates with the theoretical and applied knowledge necessary to understand children’s development and learning. This knowledge will enable them to develop and implement supportive practices in homes, classrooms, and the community that are evidence-based, meaningful, and appropriately challenging. This minor is recommended for students who wish to meet requirements for the Child Development Permit issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Students must have maintained at least a 2.0 grade point average in minor courses. Consistent with current University policy, courses for meeting the requirements of this minor may, as appropriate, be used simultaneously for meeting general education including the requirement for complementary studies.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Promote and advocate for social justice and be culturally aware, sensitive, and responsive across the ecological contexts of young children, including homes, schools and communities.
  2. Understand and promote early childhood development and learning across ecological contexts, including homes, schools, and communities.
  3. Identify, generate, and apply inclusive and culturally sustaining strategies to support young children’s development across domains.

Minor in Early Childhood Development - 24 units

A minimum of 6 upper-division units are required to complete the minor.

All coursework used to satisfy the requirements of the minor must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.

Core (18 units)

CAD 210Introduction to Applied Child and Adolescent Development3
Select one:3
Foundations in Early Childhood
Principles and Practices in Early Childhood Programs
CAD 260Children, Families, and Community: An Ecological Perspective3
CAD 330Curriculum and Development in Early Childhood3
CAD 410GWApplied Developmental Science: Prenatal Through Early Childhood - GWAR3
CAD 420Assessment and Observation with Children3

Electives (6 units)

Selected from the following:

CAD 223Infants, Toddlers, and Families3
CAD 423Administration of Programs for Young Children3
CAD 510Adult Supervision and Leadership in Early Childhood Programs3
CAD 610
CAD 611

and Early Childhood Internship
2
E ED 603Understanding and Supporting Children's Socio-Emotional Development3
E ED 616Multilingualism and Multiliteracies in the Early Years3