Advance your career with a degree in Early Childhood Development from Saint Leo.
Early childhood education serving children ages birth through five has increased significantly over recent decades. Due to the increasing demand for early education, there is a need for professionals to work with young children in a variety of early learning settings.
The Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies Early Childhood Development and Education Specialization prepares individuals who want to deepen their understanding of the learning and teaching process, yet may choose to seek careers in non-traditional education settings that do not require state licensure. The online degree prepares its graduates with conceptual and practical skills needed to design, implement, and evaluate educational experiences in traditional contexts and beyond. It further intends to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of early learners.
The Educational Studies curriculum largely follows a general, professional, specialization sequence with various combinations of internships, service, capstone, seminar, and field experiences. With a series of core and specialization courses to prepare them to work with children, parents, families, and communities in a variety of settings. Courses are offered through a variety of platforms that support constructivism and developmentally appropriate practice.
With the BA in Educational Studies: Early Childhood Development degree you will learn how to:
- Use knowledge of learning and development theories and learners’ characteristics, learning preferences, experience, and motivation, to inform appropriate practices
- Cultivate a culture of high expectations; practicing informed, targeted, and reflective instruction; facilitating a community of learners; and assessing learning in a variety of ways towards continuous improvement in teaching and learning
- Develop and demonstrate a reflective mindset, and habits of effective communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, professional practice, ethics, and ethos
- Integrate the discovery, analysis, and use of evidence-based literature, successful practices, and data, to inform educational practice
- Promote curiosity among students; making inquiry a central part of teaching practice; seeking professional growth opportunities and applying new learning to educational practice
