纽约城市大学布鲁克林学院

The program in early childhood education prepares reflective teachers of children from birth through grade 2. Within our degree program, additional extensions and certificates may be added to the base of an early childhood teaching certificate by meeting NYSED requirements. These include: extensions in Bilingual Education in EC, Gifted Education in EC as well as an additional certification in Students with Disabilities (birth to 2nd grade). See specific course requirements noted below.

Our Early Childhood Program considers child development (typical and atypical) within the contexts of families, communities, and early learning settings in urban environments. Our graduates are keen observers of children who deeply understand and can document and articulate how children grow and develop. They successfully teach and guide young children in partnership with families from culturally, linguistically and socially diverse backgrounds using developmentally effective and culturally sensitive practices based on a family-centered and relationship-based philosophy.

Fundamental to the program's philosophy is a commitment to providing and advocating for linguistic and cultural developmentally effective practices, the arts and children's play as central to quality education for all young children, and the inclusion of children with special needs and English language learners. Based on the continual expansion of knowledge, our curriculum is vibrant and addresses emerging issues in the field. This includes bridging students' fieldwork and clinical experiences with current theories and research in child development, infant mental health, and early childhood education. Our coursework integrates the latest research in infancy, neuropsychology, social and emotional development, parenting and families, curriculum design, authentic assessment, emergent bilingual language development, number development, science inquiry, and technology.

Students are encouraged to push the boundaries of what is known about child development and early childhood education, as witnessed in our partnership with Lincoln Center Education, in which Brooklyn College students explore the relationship between imaginative learning and early childhood educational practices. We also prepare our students to teach in high-need communities through strong relationships with neighborhood early childhood programs and schools and our partnership with JumpStart, a non-profit organization that recruits and trains college students' to provide a rich literacy-based curriculum to preschool children and their parents in low-income neighborhoods. Faculty and students are currently involved in international partnerships and research in Sweden and China.

Our Undergraduate and Graduate Early Childhood Education Programs are nationally recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children as part of the School of Education's national accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Students will enroll in the appropriate course of studies listed below (Option A or B or C) based upon teaching experience, previous course work, and the teaching certificates they hold.