Foundational Beliefs About Children
The Â鶹´«Ã½ early childhood teacher education program is fairly new. When we designed the program we looked at the children and families in our state and developed a program that would teach our pre-service teachers what they needed to know to teach all children and work well with children’s families. As we planned courses, we agreed on several basic assumptions that include:
- Children and pre-service teachers are active learners. Both children and pre-service teachers need opportunities to explore, experiment, and communicate their ideas, experiences, and feeling in a community that allows them to take risks.
- Learning is a developmental process. Children and pre-service teachers do not learn at the same rate or by the same processes.
- Education has a strong social component. It is very important that children interact with each other and the adults they know. Pre-service teachers need many opportunities to interact with one another, children, and other educators in the larger community.
- Young children need teachers who respect them and have the educational backgrounds
to teach all children. Examples of courses and experiences designed for teaching young,
diverse learners include:
- Diversity and Family Relationships
- Teaching Young Bilingual Children
- Community Service Learning Course
- Diverse Field Experiences (800) hours with a variety of age groups.
- Spanish for Professionals
- Early Childhood Special Education