Child Development, BA

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Expected Student Learning Outcomes

Specific expected learning outcomes for the Associate and Bachelor of Arts degrees are measured and monitored by Tougaloo College, the School of Education, and by the Teacher Education Advisory Council (TEAC), whose members are representatives from public schools and community educational partners. The Child Development degrees are essentially structured to meet the Mississippi Board of Education, Mississippi Department of Education, and National Association for the Education of Young Children standards. Table 1, Standards Utilized for Expected Student Learning Outcomes, serves as the expected student learning outcomes that are used to continuously assess, document, and improve the curriculum and overall program. The standard below in Table 1 serve as the primary learning outcomes of the degree programs:

Table 1 - Standards Utilized for Expected Student Learning Outcomes

Program Name	Specialized Professional Association (SPAs)	Expected Student Learning Outcomes
Child Development	National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)	Understand young children’s characteristics and needs, and of multiple interacting influences on children’s development and learning, to create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child. Understand that successful early childhood education depends upon partnerships with children’s families and communities. Understand that child observation, documentation, and other forms of assessment are central to the practice of all early childhood professionals. Understand that teaching and learning with young children is a complex enterprise, and its details vary depending on children’s ages, characteristics, and the settings within which teaching and learning occur. Use their knowledge of academic disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote positive development and learning for each and every young child. Identify and conduct themselves as members of the early childhood profession. Develop the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions necessary to promote the development and learning of young children across the entire developmental period of early childhood - in at least two of the three early childhood age groups (birth - age 3, 3 through 5, 5 through 8 years) and in the variety of settings that offer early education (early school grades, childcare centers and homes, Head Start programs).

Specific Requirements

Students pursuing an Associate of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, or a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development must have a 2.0 GPA or above in all major coursework, a successful score for their Child Development Program Manual that includes planning, implementing, administering a child development program; and successfully completing 6-9 units (30-45 days) of clinically field-based experiences in a daycare, nursery, or K-3 setting. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development, in addition to the above, must successfully complete a senior thesis (or major written project) for approval by the advisor and department chair that represents a comprehensive intellectual body of work.

Curriculum Outcomes Redesigned for Engagement (CORE)/General Education Requirements

Click to see the Curriculum Outcomes Redesigned for Engagement (CORE)/General Education Requirements

Required Courses for Child Development Major

Field experience and practicum courses are noted with an asterisk (*).

ECD 204 - Practicum in Observing and Assessing Young Children 3 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 210 - Programs and Methods For Young Children 3 Semester Hour(s) *
SPED 217 - Introduction to Exceptional Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 220 - Planning and Developing Safe and Healthy Environments For Young Children 3 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 224 - Child, Family, and Community 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 112 - Introduction to Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 251 - Seminar Educational Research 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 252 - Seminar Behavior Management, K-12 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 300 - Infant and Toddler Development 3 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 301 - Integrated Curriculum in the Preschool Classroom (Music, Art, and Language Arts) 3 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 331 - Differentiated Instruction For All Learners 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 350 - Practicum in Teaching Young Children 6 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 400 - Organization and Administration of the Child Development Program 6 Semester Hour(s) *
ECD 401 - Research in Early Childhood Development 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDR 300 - Early Literacy Instruction I 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDR 301 - Early Literacy Instruction II 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 331 - Human Development and Learning 3 Semester Hour(s)
ART 201 - Principles of Art Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
or
MUS 411 - Music in Childhood Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 413 - Field Experience 9 Semester Hour(s) *

Electives

ECD 100 - Introduction to Family and Consumer Science 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 105 - Parenting 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 221 - Introduction to Foundations of Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 254 - Social Emotional Development of Young Children 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 313 - An Integrative Approach to Literature, Language, and Communicative Arts, K-12 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 314 - Social Science For Children 3 Semester Hour(s)
EDU 316 - Mathematics For Children 3 Semester Hour(s)
ECD 341 - Child Development and Early Learning 3 Semester Hour(s)

Curriculum Outcomes Redesigned for Engagement (CORE)/General Education Requirements

Tougaloo College requires a total of 124 credit hours to graduate. All students are required to take 37-39 credit hours of CORE general education courses, as outlined below:

SSS 101 - Student Success Seminar 2 Semester Hour(s)
SSS 102 - Student Success Seminar 2 Semester Hour(s)
ENG 101 - College Composition I 3 Semester Hour(s)
or
ENG 103 - Advanced College Composition I 4 Semester Hour(s)
ENG 102 - College Composition II 3 Semester Hour(s)
or
ENG 104 - Advanced College Composition II 4 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 100 - Diaspora Studies I 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 102 - Diaspora Studies II 3 Semester Hour(s)
MAT 103 - Pre Cal I 3 Semester Hour(s)
or
MAT 106 - Contemporary Math 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 220 - Total Wellness 3 Semester Hour(s)
Modern Languages 101 and 102 6 Semester Hour(s) (Choose one language and take two semesters - French or Spanish)
ENG 201 - Introduction to World Literature 3 Semester Hour(s)

All students are required to select any two courses from below:

GEN 200 - The New Jim Crow 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 201 - Advocates for Children, Families, & Communities 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 210 - The Secret of Life 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 211 - Race, Gender, & Medicine 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 221 - Human Wellness through Arts and Spirituality 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 230 - Evolution of Education 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 231 - Social Media & Society: Likes, Links, Timelines, & Tweets 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 240 - Black Like Me: The Black Body and the Media 3 Semester Hour(s)
GEN 241 - Rewrite Mississippi: Narratives of Hate and Harmony in Mississippi 3 Semester Hour(s)

Students majoring in one of the Social Science disciplines are required to take a Social Science CORE General Education course and a Natural Science CORE General Education course (i.e., GEN 200: The New Jim Crow and GEN 210: The Secret of Life or GEN 221: Race, Gender & Medicine).

Students majoring in one of the Humanities disciplines are required to take a Natural Science CORE General Education course (i.e., GEN 210: The Secret of Life or GEN 211: Race, Gender & Medicine) and any other above CORE General Education course.

Critical Notes:

Some students may be advised or required to pass developmental, precollege, non-degree credit course based on their ACT score.
ENG 100, ENG 300, and MAT 091 are requirements for those students who demonstrate a need. Credits earned from developmental courses do not count toward hours required for graduation.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all required CORE general education courses.
Students have the option to “test out” of modern languages at the elementary levels and earn credit toward graduation.