Preschool

The B.S. in Child Development with a concentration in Preschool explores the roles and responsibilities of the preschool professional, including ways to foster and enhance the development and learning of the whole child—cognitively, linguistically, socially, emotionally, and physically. Through the Making Connections courses, you keep up-to-date with discussions and explorations of current research, trends, and issues that are impacting the lives of young children, their families, and your work as an early care and education professional.
 
The Bachelor of Science in Child Development courses are based on the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). These standards are critical indicators of quality in early care and education and their inclusion reflects the integrity of the Walden learning experience as well as its relevancy in an educational setting.

Courses in the Preschool concentration focus on

• Developmentally appropriate and inclusive practices in the classroom
• Child, family, and professional advocacy
• The critical role of play in children’s learning and development
• Understanding and fostering social and emotional development
• Promoting literacy development
• Effective planning and implementation of child-centered, age-appropriate, culturally responsive, and curriculum and assessment

Pursue a variety of professional roles in child development, including:

• Child care administrator
• Child-centric agency, hospital, or government setting
• Day care provider (private or public, small or large)
• Head Start professional
• Lead or head teacher in a private infant/toddler or preschool setting
• Preschool professional 
• Teacher’s aide or paraprofessional

Completion Requirements

• 181 total quarter credit hours
  • General education courses (45 cr.)
  • Core courses (56 cr.)
  • Concentration courses (30 cr.)
  • Making Connections courses (18 cr.)
  • Capstone (7 cr.)
  • Electives (25 cr.)

Estimated time to completion is 4 years. Time to completion may vary by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred, if applicable. For a personalized estimate of your time to completion, call an enrollment advisor at 1-866-492-5336.

Core Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Credits
COMM 1000	Communication Skills For Career Development	1
EDUC 1001	Introduction to Education	5
EDUC 1002	Pioneers and Philosophies of Education	5
EDUC 1011	Making Connections: The Early Childhood Field	2
EDUC 1003	Educational Psychology	5
EDUC 1004	Child Development	5
EDUC 1012	Making Connections: The Developing Child	2
EDUC 1005	Child Health, Safety, and Nutrition	5
EDUC 1006	Child, Family, and Community Relationships	5
EDUC 1013	Making Connections: The Well-Being of Children	2
EDUC 2001	Language Development	5
EDUC 2002	Children’s Literature	5
EDUC 2011	Making Connections: The Foundations of Literacy	2
EDUC 3003	Observation and Assessment of the Young Child	5
EDUC 4004	Children With Special Needs	5
EDUC 4011	Making Connections: The Individuality of Children	2
EDUC 4005	Cultural and Linguistic Diversity	5
EDUC 4012	Making Connections: Living in a Diverse World	2

Concentration Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Credits
EDUC 3101	Professionalism and Advocacy in the Early Childhood Field	5
EDUC 4102	Play and Learning for the Preschool Child	5
EDUC 3111	Making Connections: Foundations of Preschool Teaching	2
EDUC 3103	Guiding Young Children’s Behavior	5
EDUC 4104	Inclusive Practices in Classroom Communities	5
EDUC 3112	Making Connections: Effective Learning Environments	2
EDUC 4105	Early Literacy	5
EDUC 4106	Teaching across Content Areas in Preschool	5
EDUC 4112	Making Connections: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning	2

Capstone Course

Course Code	Course Title	Credits
EDUC 4001	Capstone	7

Electives

Choose five additional electives (25 cr.) from either general education or any bachelor's program, including B.S. in Child Development, B.S. in Psychology, and B.S. in Business Administration.

Course Descriptions