Early Childhood Education and Teaching, Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.)

The purpose of the B.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and Teaching degree is to prepare undergraduate students for roles as teachers and care providers of infants, toddlers and young children in schools and community preschool settings. The program will focus on providing students with a solid foundation in child development, educational psychology and the role of the family and society in education. Students will be prepared to teach in diverse classroom settings through purposefully integrated fieldwork and internship experiences. The program will emphasize working with young learners in inclusive settings and the value of play in early childhood instructional environments. The program prepares graduates to be reflective educators who demonstrate an in-depth understanding of science, social studies, mathematics and literacy pedagogy and content. Students will develop skills to advocate for equitable learning opportunities for all children. Upon successful completion of the program, and with the recommendation of the School of Education, students are eligible to receive initial licensure for early/primary education (PK-3) from the Virginia Department of Education.

See Admission to undergraduate programs for admission requirements to this program.

Student learning outcomes

1. Learner and learning: Students will understand human development and learning theories appropriate to the age group they will teach and acquire an awareness of the diversity of the school-age populations’ cultural backgrounds, learning strengths and needs.
2. Content: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the subjects they will teach.
3. Instructional practice: Students will demonstrate an ability to plan and implement effective teaching and measure student learning in ways that lead to sustained development and learning.
4. Professional responsibility: Students will develop an understanding of purposes for education and a defensible philosophical approach toward teaching and demonstrate professional dispositions.

Special requirements

• Students must have received a minimum grade of C in all required education courses (CLED, ECSE, EDUS, HPED, SEDP and TEDU). 
• Students must have received a minimum grade of C in all prerequisite courses for all required upper-level education courses (CLED, ECSE, EDUS, HPED, SEDP and TEDU).  
• Required education courses (CLED, ECSE, EDUS, HPED, SEDP and TEDU) in which students earn a grade of D or F must be repeated.
• Students must achieve a 2.8 GPA to be admitted to teacher preparation and a 3.0 GPA to be admitted to clinical internship.

Degree requirements for Early Childhood Education and Teaching, Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.)

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.

What follows is a sample plan that meets the prescribed requirements within a four-year course of study at VCU. Please contact your adviser before beginning course work toward a degree.

Freshman year
Fall semester		Hours
BIOL 101 or BIOL 103 or BIOL 151	Biological Concepts (any satisfies general education BOK for natural sciences and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning) or Global Environmental Biology or Introduction to Biological Sciences I	3
STAT 208 or STAT 210	Statistical Thinking (either satisfies general education quantitative foundations) or Basic Practice of Statistics	3
TEDU 101	Introduction to Teaching	3
UNIV 111 Play course video for Focused Inquiry I	Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
General education course		3
Science lab (if taken)		1
	Term Hours:	16
Spring semester
CHEM 101 or CHEM 110	General Chemistry I (satisfies general education AOI for scientific and logical reasoning) or Chemistry and Society	3
EDUS 202	Diversity, Democracy and Ethics	3
HIST 103	Survey of American History I	3
MATH 361	Numbers and Operations	3
UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II	Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
Science lab (if taken)		0-1
	Term Hours:	15
Sophomore year
Fall semester
EDUS 301 or PSYC 301 or PSYC 304	Human Development and Learning or Child Psychology or Life Span Developmental Psychology	3
MATH 362	Algebra and Functions	3
PHYS 101 or INSC 201 or INSC 300	Foundations of Physics or Energy! or Experiencing Science	3
TEDU 390	Movement Education	3
UNIV 200	Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
Science lab (if taken)		0-1
	Term Hours:	16
Spring semester
2.8 GPA required for admission to teacher preparation
ECON 203	Introduction to Economics (satisfies general education AOI for global perspectives)	3
ENVS 105 or ENVS 201 or ENVS 301 or ENVS 310 or PHYS 103 or URSP 204	Physical Geology or Earth System Science or Introduction to Meteorology or Introduction to Oceanography or Elementary Astronomy or Physical Geography	3
POLI 103	U.S. Government and Politics (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and AOI for diversities in the human experience)	3
SEDP 330	Survey of Special Education	3
General education course		3
Science lab (if taken)		0-1
	Term Hours:	15
Junior year
Fall semester
ECSE 301	Developmental Assessment for Young Children	3
MATH 303	Investigations in Geometry	3
TEDU 385	Teaching Writing Through Children’s Literature	3
TEDU 413	Curriculum Methods and Instructional Models	3
TEDU 425	Emergent and Early Literacy	3
TEDU 430	Early Childhood Education Practicum I	1
	Term Hours:	16
Spring semester
3.0 GPA required for admission to clinical internship
ECSE 410	Play-based Instruction for Inclusive Settings	3
EDUS 304	Educational Psychology for Teacher Preparation	3
HIST 205	Survey of Virginia History	3
SEDP/EDUS 401	Assessment in Diverse Settings	3
TEDU 431	Early Childhood Education Practicum II	1
TEDU 466	Literacy Assessment and Intervention in the Early/Elementary Classroom	3
	Term Hours:	16
Senior year
Fall semester
TEDU/SEDP 410	Building a Community of Learners: Classroom Management	3
TEDU 411 or ARTE 301	Integrating the Arts in Curriculum for Young Children or Art for Elementary Teachers	2
TEDU 416	Math/Science Methods for Early Childhood Education	4
TEDU 432	Early Childhood Education Practicum III	1
TEDU 490	Social Studies Methods for Early Learners	2
TEDU 510	Instructional Technology in PK-12 Environments	2
	Term Hours:	14
Spring semester
TEDU 452	Teaching Multilingual Learners	2
TEDU 471	Internship I (PK-K)	4
TEDU 475	Internship II (Grades 1-3)	4
TEDU 481	Teaching as a Profession	2
	Term Hours:	12
	Total Hours:	120

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.