Overview and Welcome
Welcome
We are pleased that you have joined CSUEB’s PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential Program community of learners. We welcome credential candidates, school site and university supervisors, school site and district administrators, and the teaching faculty at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) to this community.
We assist candidates in becoming reflective, collegial professionals who exercise values of social justice, collaboration, and democracy in education. Our PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Program encompasses both the practical teaching component (field practicum) and the curriculum component (coursework) of this journey. This allows the candidate to implement research-based instructional methods and strategies in the PK-3 environment.
This handbook is intended to provide an overview of the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Program and to serve as a resource for our community of learners. Candidates agree to abide by the policies described in this handbook as a condition of participation in the CSUEB PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Program. Please note that the information in this handbook is subject to change without notice.
PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential
The PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential authorizes holders to teach all subjects in a self-contained general education classroom setting and to cohort teach or to regroup students across classrooms, in preschool through grade three. The PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential is intended to meet the unprecedented need for qualified ECE teachers who have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide developmentally appropriate learning for all young children. The PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential provides a bridge and accelerated pathway for current Multiple Subject Credential holders as well as Child Development Teacher Permit holders with a BA degree to earn the credential and begin serving in Transitional Kindergarten settings.
This credential will prepare teachers that represent a diverse workforce that reflects the children and families/guardians they serve in PK-3. This credential, as well as this credential program, recognizes and values the rich background and extensive experience candidates who come from current and/or prior work in the ECE field bring to their preparation programs. Taken together, these prior work experiences, knowledge and wisdom can provide foundational preparation in child development and early childhood education to support candidates' transition from the Child Development Permit system to earning the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential and serving as a teacher in a PK-3 ECE classroom setting.
The PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction credential, like the Multiple Subject/Single Subject and Education Specialist credentials, is a two-tier credential and will require someone with a preliminary PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction credential to participate in induction in order to clear their credential. As with other credentials, candidates will determine their Individual Development Plan with the input of their program and site-based supervisors.
PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential Program Design
In this program, candidates are required to design, implement, and facilitate learning activities that engage students according to their developmental level while also valuing each child’s cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and cultural experiences. This includes other relevant background characteristics, assets, and abilities.
Over three semesters (summer, fall, spring), PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Program candidates complete methods courses that focus on PK-3 learners across all subject areas as well as foundational coursework in educational psychology, working with diverse populations, teaching English learners, and teaching students with disabilities. Concurrent with coursework, candidates complete two semesters of student teaching in public PK-3 environments.