Childhood Education (Social Sciences) B.A.

Students who pursue a bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education from St. Francis College will get the personalized attention needed to become effective educators, and the field experience needed to become instructional leaders. SFC professors have decades of NYC school experience as both teachers and administrators, and, even in a tight teaching market, graduates of the program are landing jobs at graduation.

Our technology-rich professional studies programs incorporate theory, field experience, supported pedagogy, and a semester of full-time, supervised student teaching. Candidates accepted into the Teacher Education program prepare for Initial New York State Certification in either Childhood Education or Adolescence Education.

Underlying the focused, outcomes-driven curriculum is SFC’s robust General Education Program, which is the cornerstone of SFC and affirms its mission to graduate educated, well-rounded individuals who enter the workforce and work to change and culturally diversify the world.

Programs of Study and Requirements

In addition to completing the General Core and prescribed pedagogical coursework, Childhood Education majors at SFC must complete a concentration in: Biology (B.S.), English (B.A.), Mathematics (B.S.), and Social Studies (B.A.).

All teacher candidates complete 300 hours of unpaid, supervised student teaching in an approved partner school specified by the Education Department. Partner schools are those with whom SFC, as the Educator Preparation Provider (EPP), has a collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship and that exemplify the following criteria:

• A desire for meaningful engagement with teacher educators to promote continuous improvement and excellence in educator preparation

• A commitment to equity, inclusion, justice, and respect for all peoples and cultures in its defining values
• A commitment to expanding both students’ perspectives and understanding of the world they live in as well as ethical and empathic decision-making
• Diversity initiatives
• The availability of technology to enhance teaching and learning
• Advocates of health, fitness, and integrated learning

• A supportive professional culture

As part of the student teaching semester, teacher candidates must also enroll in a weekly three-hour seminar.