The program is designed to prepare education related personnel for employment in the fields of child care and children’s services for young children from birth to five and has the potential to meet the teacher certification needs of other grade levels as well.  This degree program is a joint initiative between Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison College.  An articulation agreement has been reached between the two institutions to allow Edison College AS degree graduates in Early Childhood Education to be admitted to the College of Education for the BS in Child Development.  The agreement requires that Edison College AS graduates meet all General Education requirements before entry into the BS in Child Development.

The BS in Child Development synthesizes best practice and pedagogy across disciplines, and is designed to train educators to serve children with a wide range of abilities, and from a variety of socio-economic and cultural contexts.  Although this program is initially developed in partnership with Edison College, it is designed to serve a larger population of future educators who may not desire and/or be able to complete one of the College of Education’s current state approved teacher preparation programs.  Some of those include students who initially apply to one of the College of Education state approved teacher preparation programs but who cannot meet all of the admission requirements; students who want more than a minor in education and who want a program that includes an internship; student athletes who may want to eventually teach in the public school sector, and students who have a major not covered by one of our state approved teacher preparation programs who want to complete as much of the Florida teacher certification requirements as possible. The BS in Child Development is flexible enough to accommodate all of these populations while retaining the highest level of practice and pedagogy.