Infant Toddler Teacher Skills Certificate

This certificate program provides a comprehensive understanding of the skills necessary to care for infants and toddlers. Upon completion of the following courses with grades of “C” or better, a student will qualify for an Early Childhood Education Infant Toddler Skills  Certificate and  exceed the minimum requirements to be a teacher of infants and toddlers in privately funded early childhood education programs (as required by Title 22 of the California Social Services Code of Regulations). Additionally, students with this certificate qualify as an associate teacher of infants and toddlers in publicly funded early childhood education programs (as required by Title 5 California Code of Regulations).

Ø  Evaluate and apply knowledge of infant development to create infant and family programs that are respectful, supportive, and challenging for children from the prenatal period through the first three years after birth.

Ø  Design infant and toddler programs that build respectful,reciprocal family relationships and support optimal infant and toddler  development and learning both at home and in group settings. •

Ø  Incorporate systematic assessment strategies using observation, documentation, and interpretation in order to guide decisions about support for infant and toddler development and curriculum.

Ø  Design, implement, and evaluate developmentally effective curriculum and teaching plans that connect knowledge of academic content to meaningful and challenging learning environments for infants and toddlers.

Ø  Demonstrate practices in maintaining health/safety standards and managing infectious disease in group settings.

Ø  Develop a continuing professional growth plan and advocate for public policy that supports infants, toddlers, their families and the profession of early childhood education. 

This certificate provides the educational coursework that serves as the core curriculum about the care of education of infants/toddlers in group settings. Students completing the coursework for this certificate exceed the minimum requirements in terms of industry standards  to be a teacher of infants and toddlers in privately funded early childhood education programs (as required by Title 22 of the California Social Services Code of Regulations). Additionally, students qualify as an associate teacher of infants and toddlers in publicly funded early childhood education programs (as required by Title 5 California Code of Regulations).

This skills certificate is in line with the goals and objectives of the Human Development/Early Childhood Education program as follows:

Ø  Identify and evaluate factors that influence child/human development from various theoretical perspectives and current research findings.

Ø  Analyze early childhood programs for developmentally appropriate practices and program effectiveness.

Ø  Exhibit professionalism within the field of Early Childhood Education by demonstrating skills relevant to the field that include incorporating meaningful curriculum, content knowledge, culturally and linguistically appropriate learning environments,  and observation, documentation, and assessment of young children.

This certificate will be awarded as a result of 6  units of Human Development/Early Childhood Education coursework, specifically the completion of the following two  3 (three) unit courses:

Ø  HDEV 11 (Infant and Toddler Development)

Ø  HDEV 12 (Infant/Toddler Care and Education)