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Undergraduate Course Descriptions




History of early childhood education programs, practices, and policies. Overview of children’s development and behavior. Introduction of application of developmental theory to curriculum development and classroom methods. Summary of current early childhood education issues and research. Introduction of impact of family, schools, and community on children’s learning. Readings, observations, colloquy, and exposure to a broad spectrum of early childhood education professionals.

Conception through adulthood in various social/ecological contexts. Interrelationships among various aspects of development—physical, cognitive, emotional, social. Normative and non-normative development.

  • Satisfies General Education Requirement: (SS)
  • Registration Restriction(s): Non-child and family studies majors only

Development from conception through childhood. Interrelationships among cognitive, emotional, social, physical aspects of ontogeny. Normative and non-normative development. Includes observation.

Development during adolescence and adulthood. Interrelationships among cognitive, emotional, social, physical aspects of ontogeny. Normative and non-normative development. Includes observation.

  • Prerequisite(s): 211

Emerging and declining roles. Changing relationships among family members across the life cycle from various theoretical approaches. Impact of gender roles on marital relationships. Marital quality, power, decision-making, communications, conflict management, and combining work-family roles.

  • (Same as Women’s Studies 230)

Sexuality through cultural, social, familial, and psychological factors.

Dynamics of family interactions and influences of diversity, including parent-child relations, development of parenting skills, and intrafamily verbal and nonverbal communication processes, patterns, and problems.

  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: junior

Theory and application of managerial functioning in family settings. Analysis of goals, resource use, information systems, and constraints within families. Observation and analysis of diverse family practices.

  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: junior

Classroom management, behavior guidance, organization of day care environments, communication, interpersonal skills, interaction with children, child stress reduction, and management in classroom.

  • Contact Hour Distribution: Includes laboratory participation
  • Prerequisite(s): 106 and 211
  • Restricted to ECE (PreK–K or PreK–3) candidates

Planning effective early-learning programs for young children. Relating knowledge of children’s growth and development to appropriate experiences in art, music, number, logic, media, and physical knowledge. Planning, implementing, and evaluating curriculum activities.

  • Contact Hour Distribution: Includes laboratory participation
  • Prerequisite(s): 350
  • Restricted to ECE (PreK–K or PreK–3) candidates

Theory and methods for creating learning environments for the development of language, emergent literacy, and reading and writing skills from infancy through eight years.

  • Prerequisite(s): 350

Family’s response to stressful circumstances. Skills for intervention into family systems. Violence, abuse, divorce, illness, and death.

  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: junior

Social class, race, ethnicity, culture, and religion are studied singly and in combination with gender and disabilities as shapers of the life chances and opportunities of individuals, children, and families.

  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: junior

Basic research methods and statistics for child/human development, family studies, early childhood education, and related fields. Sampling, measurement, design, and data analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods; natural and contrived settings; and principles for understanding research that impact children and families.

  • Registration Restriction: Minimum student level: junior

Development of interpersonal and other professional skills, along with ethical guidelines, needed for working with children, families, and other professionals from diverse backgrounds.

  • (OC) (WC) (RE)
  • Registration Restriction(s): Child and family studies major; minimum student level: junior

Fundamentals of teaching language arts, math, science, and social studies through a holistic, integrative approach to early childhood education. Focus on grades K–3. Includes field experience.

  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 351 and 470
  • Registration Restriction(s): Qualification: admission to teacher education

The knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to become an inquiry-based, reflective practitioner who is a teacher of young children (birth through five years of age), in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. Involves lecture and field placement components.

  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 350
  • Registration Restriction(s): Qualification: admission to teacher education

Emphasis on skills required to develop family life education programs implemented in community settings. Overview of current approaches to the process of parenting and parent education programs.

  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 320
  • Registration Restriction(s): Child and family studies major

Curriculum planning, classroom organization, and management practices for teaching young children. Relationship of kindergarten to total elementary school

  • Registration Restriction(s): Admission to teacher education.

Individual learning experience arranged for students under supervision of faculty.

  • Repeatability: May be repeated if topic is different. Maximum 6 hours
  • Recommended Background: 9 hours in child and family studies
  • Registration Permission: Consent of instructor
  • COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 217

Responsibility for planning and guiding groups of infants, toddlers, or preschoolers under supervision of a classroom teacher and coordinator. Includes weekly seminar.

  • Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only
  • Repeatability: Not repeatable for credit. May be taken once for 6 to 12 hours
  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 351 and 405
  • Comment(s): Fall and spring practicum placements begin on first day of registration and end on the last day of the final examination period. The practicum follows the Early Learning Center for Research and Practice calendar and does not include fall or spring breaks. Summer practicum begins the day following spring commencement and ends on the last day of summer term. Priority for summer practicum is given to students who have completed all other program requirements, except practicum, prior to the summer session.

Supervised experiences working with children and families in early childhood settings.

  • Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit Grading only
  • Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 12 hours
  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 405

Field placement in PreK–K classroom settings with responsibility for curriculum planning and the supervision, assessment, and teaching of young children. Includes weekly seminar. This course is only for students in the PreK–K Teacher Licensure program and is designed to meet PreK–K licensure requirements.

  • Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only
  • Prerequisite(s): 405 and 423
  • Comment(s): Fall placements are based on public school calendars and the beginning date will vary. Spring placements begin on the first day of registration. All placements end on the last day of the final examination period (Placements follow the school calendar, not the UT calendar and they do not include UT fall or spring breaks).

Supervised experiences with an area agency serving the needs of children and families.

  • Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only
  • Repeatability: Not repeatable for credit. May be taken once for 12 hours
  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 405
  • Comment(s): Summer practicum placement begins the Monday after spring commencement and concludes the last day of the summer session.
  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: senior

Supervised research experiences.

  • Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours
  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 395
  • Recommended Background: 9 hours in child and family studies
  • Registration Restriction(s): 3.0 GPA
  • Registration Permission: Consent of instructor

Personal or professional interest in human development or family studies.

  • Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 9 hours
  • Recommended Background: 9 hours in child and family studies
  • Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level: junior
  • Registration Permission: Consent of instructor


A supervised research experience with emphasis on the identification and examination of key aspects of research methods – constructs, research questions and hypotheses, research design, measurement, and analysis.

  • Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only
  • Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 12 hours
  • (RE)
  • Prerequisite(s): 395


Issues or topics affecting children and/or families. Designed to meet particular interests of the student.

  • Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours
  • Recommended Background: 15 hours in child and family studies
  • Registration Restriction(s): 3.25 GPA; minimum student level: junior
  • Registration Permission: Consent of instructor