About

The department offers preliminary and advanced teaching credentials and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education.

Mission Statement

The Department of Elementary Education aims to cultivate teachers who are professionals, intellectuals, and critical consumers and producers of educational policy, practice, and research. These competencies include a commitment to critical thinking and research-based pedagogy. The Elementary Education programs emphasize learning as a human right and nurture creative, responsive, and reflective practitioners who challenge their students to become global citizens in a diverse, ever-changing world.

Careers

A career as a teacher in the elementary education setting can lead to a wide array of opportunities. A variety of careers are open to teachers as they gain more experience, additional authorizations, and advanced credentials or degrees. In addition to classroom teaching, there are positions as teacher coaches, program coordinators, designers or providers of professional development for teachers, and curriculum developers. In the corporate world, teachers are often engaged as developers of curriculum and materials for educational purposes and as designers or providers of educational professional development. Typically, a valid California teaching credential is required or preferred for advanced credentials in administration, school counseling, or specialist credentials.