Child Development and Family Studies, AA

The Child Development and Family Studies Associate of Arts degree prepares students to work with children and their families, in a variety of settings, including direct services, advocacy/public policy, family support, and early intervention. Child development and family studies courses provide students with valuable knowledge and transferable skills that are applicable in their personal and family lives as well as in the workplace. Additionally, a Child Development and Family Studies Associate of Arts degree, coupled with the Child and Adolescent Development Associate in Arts for Transfer degree, will provide a strong foundation for pursuing studies in child development, and related fields focusing on children and their families, at four-year institutions.

Program Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of human development theory and the multiple interacting influences on a child’s development, including family school, community, and culture.
2. Apply effective guidance and interaction strategies that support children’s social and emotional development and promote positive and reciprocal relationships among culturally and linguistically diverse children and their families.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of physical, emotional, social, and cognitive developmental changes and understand why early development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behavior, and health.
4. Recognize that the family is a complex social system in which members interact to influence each other's behavior, emotional well-being, and health in functional and dysfunctional ways, and apply this understanding to self, family, and career.
5. Describe the community's role in supporting and strengthening families, identify community resources, and explain how agencies can provide more culturally competent services.

The Child and Adolescent Development transfer degree is the most popular of our three ECE degrees. The Child Development and Family Studies AA degree is designed to appeal to the same students, with three additional courses in their area of interest to further their learning and professional development.

Our two existing Early Childhood Education degrees emphasize early learning and teacher preparation. Our proposed degree, with the addition of four courses, will deepen students' understanding of the developing child in the context of family, culture, and community.

Associate in Arts in CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES