Liberal Studies (Elementary Education

What Is Liberal Studies (Elementary Education)?

LMU's Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) major prepares students for successful careers as elementary educators, specifically in grades K-5. The major enables students to earn a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies together with a California preliminary multiple subjects teaching credential within four years. The Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (BCLA) works closely with LMU’s School of Education to offer students a program that meets both LMU degree requirements and the credential requirements established by the state of California, while promoting the LMU mission of the encouragement of learning, the education of men and women for others, the service of faith, and the promotion of justice. The program is approved by and meets all the standards of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

 

What Do Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) Majors Do?

Majors learn to synthesize subject content in the liberal arts, apply professional content to classroom teaching, and review and analyze educational policies. They learn to apply reading, writing, and research skills, develop pedagogical skills, analyze academic theories, and apply theory to practice. Students also learn to understand and reflect on the complex, rich, and diverse needs of students. Liberal Studies majors develop dispositions for sustained success in teaching and learning across diverse contexts.

 

 

Is This Major Right For You?

You might be a Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) major if you:

  • Want to be an elementary grades educator
  • Are passionate about help children learn
  • Want to play a vital role in shaping society
  • Have diverse intellectual interests

 

About Our Faculty  & Staff

Liberal Studies students take courses across various disciplines and colleges within the university including Education, Math, Science, English, History, Psychology and the Arts. All courses are taught by accomplished faculty who are experts in their fields. Students are encouraged, when planning their program of study, to meet with their advisor in the Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation (CUTP) who helps them navigate through the Liberal Studies program requirements. 

 

About Our Students and Graduates

Our students are encouraged, when planning their curriculum to meet with the academic coordinator at the Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation (CUTP). The academic coordinator helps students navigate through the Liberal Studies program requirements. Nearly all students successfully test while still in school for their preferred teaching credential. Other students elect to seek a master’s degree at another institution and take their credential test later.

 

Representative Courses

Liberal Studies students take specific courses to fulfill requirements for their core curriculum, their major, their teaching credential and their area of concentration.  Majors take advanced courses in a variety of academic disciplines to prepare them for teaching multiple subjects to their elementary grade students.

Courses include but are not limited to:

  • Creative Dance for Children
  • Children's Literature
  • Developmental Psychology
  • History of California
  • Mathematics for Elementary Teachers
  • Experimenting in Science
  • Socialcultural Analysis of Education
  • Educational Psychology for the Childhood and Adolescent Years
  • Elementary Curriculum and Methods
  • Second Language Acquisition
  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student with Exceptional Needs
  • Elementary Directed Teaching (student teaching)

 

 

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