Babies and Toddlers R Us

If it’s a subject involving the education, care, and development of young children, the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) probably offers related training, published information, a relevant event, or research on the topic.

CEED, a collegewide center in the College of Education and Human Development, focuses on children from birth through age eight, including those with special needs. The goal is to provide the earliest possible interventions that will help infants and toddlers develop to their fullest potential. The Harris Center for Infant and Toddler Development merged with CEED in 2005, bringing a greater breadth of research and outreach.

Beyond CEED, many college faculty and centers are involved with early childhood issues. Most are key participants in University of Minnesota President Bob Bruininks’s Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families.

The University of Minnesota Child Care Center provides nationally recognized childcare for more than 100 children, ages three months to pre-kindergarten, of University faculty, staff, and students.

The Shirley G. Moore Lab School, housed in the College’s Institute of Child Development, provides exemplary early childhood education for preschool children while training teachers of young children at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and serving as an active center of child study and research.

The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), a collegewide center that provides evaluation and assessment services in Minnesota and nationally to K–12 districts, recently concluded a research assessment of all-day kindergarten in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District.

The Institute on Community Integration (ICI), another collegewide center, is dedicated to work that supports the right of all persons with developmental and other disabilities to live as valued members of local communities. As part of its work, ICI occasionally partners with other researchers, especially within CEED, to examine issues or to design services and training for professionals working with infants and young children.

The college’s academic programs in early childhood education are cross-disciplinary with their administrative home in the Institute of Child Development. They include both an undergraduate baccalaureate degree in early childhood education foundations and a professional licensure program in early childhood and early childhood special education. The post-baccalaureate program results in recommendation for Minnesota teaching licensure in early childhood and early childhood special education as well as a master of education degree.

CEED also offers coursework for early childhood care and education practitioners, much of it online. A graduate certificate in early childhood policy and a new certificate in infant and early childhood mental health are available through the center as well.

Revised and edited, April 2008