Child and Adolescent Development

College of Health and Social Sciences

Dean: Alvin Alvarez

Department of Child and Adolescent Development

SCI 394
Phone: (415) 405–3564
Fax: (415) 405–0401
Email: cad@sfsu.edu
Website: cad.sfsu.edu
Chair: Rene F. Dahl

CAD Metro Academy

GYM 104
Phone: (415) 405–0737
Website: metro.sfsu.edu
Director: Heather Daniels

CAD PATH (Promoting Achievement through Higher Education)

GYM 105
Phone: (415) 405–4342
Website: cad.sfsu.edu/path
Director: Lygia Stebbing

Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth, & Families

HSS 257
Phone: (415) 405–3925
Website: edelman.sfsu.edu
Director: David Anderson            

Program Scope

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Adolescent Development (CAD) is for students who are interested in studying about and working with children, adolescents, and their families. The major provides students with knowledge and theories about children and adolescents from a developmental perspective. Students then learn to apply this knowledge to programs, services, and policies for children, youth, and families that are offered in community settings and classrooms. The core courses address theories of child and adolescent development, diverse families in a globalized context, action research methods, and policy and advocacy. In addition to taking core courses, CAD majors select one out of three specialized concentrations that reflects their specific interest.

Those concentrations are:

1. Early Childhood;
2. School Age Child and Family; and 
3. Youth Work and Out of School Time

The CAD department offers two special programs:

1. CAD Metro Academy (Metro)
   CAD Metro Academy was developed to support the next generation of leaders for early care and education in urban communities. Metro accepts freshmen who are designated as “Pre–CAD,” and works with them for two years. Metro students receive personalized support for college success through in–class academic support and tutoring. At the core of Metro Academy is a learning community made up of two linked courses each semester, pairing a general education course and a Metro child and youth development course. After completing the Metro program, students are prepared to complete requirements of their chosen major with the necessary skills for college success. CAD Metro is part of the larger Metro Academies initiative on campus.
2. CAD Promoting Achievement through Higher Education (PATH)
   PATH is part of the CAD major in the Early Childhood concentration. It facilitates completion of the BA degree in CAD for practitioners who work in the field of early care and education. Courses are offered on evenings and weekends so working professionals can take four courses each semester and graduate in two years with a baccalaureate.

The CAD department works with the Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families. The Edelman Institute’s mission is to further educational excellence through its association with the child and adolescent development curriculum; promote collaboration among faculty; create public outreach, social advocacy, and other partnerships between SF State and the community; and to foster research and scholarly work in the areas of children, youth, and families.

The CAD major is designed to meet the educational and career needs of students with a variety of interests. Students who wish to complete a bachelor’s degree as well as a Child Development Permit to work as a licensed child care provider in a preschool or child care center will choose the Early Childhood concentration. Students who wish to teach in elementary schools will choose the School Age Child and Family concentration, which provides a subject matter preparation waiver program but a child development foundation as well. This concentration is excellent preparation for a post–baccalaureate Multiple Subject Teaching Credential program. Others who wish to work in out–of–school time programs such as after–school programs, probation, recreation, residential treatment facilities for school–age children and youth, or other community–based programs for children and youth will choose specialized study in the Youth Work and Out of School Time concentration. All concentrations prepare students for advanced study in disciplines such as law, medicine, psychology, social work, recreation, counseling, or physical therapy.

Career Outlook

The outlook for careers working with children and adolescents is positive. Surveys of employers and community agencies that offer positions working with children, adolescents, and families indicate that there is a need for professionals in those areas who have a strong foundation of knowledge and skills about child and adolescent development. Graduates who want to work with young children and their families as infant–toddler specialists, pre–school teachers, or child care providers are in high demand. There are 6,000 children in San Francisco alone on waiting lists for childcare programs. There is a need for well-educated, experienced professionals to staff and administer quality child care and education programs, particularly as the existing center–based workforce with B.A. degrees or higher starts to retire. There is also need to expand the ethnic and linguistic diversity of early child care providers. B.A. degree providers/teachers are particularly needed in centers serving both infants and preschoolers, working with dual language learners, and working with children with special needs.

Even with state fiscal challenges and changes in requirements for teacher preparation, the increase in school-age children in California and the significant numbers of teachers who will retire within the next few years, means there will be a need for qualified, fully prepared professionals to teach kindergarten through 5th grade. Students who plan to enter a post–baccalaureate multiple subject teaching credential program for elementary school teaching can complete a multiple subject matter waiver program in lieu of taking a Commission–approved subject matter examination (currently CSET). The CAD degree strengthens pre–service preparation in subject matter as well as in developmental knowledge about child and adolescents. 

Professor

Dahl

Associate Professor

Park

Assistant Professors

Baroody, Platas

Lecturers

Agosta, Shea, Stebbing

Majors

• Bachelor of Arts in Child and Adolescent Development: Concentration in Early Childhood
• Bachelor of Arts in Child and Adolescent Development: Concentration in School Age Child and Family
• Bachelor of Arts in Child and Adolescent Development: Concentration in Youth Work and Out of School Time