Beginning in fall 2024, Cal State Fullerton’s College of Education will offer its first bachelor’s degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Learning.
The interdisciplinary program is for those who have an interest in elementary or special education and will prepare educators in providing a “just, equitable and inclusive education in schools.”
Once launched, the program will be more than three years in the making, spearheaded by the efforts of CSUF College of Education Dean Lisa Kirtman, chair and associate professor of special education Calli Lewis Chiu, and director of the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Center for Careers in Teaching, Aimee Nelson.
The need for a program of this type can be found right in the university’s backyard, as many CSUF education graduates head back into the community to teach in local schools.
“We have such a rich community, and we have so many students in our own backyard with such diverse needs,” Lewis Chiu said. “Instead of referring to an achievement gap, there’s an opportunity gap. So we’re really excited about this opportunity because we know that we have the students and the faculty that are passionate about leveling the playing field for these students.”
There are 45-plus majors across CSUF that can ultimately lead to teaching careers, and the College of Education currently offers one-year teaching credential programs for those future teachers. The new urban learning degree will allow students to receive additional instruction in the area of implementing just, equitable and inclusive practices in the classroom.
“This is an opportunity for us to have a longer period of time with students to really talk about what’s happening in the field, to talk about what’s happening with parents and what’s happening in communities,” Kirtman said.
In addition to hand-selected classes from a broad range of areas across the university, five new classes were developed specifically for the project-based learning…
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