Educators frequently emphasize the importance of “seeing the whole child.” In practice, this means looking beyond academics to understand children’s emotional development and the influence of family and community experiences.
At Pacific Oaks College, this philosophy guides how educators prepare for the classroom. Early childhood education programs emphasize emotional growth and cultural awareness, understanding that personal relationships shape development. These priorities reflect decades of research showing that early childhood experiences influence learning and long-term well-being.
Yolanda Carlos, M.Ed., Core Faculty in Early Childhood Education at Pacific Oaks College’s School of Education, explains how faculty guide educators by connecting theory with real classroom practice.
“When we’re preparing candidates, we’re looking at not just the cognitive, but we’re looking at the child’s total psyche, everything,” Carlos explains.
Learn more about this holistic approach and its effect on the future of education.
What Does It Mean to Support the Whole Child in Early Childhood Education?
Child development research consistently shows that early relationships and environments shape how children learn and interact with others.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positive interactions with caregivers and educators influence development and long-term health outcomes. Because of this window, educators must understand how emotional safety influences engagement and how family context can affect children’s learning experiences.
In the M.A. in Early Childhood Education coursework at Pacific Oaks, students study child development alongside reflective teaching practices to better understand how children grow across multiple domains of learning.
Strategies Early Childhood Educators Use to Support Development
Preparing educators to support the whole child involves showing how development unfolds in real classroom settings and how their responses can shape children’s confidence and willingness to explore.
At Pacific Oaks, future educators examine how children learn through observation and reflection.
“When we’re looking at the whole child, we’re looking at developing resiliency,” Carlos says. “Resiliency in who they are so that they feel confident to be able to navigate whatever circumstances they come in contact with or they’re around.”
Research from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) shows that children learn most effectively when they actively engage with materials or people rather than passively receiving information.
Educators are encouraged to engage in:
- Reflective discussions
- Observations of children in learning environments
- Guided applications of theory in classroom contexts
Through these experiences, future educators learn how development unfolds in practice and how supportive environments help children build confidence and resilience.
What You Learn in an M.A. in Early Childhood Education Program
The M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College teaches educators how to recognize developmental patterns and respond thoughtfully to children’s needs.
Grounded in the Pacific Oaks mission and the core values of social justice, inclusion, diversity, and respect, the M.A. program prepares educators to understand how personal experiences shape development. This includes learning how emotional well-being and cultural context influence learning environments.
Similarly, educators can pursue the Trauma Studies specialization to prepare for supporting children and families facing crises.
The focus on emotional well-being and trauma-informed support prepares educators to interpret behavior with greater awareness, creating learning environments that respond to the emotional realities children bring into the classroom.
How Emergent Curriculum Supports Child-Centered Learning
One of the most distinctive features of the Pacific Oaks education programs is the emphasis on emergent curriculum. Betty Jones, Ed.D., faculty emerita at Pacific Oaks and a key figure in its history, pioneered this approach.
Emergent curriculum places children’s interests at the center of learning. Teachers observe curiosity in action and guide inquiry through questions rather than predetermined outcomes.
This philosophy reflects a long tradition at Pacific Oaks of treating children as active participants in learning rather than passive recipients of information.
What Is Inquiry-Based Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms?
Future educators explore how emergent curriculum unfolds in real classroom situations. Carlos reflects on a moment when children noticed a loose garden gate. Instead of fixing it immediately, the teacher invited students to investigate the problem.
“What we’re really discussing at that point is child-centered curriculum,” she shares.
The children experimented with tools and worked with adults to understand how the gate functioned.
“That learning empowers them more than anything else because it’s not rote learning,” Carlos emphasizes. “It’s the development of the learning process of problem-solving.”
Experiences like this help educators see how inquiry-based learning allows children to explore ideas and develop confidence through discovery.
How to Design Classrooms That Encourage Exploration and Discovery
The Pacific Oaks Children’s School is known for progressive practices such as emergent curriculum and antibias education. This legacy has shaped its modern early childhood education philosophy.
This approach aligns with NAEYC research, which explains that developmentally appropriate teaching involves planning environments that invite exploration and investigation, using methods such as intentional teaching.
Developmentally appropriate teaching methods include:
- Open-ended materials and flexible learning areas that encourage children’s exploration and creativity
- Observing children to understand their interests and developmental needs, then tailoring learning through thoughtful questions
- Active learning opportunities where children engage with peers to build understanding through experimentation and shared discovery
- Intentional teaching strategies to guide learning while allowing children to lead in exploration
By creating environments that encourage exploration, teachers help young learners develop problem-solving skills and a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies in Early Childhood Education
Many children enter the classroom ready to engage with curiosity, while others may be navigating stress or uncertainty shaped by their environments.
Effective teachers learn to recognize that behavior can signal deeper emotional needs rather than simple misbehavior. Trauma-informed teaching strategies give educators the tools to interpret behavior with empathy and respond in ways that support long-term growth.
Pacific Oaks integrates trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices into its early childhood education programs, helping educators recognize how children’s experiences shape behavior and respond with supportive strategies such as the bottom-up approach.
How the Bottom-Up Approach to Behavior Supports Emotional Regulation
Future educators learn to view behavior as a form of communication.
“When we’re working with children, understand that the behavior is communicating something to us,” Carlos says.
Instead of focusing immediately on discipline, teachers first help children regulate their emotions. Reflection happens only after a child has returned to a calm state.
Research published through the National Institutes of Health confirms that early self-regulation skills strongly predict long-term academic and social success.
“It isn’t the adult taking the responsibility for the behavior,” Carlos shares. “It’s teaching the self-regulating skills for children to be able to manage throughout their lives.”
The bottom-up approach often includes:
- Creating safe spaces within the classroom
- Observing signs of emotional dysregulation
- Guiding children through reflection once they’re ready
By viewing behavior as communication, educators can respond with greater intention and empathy. This approach helps children build the emotional awareness and regulation skills that are essential to their development as learners.
Why Culture and Community Matter in Early Childhood Education
Children’s learning begins long before they arrive at school. Family relationships and community experiences shape how children see the world and engage in the classroom.
Understanding this context helps teachers build culturally responsive classrooms that reflect children’s lived experiences.
How Educators Build Empathy and Cultural Responsiveness
As Carlos explains, culturally responsive education begins with empathy.
“Culturally responsive is really about building empathy, seeing the value in all humans,” Carlos shares.
This holistic approach involves learning to recognize how communication patterns and cultural differences influence the way children learn and engage. By developing this awareness, teachers are better prepared to support diverse learning styles.
Faculty also emphasize that children grow within a broader network of relationships, including families and community members. When teachers understand this ecosystem, they can build stronger learning experiences that feel connected to children’s lives beyond school.
Why Collaboration Matters in Graduate Teacher Preparation
Through coursework and reflection, students learn how emotional safety supports learning. Faculty help future educators recognize how relationships influence behavior and how supportive environments help children build confidence.
This approach reflects the Pacific Oaks mission grounded in social justice and inclusion, where shared learning is encouraged among students and faculty.
“We come together to form a learning community,” Carlos says.
Through this environment, future educators develop the confidence to create classrooms where every child feels respected and valued.
What Graduates Can Do With an Early Childhood Education Degree
Teaching the whole child requires more than theory—it calls for reflection, responsiveness, and a deep understanding of how children grow and learn.
At Pacific Oaks, the M.A. in Early Childhood Education prepares educators to connect child development theory with real-world practice. Through trauma-informed teaching, emergent curriculum, and culturally responsive approaches, students gain the tools to support children as individuals shaped by relationships, experiences, and community.
If you’re ready to take the next step toward a career in early childhood education, you can learn more about how this program aligns with your goals.
Complete the brief form below to request more information and connect with an admissions adviser.
