Mar 29, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education, B.S.E.


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Education

Requirements for Program

Early Childhood Education is an interdisciplinary program which will prepare educators to work with children birth through age five, in public pre-primary classes and non-public institutions including day care, private preschool, and private kindergarten. The program is approved by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board to prepare graduates to seek a state teaching certificate in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education.

The faculty of the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program are associated with the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education. The faculty believe that teaching young children involves viewing children holistically, using structured behavioral approaches. They recognize that viewing children holistically requires considering all of the various settings of children’s environment (e.g., home, school, and neighborhood) as well as the reciprocal relationship between any two of the following variables: the immediate context the child is active in, the individual child, and all aspects of the child’s environment (including people). In the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program, students will learn to apply behavioral principles for purposes of developing curricula, assessing child behavior, planning, implementing, and monitoring interventions, and assisting families. The program is guided by the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Division of Early Childhood of the Council For Exceptional Children.

To receive the B.S. degree in Education with a major in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education, students must: (1) complete the UK Core requirements; (2) complete the premajor requirements; and (3) complete requirements for the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education major, including required student teaching experiences and other practica. To be state-certified, candidates must also successfully complete all state-mandated testing requirements.

Continuous Assessment

  1. All students in the interdisciplinary early childhood education program are expected to meet the standards and rules for Admission, Retention, and Exit from Teacher Education Programs as set forth in the section “Admission, Retention and Completion from Teacher Education Programs”.
  2. Assessment at the Point of Entry to the IECE Program. The admission process provides the first point for formal assessment of the competencies outlined in the Initial Certification Program Folio for the program. Students who apply for admission must (a) meet the requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program, and (b) be able to articulate their philosophy of teaching and document their experiences with young children in an initial portfolio and an entrance interview.
  3. On-going Assessment. Once a student is admitted to the program, he/she meets with an advisor to plan the remainder of the program. Prior to the student teaching semester, the student must present a portfolio that documents his/her progress toward meeting program competencies.
  4. Completion Assessment. At the exit assessment, students must document that they have met all program competencies through a final review of their portfolio and the successful completion of student teaching in an appropriate school placement for young children with and without disabilities.

Statement on Student Teaching


Student teaching in the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program is 16-18 weeks. Students will enroll in:

Degree Requirements


Students in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education must complete the following:

  1. Complete the UK Core requirements.
  2. Complete all degree requirements.
  3. Complete the required curriculum in the major program.
  4. All students majoring in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education must apply and be admitted to the professional Teacher Education Program in order to complete the program.

UK Core Requirements


See the UK Core section of this Bulletin for the complete UK Core requirements . The courses listed below are (a) recommended by the college, or (b) required courses that also fulfill UK Core areas. Students should work closely with their advisor to complete the UK Core requirements.

I. Intellectual Inquiry in Arts and Creativity


II. Intellectual Inquiry in the Humanities


III. Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences


IV. Intellectual Inquiry in the Natural, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences


V. Composition and Communication I


VI. Composition and Communication II


VII. Quantitative Foundations


IX. Community, Culture and Citizenship in the USA


X. Global Dynamics


Subtotal: UK Core hours: 30


Graduation Communication and Composition Requirement (GCCR)


Graduation Composition and Communication Requirement hours (GCCR): 3


Subtotal: Premajor hours: 23


All students in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education must apply, and be admitted to, and be retained in a Teacher Education Program (TEP), and complete a state approved university teacher training program in Early Childhood Education to be able to apply for certification. Students who are interested in certification in Early Childhood Education need to meet with a certification officer in the College of Education prior to completing 60 semester hours to discuss state certification and TEP requirements. A minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA is required to be eligible to apply for admission to TEP. TEP applications will be reviewed for students who have completed, or will complete during the semester in which they apply, 60 semester hours, including EDP 202 , EDS 375 , IEC 255 , and IEC 256  with a grade of C or better.

Electives


Electives for 120 total credit hours chosen with the help of an advisor.

Total Hours: 120


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Education