Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education Major
Program Director: Christy Terrell Corbin, Ph.D.
The Human Development program offers a major in Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (EC/ECSE) (in collaboration with the Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education). Faculty in the Human Development program also teach courses designed for pre-service and in-service teachers in the College of Education, as well as students from other departments across campus who are seeking an education minor or who desire to work with children and adolescents in school settings. These courses focus on child and adolescent development, language acquisition, cognition, motivation, and reading. In addition, the Human Development program offers undergraduate courses that help students meet other degree requirements. Courses offered by the Human Development program may be found under the following acronym: EDHD.
Faculty in Human Development provide undergraduates with research experiences in their individual laboratories.
The Center for Young Children provides developmentally appropriate education and care for children aged three through kindergarten. The Center provides research opportunities that involve observing children in their classrooms as part of course requirements in various EDHD undergraduate courses.
Graduates of the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (EC/ECSE) program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and meet the Maryland certification requirements for teaching early childhood special education (birth through grade three) and early childhood general education (preschool through grade three).
Admission to the Major
Application to the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education Professional Teacher Education Program must be made by May 1, prior to beginning professional courses. Admission procedures and criteria are explained on the College of Education, Overview tab. The Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education program adheres to the college's professional education admissions requirements. In addition to the College of Education selective admissions criteria, EC/ECSE majors must meet the following gateway requirements:
- Completion of a four-credit laboratory physical science, a four-credit laboratory biological science, Elements of Numbers and Operations (MATH212), and Elements of Geometry and Measurement (MATH213) with a minimum grade of "C-" in each class and a 2.7 cumulative GPA across all four courses.
- Completion of Exploring Teaching in Early Childhood General and Special Education (EDHD220 or approved equivalent) with a grade of "B-" or better and EDHD210.
For additional details regarding the professional education admission requirements, see the Overview on the College of Education page. Detailed information regarding the gateway requirements for the EC/ECSE program is available in the Office of Student Services, Room 1204 Benjamin.
Placement in Courses
The EC/ECSE Program has designated pre-professional courses and a specified sequence of professional courses. Before teacher candidates may enroll in courses identified as part of the professional sequence, they must first gain admission to the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education program.
Program Objectives
The mission of the Early Childhood & Early Childhood Special Education program is to prepare knowledgeable and skilled teachers who utilize theory, research and pedagogy, to respectfully and responsively teach and affect the lives of children, with and without disabilities, who come from culturally diverse and low socioeconomic backgrounds.
Program Learning Outcomes
Program learning outcomes for the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (EC/ECSE) major are driven by the standards of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Association for Advising Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), as well as the Initial certification requirements of the Maryland State Department of Education and the UMD College of Education Conceptual Framework.
- EC/ECSE teacher candidates have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they teach as described in professional (National Association for the Education of Young Children – NAEYC; Council for Exceptional Children - CEC), state (MSDE), and institutional standards. They demonstrate their knowledge through inquiry, critical analysis, and synthesis of the subject.
- EC/ECSE teacher candidates can effectively plan classroom-based instruction or activities for their roles as early childhood educators. Candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions are applied effectively in practice.
- EC/ECSE teacher candidates accurately assess and analyze student learning, make appropriate adjustments to instruction, monitor student learning, and have a positive effect on learning for all students.
- EC/ECSE teacher candidates are able to work with students, families, and communities in ways that reflect the dispositions expected of professional educators as delineated in professional (NAEYC and CEC), state (MSDE), and institutional standards.
- EC/ECSE teacher candidates demonstrate fluency in each of the seven Maryland Teacher Technology Standards (http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/Pages/ITSLM/slm/teacher_standards.aspx/).
Pre-Professional Requirements
The following courses are required in the program of studies for Early Childhood and may also satisfy the University's general education requirements. See departmental worksheets and advisors for additional information.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| College Requirements | ||
| PSYC100 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| SOCIAL SCI | ANTH, ECON, GEOG, GVPT, HIST, SOCY | 3 |
| HIST200 | Interpreting American History: Beginnings to 1877 | 3 |
| BIO SCI | Biological Science with Lab | 4 |
| PHYS SCI | ASTR, CHEM, GEOL, PHYS with Lab | 4 |
| TLPL250 | Historical and Philosophical Perspectives on Education | 3 |
| or TLPL360 | Foundations of Education | |
| Other Pre-Professional Requirements | ||
| MATH212 | Elements of Numbers and Operations | 3 |
| MATH213 | Elements of Geometry and Measurement | 3 |
| CREATIVE ART: One of the following: | 2-3 | |
| Introduction to Acting | ||
| Fundamentals for the Classroom Teacher | ||
| Good Stories: Teaching Narratives for Peace and Justice | ||
TLPL331 | ||
| Two-Dimensional Design Fundamentals | ||
or ARTT110 | Elements of Drawing I | |
ARTH221 | ||
| EDHD210 | Foundations of Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| EDHD220 | Exploring Early Childhood General and Special Education | 3 |
| Total Credits | 34-35 | |
Professional Courses
The Early Childhood (EC)/Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Professional Block I starts only in the Fall semester and is a prerequisite to Professional Block II which is offered only in the Spring semester. Following Professional Block II is Professional Block III, which is taken in the Fall semester of the yearlong teaching internship. A cumulative grade point average of 2.75 must be maintained after admission to the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education program. All pre-professional requirements and professional courses must be completed with a minimum grade of "C-" and must be completed prior to the yearlong internship. Teacher candidates must obtain satisfactory evaluations on the College of Education Foundational Competencies/Technical Standards. See advisor for program planning. Additional information regarding the requirements for the yearlong internship is included in the Requirements Tab on the College of Education page.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Junior Year Courses | ||
| EDHD434 | Child Development, Birth to Three Years | 3 |
| or EDSP420 | Child Development, Birth to Three Years | |
| EDHD425 | Language Development and Reading Acquisition | 3 |
| EDHD314 | Reading in the Early Childhood Classroom | 3 |
| Spring Junior Year Courses | ||
| EDHD431 | Child Development and Learning, Three to Eight Years | 3 |
| EDSP423 | Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education | 3 |
| EDSP315 | Inclusive Instruction: Reading Methods II | 3 |
| Complete One of the Two Tracks | 6 | |
TRACK I (Birth - 5yrs.) | ||
| Early Intervention: Early Childhood Special Education | ||
| Families and Culture in Early Intervention (Birth-5) | ||
| OR | ||
TRACK II (PreK - 3rd) | ||
| Promoting the Social-Emotional Competence of Young Children in Inclusive Classrooms | ||
| Culture, School & Community: Contexts for Learning (PreK-3rd) | ||
| Fall Senior Year Courses | ||
| EDSP321 | The Young Child As Scientist | 3 |
| EDHD322 | The Young Child as Mathematician | 3 |
| EDHD323 | Children Study their World | 3 |
| EDSP417 | Reading Diagnosis and Assessment | 3 |
| EDHD441 | Data Driven Decision Making in EC/ECSE | 1 |
| EDHD442 | Interventions for Children with Behavioral Challenges | 1 |
| EDHD443 | Interventions for Children with Social and Communication Challenges | 1 |
| EDHD444 | Action Research in EC/ECSE | 1 |
| Spring Senior Year Courses | ||
| EDHD437 | EC/ECSE Teachers as Researchers and Reflective Practitioners | 3 |
| EDHD432 | Internship in EC/ECSE | 12 |
| Total Credits | 55 | |
Other Requirements for the Major
An overall grade point average of 2.75 must be maintained after admission to Teacher Education. All teacher candidates are required to obtain satisfactory evaluations on the College of Education Foundational Competencies/Technical Standards and to attain qualifying scores for the State of Maryland on a test of basic skills and Praxis II assessments. The test of basic skills is required for admission, and Praxis II is required for admission to the final, culminating semester of the yearlong internship and for graduation. Students must complete five-semesters of field placement, to include the yearlong internship which takes place in a public Professional Development School (PDS)/collaborating partner school.
Click here for roadmaps for graduation plans in the College of Education.
Additional information on developing a graduation plan can be found on the following pages:
- http://4yearplans.umd.edu
- the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog