Program Overview:
The Inclusive Early Childhood Education: Birth –Grade 2 major is a four-year program of study and practice that leads to a Bachelor of Science in Inclusive Early Childhood Education and prepares candidates for teaching in birth to grade 2 general education, special education, and inclusive settings that serve young children with a full range of abilities and needs. This uniquely designed program integrates perspectives from both general and special education through the use of blocked courses, alternative scheduling, co-teaching by college professors, and highly coordinated and supervised field experiences. The Inclusive Early Childhood Education program provides pre-service teachers with integrated course content across the disciplines of child development, special education, early childhood education, communication disorders, literacy, educational psychology, and instructional technology. The program prepares future educators to meet the cognitive, academic, social-emotional, and communication needs of a diverse population of young children. Candidates will collaborate with colleagues and exhibit leadership in their professional endeavors. By the junior and senior years, teacher candidates create a strong identity as an early childhood educator. The program is delivered by experienced faculty and supervisors who focus on the elements of diversity, instructional planning, individualizing instruction, reflective practice, technology, evidenced-based practices, and collaboration.
The program requires that students have an academic concentration in the liberal arts or sciences (see below for descriptions of academic concentrations), and complete the College’s 33-credit Core requirements. Additional courses may be required to meet NYS Certification requirements. The majority of the major and the academic concentration must be completed at The College of Saint Rose. The program exceeds the New York State requirement with over 200 hours of field experience prior to student teaching, Field experiences require students to observe, complete course-related assignments, and teach in a variety of settings across all age levels within the certification and complete experiences in high needs/urban schools and settings that serve learners with English Language Learning needs. Student teaching occurs at both the pre-kindergarten or kindergarten level and at the primary (1-2) grades across two semesters during the senior year serving the role as both the general educator and the special educator.
Program Contacts:
Dr. Frances Ihle
Co-Chair, Literacy & Special Education Department
Email: ihlef@.strose.edu
Teacher Education Department
Email: flihans@strose.edu
Program Requirements:
Admission into the College does not ensure good standing in the program in Inclusive Early Childhood Education, nor does good standing in the Inclusive Early Childhood Education program ensure admission to student teaching. In order to maintain good standing through all stages of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education program, students are required to maintain the following academic standards: 2.5 cumulative index, 2.75 index in the education sequence, 2.25 index in the academic concentration and a minimum grade of C+ in each course of the major. Students are allowed to repeat courses in the major only one time. More than two repeated courses by a student will result in the student’s dismissal from the major. Students must apply for student teaching in accordance with program guidelines which includes satisfactory completion of all major courses and completion of most concentration courses.
In order to be eligible for initial teacher certification in New York State, students must pass required New York State Teacher Certification Examinations. The School of Education offers preparation workshops for these exams. Information about test dates, sample questions, and scoring are available online at www.nystce.nesinc.com.
Major Courses Sequence:
Year 1
IEC 100
IEC 230
IEC 146
Year 2
IEC 231
CSD 235
EPY 245
Year 3
IEC 253
IEC 350
EPY 350
SED 340
SED 366
Year 4
IEC 360
IEC 385
IEC 492
IEC 491
IEC 328
IEC 490
SED 494
SED 495
Major in Inclusive Early Childhood Education (55 credits)
| IEC 100 | Intro Inclusive Erly Chld Prog | 0 |
| IEC 146 | Yng Cldrn w/Disabil Inclu Sch | 3 |
| IEC 230 | Found Erly Chld Education | 3 |
| IEC 231 | Infant, Toddler, Pre-Sch Devel | 3 |
| IEC 253 | Inclus Curr Design Pre K-Gr 2 | 3 |
| IEC 328 | Partnerships w/ Families | 3 |
| IEC 350 | Develop Assess young Children | 3 |
| IEC 360 | Lang &Literacy Instruc Age 4-8 | 3 |
| IEC 385 | Meth Inclus ECE Kind-Gr 2 | 3 |
| IEC 490 | Capstone Portfolio | 2 |
| IEC 491 | Erly Chld Student Tch Seminar | 2 |
| IEC 492 | Erly Chldhd Student Tchg K-2 | 5 |
| CSD 235 | Lang & Literacy Dev/Disorders | 3 |
| EPY 245 | Early Childhood Development | 3 |
| EPY 350 | Educational Psychology | 3 |
| EDU 102 | Violence Prevention | 0 |
| EDU 103 | Child Abuse Prevention | 0 |
| EDU 111 | Dignity for All Students | 0 |
| SED 340 | C&I:Inten Sup Needs Inf/Tod | 4 |
| SED 366 | Support Soc Compet w/Yng Cld | 3 |
| SED 494 | Stud Tchg ECE/SpEd Bir-Pre Sch | 5 |
| SED 495 | Stud Tchg Seminar ECE/SpEd | 2 |
Academic Concentrations for Inclusive Early Childhood Education Majors (Birth-Grade 2)
All Inclusive Early Childhood Education students must fulfill the College’s Core requirements and must fulfill the requirements for an academic concentration to comply with New York State teacher certification regulations. The purpose of the academic concentration in a liberal arts or sciences discipline or an interdisciplinary field is to provide a focused depth and breadth of preparation and study, beyond the broad general education requirement, that will enable the Inclusive Early Childhood Education major to develop a degree of expertise in a chosen discipline or interdisciplinary field.
Inclusive Early Childhood Education majors are required to complete an academic concentration of 30-33 credits in one of the following disciplines: Biology, Computing and Logic, English Language Arts, General Science, Mathematics, Social Studies or Spanish. The requirements of the academic concentrations are listed below.
Biology Concentration (30 credits)
Computing and Logic Concentration (33-35 Credits)
Studying fundamental computer science lays the groundwork for a career of applied computational thinking applicable to any field. Computer science emphasizes algebra and mathematical reasoning, hence strengthening the overall preparation of a future teacher. A concentration in Computing and Logic goes far beyond providing knowledge of a computer-based toolset to use in the classroom. Students in this concentration will become better equipped in conceptualization, problem-solving and abstract thinking. This concentration supports the STEM coalition efforts to improve the way our students learn science, mathematics, technology and engineering.
Computer Science Courses (20-22 Credits)
Required Courses:
*CSC 202 and CSC 252 may each be taken only twice without faculty permission.
Choose Two 300-level Courses (6-8 Credits):
Mathematics Courses (13 Credits)
Students who transfer in MAT 185 or MAT 190 or who score 36 on the math placement test are not required to take MAT 180 and may substitute the higher-level MAT course with advisor approval. In these cases, the higher-level MAT course satisfies the MAT 180 pre-requisite for upper level courses.
Required Courses:
Additional Course (choose one):
English Language Arts Concentration (33 credits)
English Language Arts concentrators may not transfer in courses to fulfill their ELA requirements after they have matriculated at the College of Saint Rose.
Required Courses:
| ENG 105 | Expos Wrtg, Spkng, Rsrch Tech | 4 |
| ENG 114 | Intro Lit Genres/Traditions | 4 |
One 200-level early literature course:
One 200-level later literature course:
One diverse literature course:
Writing/Language course(s) - 4 credits:
One communication course:
One performance arts course:
Two credits in teaching topics courses OR one additional literature course from those listed above (2 or 4 credits):
General Science Concentration (30 credits)
Mathematics Concentration (30-32 credits)
Required Courses:
Depth of Study (9-11 credits)
Choose two courses from the following:
Social Studies Concentration (32 credits)
Social Studies concentrators may not transfer in core courses after they have matriculated at The College of St. Rose; six out of eight of the content courses in the concentration must be completed at Saint Rose.
Core Courses:
Students must pass HIS 215 or HIS 227 in their first year with a C grade or better. HIS 215 may only be repeated once and serves as a pre-requisite for HIS 204.
Additional Coursework:
Choose one additional 100- or 200-level POS course (4 credits)
Choose one 100- or 200-level non-US HIS course (4 credits)
Spanish Concentration (30 credits)
Required Courses:
Three years of high school Spanish, or SPA 101 and SPA 102, are prerequisite to a concentration in Spanish.
If SPA 203, SPA 204, and SPA 216 are waived, the student needs to replace each of them with 3 hours of upper-level elective courses.
One additional course chosen from:
| SPA 305 | Survey Spanish Literature 1 | 3 |
| SPA 306 | Survey Spanish Literature 2 | 3 |
| SPA 307 | Survey Spanish-American Lit | 3 |
Two Spanish 300-400 level elective courses (6 credits)
Internship/Field Experiences/Service:
As part of the unique blocking of courses, time is spent in early childhood settings and classrooms. Teacher candidates may be required to complete a field–based assignment that integrates concepts across multiple courses. These field experiences begin in the freshman year and become increasingly more sophisticated as candidates progress into the junior and senior year.
Culminating Academic Experiences:
Most of the senior year, across two semesters, is spent in general and special education settings. Candidates start each semester engaged in compressed course design and field observation in a setting where they also conduct their student teaching. After an intense observation period, candidates seamlessly integrate into their culminating student teaching experience. Accompanying this experience is the presentation of a e-portfolio of work completed throughout the program.
Suggested 4 Year Course Plan:
This suggested plan is designed to give students an idea of how to balance their coursework over 8 semesters and to graduate within 4 years. Most students will need to take a minimum of 30 credits each year in order to meet the graduation requirement of a minimum of 120 overall credits. It should be used along with your Degree Works worksheet and in consultation with your faculty advisor. It is meant as a guide, not a definitive list of courses that must be taken as written. Your faculty advisor will help you make any necessary adjustments during advisement.
Year 1:
Fall (17 credits)
IEC 100 – 0 credit
ENG 105 (C1) – 4 credits
Core course (C6 #1) – 3 credits
Core course (C7) – 3 credits
Core course (C2) – 4 credits
Core course (C8 #1) – 3 credits
Spring (16-17 credits)
IEC 230 – 3 credits
IEC 146 – 3 credits
Core course (C3) – 3 credits
Core course (C5 #1) – 4 credits
Core (C4) or Concentration course -- 3-4 credits
Year 2:
Fall (16-18 credits)
EPY 245 – 3 credits
Core course (C8 #2) – 3 credits
Core course (C5 #2) – 4 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Spring (15-17 credits)
CSD 235 – 3 credits
IEC 231 – 3 credits
EDU 111 – 0 credit
Core course (C6 #2) – 3 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Year 3:
Fall (15-17 credits)
IEC 253 – 3 credits
IEC 350 – 3 credits
EDU 102 – 0 credit
EPY 350 – 3 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Concentration course 3-4 credits
Spring (16-18 credits)
SED 340 – 4 credits
SED 366 – 3 credits
EDU 103 – 0 credit
Core (C9) – 3 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Concentration course – 3-4 credits
Year 4:
Fall (13 credits)
IEC 360 – 3 credits
IEC 385 – 3 credits
IEC 492 – 5 credits
IEC 491 – 2 credits
Spring (12 credits)
IEC 328 – 3 credits
SED 494 – 5 credits
SED 495 – 2 credits
IEC 490 – 2 credits
Career Opportunities and Graduate Study:
In order to be eligible for initial teacher certification in New York State, students must pass required New York State Teacher Certification Examinations. The School of Education offers preparation workshops for these exams. Information about test dates, sample questions, and scoring are available online at www.nystce.nesinc.com. The pass rate on New York State Teacher Certification Examinations for students at The College of Saint Rose was 97% for the 2008-2009 academic year. Within five years, teachers with initial certification must apply for professional certification, which is contingent upon earning a relevant master’s degree and obtaining teaching experience that includes mentoring.
Upon the successful completion of this program, the achievement of passing grades on examinations required by the New York State Education Department and fingerprint clearance, students are eligible for New York State initial teaching certification in both early childhood (Birth-Grade 2) and early childhood special education (Birth-Grade 2). Graduates who prefer special education have gone on to teach in early intervention settings, preschool special education, or a public school special education teaching position in inclusive or special class settings. Other graduates have opened their own nursery or preschool, coordinated community before and after school programs, or taught in Universal Pre-K or general education in grades K-2.
Find Out More:
Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid: https://www.strose.edu/admissions/