BS - Early Childhood Education (Licensure Track)
Indiana Wesleyan University’s Bachelor of Science with a major in Early Childhood Education prepares candidates to be recommended for an early childhood, P-3, initial teaching license in the state of Indiana. The program is a 120 credit hour undergraduate program emphasizing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an early childhood educator’s work with children from birth through age 8. This program includes a minor in Reading. This program prepares the candidate to work in various early childhood settings: P-3 school setting, child care programs, preschool settings, and Head Start programs.
Candidates who choose to complete the licensure track of the program will complete a 14-week full-time, clinical experience in a P-3 school setting. These Licensure Track candidates will be prepared to apply for licensure (early childhood, P-3) initial teaching license in the state of Indiana. For licensure, passing scores on the State Required Content Area Exam are required.
Candidates who seek licensure in states other than Indiana bear the responsibility to determine whether completion of the Early Childhood program will meet the academic and assessment requirements of the state in which licensure is sought.
Upon completion of the program, candidates will demonstrate the ability to:
- Exhibiting School of Learning and Development professional dispositions, demonstrating moral decision-making, upholds ethical standards with all stakeholders; reflecting Christ-like behavior as the foundation of work with families, young children, and communities. (NAEYC 6.a, 6.b, & 6.c)
- Actively promoting child development and developmentally appropriate learning experiences for all children in child care, classroom, home, and community settings, (NAEYC 1.a, 1.b, & 1.c)
- Creating safe, healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments, where young children have access to quality learning opportunities that inspire and set the stage for growth across the developmental domains. (NAEYC 1.c)
- Exhibiting knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of diverse family and community characteristics; honoring diverse cultural values, language, and norms by encouraging a child's learning connectedness to home. (NAEYC 1.b)
- Considering contextual factors, learning cycle choices, development, and environment to proactively determine appropriate setting and behavior management procedures and practices; Initiating and thinking professionally in a timely manner to address management concerns. (NAEYC 5.c & 6.c)
- Designing developmentally appropriate content-rich purposeful curriculum emphasizing the integration of topics and disciplines; Integrating academic standards, child development, impacting contextual factors and individual/group interests, needs, learning styles. (NAEYC 5.a)
- Facilitating positive, respectful, and reciprocal relationship-based interactions as a foundation to support, empower, and engage young children and families. (NAEYC 2.a, 2.b, & 2.c)
- Applying constructivist (Vygotsky) theoretical framework into practice throughout academic disciplines to design and support inquiry-based, play-based, open-ended, project-based, and problem-based learning experiences. (NAEYC 4.a, 4.b, 4.c, & 5.b)
- Participating in informed advocacy for young children, families, and the early childhood profession through multiple types of advocacy (citizen, issue-based, self-group, peer, statutory, family & friend). (NAEYC 3.d, 6.d, & 6.e)
- Evaluating and implementing developmentally appropriate effective approaches when selecting a wide variety of tools, resources, and strategies to meet the unique needs of all learners including: technology, inquiry-based, project based, problem-based, UDL, RI, differentiation practices. (NAEYC 3.c, 4.b, 4.c, 4.d, 5.c, & 6.c)
- Demonstrating skills in systematic and responsible observing, documenting, assessing, analyzing, and reporting data to support early learning. (NAEYC 3.a, 3.b, 3.c, 4.d, & 5.c)
- Practicing servant leadership philosophy and principles in approach to clinical and service experiences, serving by putting the needs of others first, sharing power, aspiring to lead after trust and relations are earned and built, helping young children, families, and communities develop and perform as highly as possible. (NAEYC 2.b, 6.a, 7.a, 7.b)
Admission Requirements
All applicants to the licensure track must have:
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Proof of high school graduation or GED certification.
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Submit a signed FERPA Release Form.
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Proof of up-to-date TB test.
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A signed Field Placement Requirement Notification form
- Applicants who do not hold a valid license in the field of education will be required to submit a criminal history background check conducted at the applicant's expense. Admission to and/or progression in designated programs will be based upon criteria set in the Criminal History Background Check Admissions Policy.
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Original transcripts from all previous college or university study at a college or university that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
- NOTE: Applicants should be aware that Indiana State Legislation has mandated that expanded background checks are required for those working with students in Indiana schools. Applicants will also be required to adhere to any additional State Mandates required for educators. Though candidates will be required to submit an initial background check and other documentation that is acceptable to the university as part of their application materials, those successful submissions, will only serve to gain admittance to that academic program. All accepted candidates should understand, that at the candidate’s expense, additional background checks, proof of mandated trainings, and/or health related documentation will most likely be required before participating in clinical experiences.
- Prior completion of at least 48 transferable credit hours from a regionally accredited college or university or an institution accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education is required before the candidate is eligible to start a bachelor core program.
- NOTE: Applicants need to be prepared to have vaccination records on hand, if requested by an outside facility, to prevent delay of any required Field Experiences. Since this is an “outside” of IWU request, it will be up to the student to be prepared.
Program Requirements
- All BS Early Childhood Education candidates will be required to provide passing scores for Indiana’s approved content area examination(s) based on the following schedule, or will be administratively withdrawn from the program:
- If scheduled for student teaching in September, testing is due the preceding April 1st.
- If scheduled for student teaching in January, testing is due the preceding September 1st.
- The BS Early Childhood Licensure Program is a lock-step program. Students who are unable to complete an ECED course or who receive an unsatisfactory grade for their specific program will be allowed to repeat that course with another group of students if arrangements are made with the Registration Change Counselor and the School of Integrated Learning and Development. Tuition and fees will be charged for repeating the course.
- Upon completion of the BS Early Childhood Education Licensure Program, candidates will be recommended for P-3 Educator Licensure in the state of Indiana. Candidates seeking licensure in states other than Indiana bear the responsibility to determine whether completion of the IWU BS Early Childhood Education program will meet the academic and assessment requirements of the state in which licensure is sought.
Student Teaching and Clinical Experience Requirements
- All candidates must complete fourteen weeks of full-time student teaching in a P-3 setting.
- All core course work prior to the required 14-week student teaching must be completed with a minimum grade of no less than "C" in each core course to be eligible to student teach.
- All placements for student teaching will be made by the Office of Clinical Experiences. Candidates are not to contact any school or attempt to secure their own student teaching assignment at any time.
- Removal from a student teaching experience, and/or field experience, may result in the candidate being permanently withdrawn from the program. A grade of "No Credit" will be issued for the student teaching course and a failing grade will be issued for field experience courses.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate from Indiana Wesleyan University with a Bachelor's degree with a major in Early Childhood Education, the following requirements must be met:
- Completion of 120 credit hours.
- Completion of the required prerequisite and core courses with a minimum grade of "C" and a minimum GPA of 2.75.
- Cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher.
- Completion of 30 hours of general education requirements as specified (General Education Requirements).
- Provide passing scores for all required state licensure content and pedagogy examinations.
- Payment of all tuition and fees is required to receive a diploma.
Early Childhood Education (BS) Licensure Track - Program of Study
Prerequisites
Candidates may be enrolled in the Early Childhood Education (BS) Licensure Track Program of Study, but must complete the following courses prior to starting the Core Courses.
| ECED-101 | Foundations of Early Childhood | 3 |
| ECED-105 | Child Growth and Development | 3 |
| ECED-125 | Current Issues and Trends in Early Childhood | 3 |
| ECED-130 | Parents, Families, and Communities As Partners | 3 |
| ECED-135 | Emergent Literacy | 3 |
Core Courses
| ECED-305 | Educational Psychology for Early Learners | 3 |
| ECED-301 | Infant/Toddler Care-on-Demand Environments | 3 |
| ECED-302 | Infant/Toddler Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment | 3 |
| ECED-303 | Literature Focused Preschool Environments | 3 |
| ECED-304 | Preschool Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment | 3 |
| ECED-322 | Early Childhood Special Education | 3 |
| ECED-325 | Foundations of Reading and Language Structure | 3 |
| ECED-332 | Instructional Tools for the Teaching of Reading | 3 |
| ECED-331 | Literacy in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| ECED-401 | STEM Concepts in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| ECED-405 | Social Studies and Fine Arts in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| ECED-411 | Classroom Management in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| ECED-422 | Advocacy Internship in Early Childhood | 3 |
| ECED-430A | Student Teaching in Early Childhood | 6 |
| ECED-430B | Student Teaching in Early Childhood | 6 |
Minor in Reading
The minor in Reading is comprised of five previously completed prerequisite (ECED-135) and core (ECED-303, ECED-325, ECED-331, ECED-332) courses.
| ECED-135 | Emergent Literacy | 3 |
| ECED-303 | Literature Focused Preschool Environments | 3 |
| ECED-325 | Foundations of Reading and Language Structure | 3 |
| ECED-331 | Literacy in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| ECED-332 | Instructional Tools for the Teaching of Reading | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 66 |
