Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education, B.S.E.

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.