Welcome to Ashland University's Department of Early Childhood |
The Department of Early Childhood provides a variety of undergraduate, graduate, initial licensure, and endorsement programs that serve children from age three through grade three. Housed within the Dwight Schar College of Education, which is accredited by the National Council of Teacher Education, the departments' programs are approved by the Ohio Department of Education and meet required NAEYC
and CEC/DEC standards.
• Our mission is to provide high quality experiences for both pre service and
practicing teachers that are guided by the College of Education's tenets and
lead to the learning of the philosophical, theoretical, and experiential
knowledge required by all early childhood teachers.
• Our goal is to develop early childhood educators who are able to effectively
teach, serve, and act on behalf of the diverse needs, rights, and well-being
of all young children. With more than 200 students in its program, the Department
of Early Childhood is the largest undergraduate major on the Ashland campus.
It provides initial programs for individuals desiring to major in either Early
Childhood Education or Early Childhood Intervention Specialist. Early
Childhood majors are prepared to work with children who have
mild-to-moderate disabilities, while intervention specialists also learn
how to meet the needs of those young children who have moderate-to-severe
disabilities.
The Department of Early Childhood also houses a number of Early Childhood programs for post baccalaureate students who want to work with young children who are typically developing, have special needs, or both.
They include:
- Early Childhood Education license through the Bachelor's Plus program
- Early Childhood Intervention License
- Pre kindergarten Special Needs Endorsement
- Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Early Childhood Education or Early Childhood Intervention