Early Childhood Education

The early childhood program at Elms College prepares you to teach students from pre-kindergarten through grade two. As a candidate for your initial teaching license in Massachusetts, you complete rigorous coursework and do fieldwork in local schools with young children with and without moderate special needs. You leave Elms prepared to teach all areas of the curriculum and make adaptations for students with moderate special needs.

Children's needs and interests are as important to our faculty as the curriculum requirements of states and school districts. Our goal is to prepare you to work in collaboration with parents, colleagues, and educational specialists, such as speech and physical therapists, to ensure that your students have the best experience possible when they enter your classroom.

Initial teaching licenses earned at Elms College qualify candidates to begin teaching in Massachusetts and more than 40 states, islands, and territories, including all of the New England states and New York.

Bachelor of Arts Degree

Major in Early Childhood Education (Grades PreK-2)

Initial License in Early Childhood (PreK-2)

(Minimum at Elms College: 18 credits)

Major Requirements (42 credits)

EDU 100 Introduction to Schooling and Education (3 credits)
PSY 214 Children's Learning and Development (3 credits)
EDU 319 Students with Special Needs (3 credits)
EDU 307 Current Approaches to Reading and Language Arts (3 credits)
EDU 304 Methods of Teaching Mathematics (3 credits)
EDU 308 Beginning Reading and Writing (3 credits)
EDU 311 Writing Workshop (3 credits)
EDU 321 Curriculum for Early Childhood Inclusion Settings (3 credits)
EDU 342 Assessment of Students (3 credits)
EDU 385 Inquiry-based Science Methods (3 credits)
EDU 360 Seminar in Professional Education (3 credits)
EDU 420A Early Childhood: Teacher of Students With and Without Disabilities (Pre-K-2) Initial Practicum (9 credits)

Note: The early childhood 12-week practicum is completed at two sites: a public school preschool inclusion classroom accredited by the National Academy of NAEYC (National Association of the Education for Young Children), and in a first- or second-grade classroom that includes students with and without special needs and is accredited by the National Academy, or adheres to NAEYC's guidelines for developmentally-appropriate practices.