The M.Ed. program is designed for teachers and other professionals in fields related to education that wish to pursue advanced study in teaching, leadership, research, or public policy and advocacy.
Early Childhood Education - M.Ed.
Contact Us
- Early Childhood Education coordinator (Kent campus): Elizabeth Kenyon, Ph.D. | ekenyon@kent.edu | 330-672-0620
- Speak with an Advisor
- Chat with an Admissions Counselor
More About This Program
Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education provides a comprehensive education in early childhood education studies. This program prepares students for various careers in early childhood education and related fields.
Early Childhood Education M.Ed. students are guided by faculty in the development of a self-assessment and program of study that satisfies individual professional goals and expectations of the program. All students must complete an exit project that may include a thesis, practicum, or action research project. Ohio endorsements/second license for Pre-K, Pre-K-5, and reading endorsements can be embedded.
Prospectus: M.Ed. in Early Childhood
Concentrations
Three concentrations in Early Childhood Education are available. Concentrations can be embedded within the M.Ed. or taken as stand-alone classes.
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Early Childhood Leadership: Advocacy, Curriculum and Policy Concentration
This concentration of the Early Childhood Education M.Ed. commonly appeals to individuals who have worked in the field and have a desire to further their own early childhood programs, become master teachers, and/or enhance their own leadership on behalf of young children and professionals who work with them. Individuals delve into issues and trends in the field, reconceptualize practice, understand and deconstruct/reconstruct policy understandings and complete their own independent research as inquiry exit projects or theses.
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Globalization & Intercultural Competence Concentration
Are you working with international students and in search of research based solutions to learning and teaching? Build your intercultural competence to meet the demands of your district's growing or changing immigrant and refugee populations. This concentration is intended for those teaching in the early years or a related field and licensed PreK-5.
- ECED International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Certificate in Teaching and Learning (embedded in the program)
- Individualized Plan of Study
Course topics in GIC Concentration:
- Principles of Development and Cross-Cultural Development
- Understanding Emergent Bilingual Children and their Families
- Intercultural Dimensions of Teaching and Learning
- Teaching Emergent Bilingual Children in the Early Years
- Integrated Curriculum
- Multi-Cultural Education in Global and Local Contexts
- Choices of Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language, Second Language Acquisition, or Heritage Languages and Second Language Acquisition
- Research in Education
For more information about this concentration, please contact Dr. Gumiko Monobe (gmonobe@kent.edu) or Dr. Janice Kroeger (jkroege1@kent.edu).
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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Concentration
Master's students in the STEM Concentration learn to engage children in interdisciplinary instruction, integrating STEM to break down traditional boundaries. They also gain experience working with and integrating technology in classroom instruction.
The STEM Concentration includes courses in early childhood STEM education; electives in Mathematics Education, Science Education, and Educational Technology; and additional early childhood focused courses.
For more information, please contact Dr. Bridget Mulvey (bmulvey@kent.edu) or Dr. Karl Kosko (kkosko@kent.edu).
Program Information for Early Childhood Education - M.Ed.
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Program Description
Full Description
The Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education prepares critically reflective teachers with advanced knowledge in pre-school through primary multi-disciplinary curriculum. Students are prepared to be democratically accountable leaders, co-decision makers, pedagogical experts and committed professionals in various early childhood realms. The program emphasizes commitment to equitable and caring learning communities.
Ohio endorsements for pre-school and literacy may be embedded in the program. In addition, students have the opportunity to receive an International Baccalaureate (IB) recognition award in the M.Ed. degree.
The Early Childhood Education major includes the following optional concentrations:
- The Early Childhood Leadership: Advocacy, Curriculum and Policy concentration commonly appeals to teachers who desire to further their own early childhood programs, become master teachers and/or enhance their own leadership on behalf of young children and professionals who work with them. Students delve into issues and trends in the field, reconceptualize practice, understand and deconstruct/reconstruct policy understandings and complete their own independent research as an inquiry exit project or thesis.
- The Globalization and Intercultural Competence concentration is designed for teachers who are searching for research-based solutions to the learning and teaching of international students and/or who want to build intercultural competence to meet the demands of growing or changing immigrant and refugee populations in the classroom.
- The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics concentration provides students the opportunity to engage children in interdisciplinary instruction; gain experience working with and integrating technology; and integrate STEM to break down traditional boundaries.
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Admissions
for Early Childhood Education - M.Ed.
For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
- Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
- Official transcript(s)
- Goal statement
- Two letters of recommendation
- English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:1
- Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
- Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
- Minimum 58 PTE score
- Minimum 110 DET score
- 1
International applicants who do not meet the above test scores may be considered for conditional admission.
Application Deadlines
- Fall Semester
- Rolling admissions
- Spring Semester
- Rolling admissions
- Summer Term
- Rolling admissions
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Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Co-construct curriculum as a co-worker with learners and others (parents, families, colleagues and community members) to make sound decisions for learning and teaching experiences, as opposed to being passive receivers of prescribed curriculum.
- Synthesize conceptual understandings of children, theory, content, technology and socio-cultural contexts into meaningful activities and opportunities for learning with all students in pre-kindergarten to grade three.
- Engage in the habit of self-assessment in order to continually uncover unknown possibilities in children's learning, classroom practice, educational theory and one's own teaching identity in the local and global context.
- Become committed to the children and their learning, the families and the local community while having an awareness of the global context.
- Engage in continuous self-improvement and lifelong learning.
- Apply skills, knowledge and dispositions to challenge "questionable" policies that limit opportunities for all children.
- Utilize research and theory to develop varied and effective pedagogies and assessments that will positively impact all students' learning (learning and teaching is a transdisciplinary practice).
- Advocate as ethical leaders and moral agents striving for social justice.
- Acknowledge and practice multiple, multi-ethnic, multicultural, multiracial, multi-social, multi-economic and multilingual perspectives in a global society.
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Coursework
On This Page
Program Requirements
Major Requirements
Course List Code Title Credit Hours Major Requirements ECED 60152 APPLICATION OF SELECTED THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN 3 Major Electives, choose from the following: 11 ECED 50093VARIABLE TITLE WORKSHOP IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 50203CRITICAL INQUIRY: THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE FRAMEWORK ECED 50301TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN K-5 CLASSROOMS ECED 50302TEACHING PHONICS AND WORD STUDY ECED 50303TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE ELEMENTARY YEARS I ECED 50403TEACHING WRITERS IN THE ELEMENTARY YEARS ECED 50404TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE ELEMENTARY YEARS II ECED 54444DEVELOPMENT AND PEDAGOGY IN UPPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ECED 60101CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING IN TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS ECED 60103SOCIAL STUDIES AND THE ARTS IN PRESCHOOL ECED 60113PRESCHOOL EDUCATION ECED 60115SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 60151SOCIOMORAL ENVIRONMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 60158RECONCEPTUALIZING EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM ECED 60201TEACHING EARLY READERS ECED 63333FAMILY-SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS IN DIVERSE SETTINGS ECED 67292PRACTICUM AND INTERNSHIP IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 67296INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 67298RESEARCH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Additional electives with advisor approvalCulminating Requirement ECED 67296 INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3 or ECED 67298 RESEARCH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Additional Requirements or Concentrations Choose from the following: 15 Minimum Total Credit Hours: 32 Additional Requirements for Students Not Declaring a Concentration
Course List Code Title Credit Hours Major Requirements CI 60169 UNDERSTANDING EMERGENT BILINGUAL AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES 3 or ECED 60115 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION or ECED 60158 RECONCEPTUALIZING EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM or MCED 60115 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATH FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CI 60171 TEACHING EMERGENT BILINGUAL AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS 3 or ECED 60116 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATH INQUIRY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION or ECED 60163 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND TRENDS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Additional Major Electives, choose from the following: 1 9 ECED 50093VARIABLE TITLE WORKSHOP IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 50203CRITICAL INQUIRY: THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE FRAMEWORK ECED 50301TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN K-5 CLASSROOMS ECED 50302TEACHING PHONICS AND WORD STUDY ECED 50303TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE ELEMENTARY YEARS I ECED 50304TEACHING SCIENCE IN THE ELEMENTARY YEARS ECED 60101CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING IN TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS ECED 60113PRESCHOOL EDUCATION ECED 60151SOCIOMORAL ENVIRONMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 60158RECONCEPTUALIZING EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM ECED 63333FAMILY-SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS IN DIVERSE SETTINGS ECED 67292PRACTICUM AND INTERNSHIP IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 67296INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ECED 67298RESEARCH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Additional electives with advisor approvalMinimum Total Credit Hours: 15 - 1
Courses fulfilling major program requirements (listed above) may not be used to also fulfill the requirements for the additional major electives.
Early Childhood Leadership: Advocacy, Curriculum and Policy Concentration Requirements
Course List Code Title Credit Hours Concentration Requirements ECED 60101 CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING IN TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS 3 ECED 60158 RECONCEPTUALIZING EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM 3 ECED 60163 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND TRENDS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3 ECED 60170 WRITING FOR PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3 Advisor-Approved Concentration Elective 3 Minimum Total Credit Hours: 15 Globalization and Intercultural Competence Concentration Requirements
Course List Code Title Credit Hours Concentration Requirements CI 60169 UNDERSTANDING EMERGENT BILINGUAL AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES 3 CI 60171 TEACHING EMERGENT BILINGUAL AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS 3 Concentration Electives, choose from the following with advisor approval: 3-6 CI 61130MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: STRATEGIES CI 67005INTERCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ECED 50123CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO INTEGRATED CURRICULUM IN THE PRIMARY YEARS English Education Electives, choose from the following 3-6 ENG 63001METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ENG 63033THEORIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION ENG 63038TEACHING LITERATURE AND CULTURE ENG 63047HERITAGE LANGUAGES AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING Additional elective with advisor approvalMinimum Total Credit Hours: 15 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Concentration Requirements
Course List Code Title Credit Hours Concentration Requirements ECED 60115 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3 or MCED 60115 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATH FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Mathematics Education Electives, choose from the followng with advisor approval: 6 CI 67095SPECIAL TOPICS IN CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION CI 67224TEACHING MATHEMATICS USING COMPUTERS AND CALCULATORS CI 67225RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION Science Education Electives, choose from the following with advisor approval: 6 CI 61134RESEARCH TRENDS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION CI 61140CULTURE AND MULTICULTURALISM IN SCIENCE EDUCATION CI 61141NATURE OF SCIENCE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION CI 67240INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Additional electives with advisor approvalMinimum Total Credit Hours: 15 Graduation Requirements
Graduation Requirements Summary Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA - 3.000 - Students are guided by faculty in the development of a program of study that satisfies both individual professional goals and expectations of the school, college and university.
- All students are expected to complete an exit project that involves a practicum or action research project.
- Students completing the M.Ed. degree in Early Childhood Education must take at least 32 credit hours for completion.
- No more than one-half of a graduate student’s coursework may be taken in 50000-level courses.
- Grades below C are not counted toward completion of requirements for the degree.
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Program Delivery
- Delivery:
- In person
- Location:
- Kent Campus
- Delivery:
Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Early Childhood Education - M.Ed.
Graduates of Â鶹ÊÓƵ's M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education are prepared for specialized career opportunities in the early childhood education industry.
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Education teachers, postsecondary
4.8%
about as fast as the average
77,300
number of jobs
$65,440
potential earnings
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Elementary school teachers, except special education
3.5%
about as fast as the average
1,452,100
number of jobs
$60,940
potential earnings
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Kindergarten teachers, except special education
3.7%
about as fast as the average
127,700
number of jobs
$57,860
potential earnings
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Preschool teachers, except special education
2.5%
slower than the average
540,400
number of jobs
$31,930
potential earnings
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Teaching assistants, except postsecondary
3.6%
about as fast as the average
1,395,900
number of jobs
$28,900
potential earnings
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Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' . Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.