Undergraduate Programs
 The
B.S. degree in early childhood education is a career-oriented
program that prepares students to be effective teachers of young
children from birth through age eight or third grade.
Graduates
of this teacher education program must be competent to meet
the developmental needs of children and families and the programming
needs of a high-quality early childhood education program.
Significant
opportunities for professional positions exist in these educational
programs: infant and toddler care and education, preschool programs,
K-3 classrooms, Head Start, and early childhood family education.
This
degree program has four academic core areas of required coursework—education
core, early childhood and family core, infant and toddler
education core, and preprimary education core—and two
areas of emphasis—primary education and program management.
All majors must be admitted into the teacher education program
prior to enrollment in the first education course (Ed 3100)
and they must maintain a 2.50 GPA to continue enrollment in
ECE and Ed courses. All majors will take required courses
in the four academic core areas. These courses and their required
clinical teaching experiences will prepare graduates to design,
implement, and evaluate developmentally appropriate learning
experiences for young children in early childhood settings,
to collaborate with families, to effectively manage resources
(human, fiscal, physical), and to communicate with the community.
Students
who wish to finish their teacher licensure within their degree
program, or who wish to teach in public school classrooms with
kindergarten through third grade, will need to complete the primary
education emphasis. Students who wish to increase their academic
preparation for supervisory, management, and/or leadership roles
in the field may choose the program management emphasis.
Early
Childhood Education B.S. Program Outcomes
Graduates of the program in early childhood education will be
able to:
-
Understand child development and learning and use this knowledge
to provide opportunities that support the development of the
whole child;
-
Build
positive caregiving relationships and use strategies for developing
an appropriate learning environment;
-
Establish
physically and psychologically safe and healthy learning environments
and use critical thinking skills as they apply curriculum and
instructional practices;
-
Use
communication skills effectively to establish and maintain positive
and collaborative relationships with families;
-
Use
informal and formal assessment strategies to plan and individualize
curriculum and teaching practices and use critical thinking
as they interpret and plan based on assessment results;
-
Communicate
their understanding of the effects of societal conditions, legal
issues, and public policies affecting young children, families,
and programs;
-
Apply
effective practices for teaching young children and working
with others as they participate in a variety of early and on-going
clinical experiences with children (birth through eight years
of age) and classroom teachers;
-
Primary
education emphasis:
recognize how children’s development and learning are
integrated and use the central concepts and tools of inquiry
for teaching language and literacy, mathematics, science, social
studies, visual and performing arts, health and physical education;
-
Program
management emphasis:
articulate a philosophy and rationale for decisions,
work with others, and carry out management tasks associated
with planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and monitoring
and controlling for quality.
 Admissions
Requirements:
The Minnesota Board of Teaching has established criteria for all
teacher licensure programs in our state. The policies of the Department
of Professional Education at Bemidji State University prevail for
all students in the UMC Early Childhood Program Management Baccalaureate
Degree Program since the Pre-K Teaching License is a required component
of this degree program.
Application
for admission into the licensure program is completed during enrollment
in the first BSU course, Ed 366 Foundations of Kindergarten and
Early Childhood Education. Program admission criteria are the following:
Students
must:
- obtain
a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 prior to enrolling in any BSU education
course (by the completion of 4th quarter of work for incoming
freshman students);
-
complete the Pre-Professional Skills Test(PPST) prior to enrolling
in any BSU education course. Students who score below the state
minimum on the PPST will be provided with information about tutor.
Apply Online
|
