Early Childhood Special Education, MS

Contact:

Gail Ensher, 150 Huntington Hall, 315-443-9650, glensher@syr.edu

The Early Childhood Special Education program leads to certification in both general early childhood and early childhood special education, birth through grade 2. This program reflects the most up-to-date thinking about teaching infants, young children, and primary-age children (with or without special needs). The primary goal of the program is to prepare teachers to work effectively with children of a variety of ages and cultural and linguistic abilities, and serve children who live in diverse family systems in a range of home, community, and educational settings. We seek to accomplish this through collaboration and teamwork among professionals of diverse disciplines and in partnership with the families we serve.

The ECSE program draws upon the expertise and scholarship of faculty members who are leaders in the fields of child and family studies, early childhood, special and elementary education, literacy, and other related professional disciplines, including neonatology, physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. The program has a long-standing history of providing training that infuses clinical practice with current research. As they study areas such as early assessment and intervention with infants, students work closely with faculty members who have extensive clinical experience. Syracuse ECSE has developed close ties and strong relationships to community educators and other professionals who serve high-needs populations of young children and families.

The graduate program in ECSE admits students who have backgrounds or certification in childhood special education as well as qualified students entering the program from other fields.

It meets the academic requirements for both New York State early childhood birth-grade 2 and students with disabilities birth-grade 2 teaching certificates. We admit:

students who have backgrounds or certification in one (but not both) of these areas (early childhood or children with disabilities);
students who have certification in another teacher certification area;
qualified students who do not have previous education coursework. Each student’s credentials are evaluated on an individual basis, but here are some general guidelines concerning the length of the course of study.

Each applicant will have undergraduate transcripts reviewed (we encourage this to take place before applying) for the liberal arts requirements listed below. Missing coursework does not need to be completed before applying and in most cases can be completed during graduate study.

A liberal arts major or concentration of at least 30 credits, of which at least 15 credits represent upper division courses;
A college writing course completed with a grade of B- or higher or an equivalent demonstration of writing competency, as judged by the program;
Two appropriate college-level mathematics courses, with grades averaging at least B- and neither grade below C.
Two appropriate natural science courses with laboratories, with grades averaging at least B- and neither grade below C; in some cases, appropriate non-laboratory science courses may be substituted, as judged by the program:

- A social science course other than psychology or history;

- A humanities course other than history or artistic expression;

- An artistic expression course or significant experience in one or more of the arts, as judged by the program;

- A history course;

- A language other than English (which may be American Sign Language) through the first level of
college study. This requirement can also be met through the passing of a Level 3 course of a language in high school.

Those who have an active New York State initial certificate in childhood 1-6 or early childhood B-2 are considered as having met many of the requirements listed above. We do continue to review the writing, mathematics, and natural sciences requirement.

Sample Curriculum:

As noted above, each student’s program varies according to interests, prior coursework, and professional experience. A program for a student without prior study or certification in Education or Early Childhood might look like the following:

A student with prior background may have courses waived.

First Summer Semester

EED 643 - The Parent/Caregiver-Professional Partnership 3 credit(s)
EED 654 - Teaching Mathematics, Science and Social Studies in Early Childhood Special Education 3 credit(s)
SPE 653 - Positive Approaches to Challenging Behaviors 3 credit(s)

First Fall Semester

ELL 625 - Methods of Teaching Literacy to English Language Learners 3 credit(s)
SPE 520 - Methods and Curricula in Early Childhood Special Education 3 credit(s) with a 10 hours per week required practicum assignment or alternative by advisement.
SPE 618 - Augmentation of Communication in the Inclusive Classroom 3 credit(s)
SPE 706 - Seminar in Early Childhood Special Education 3 credit(s)

Spring Semester

CFS 667 - Chld&Fam Crss/Cltrl Persp 3 credit(s)
SPE 623 - Families of Students with Disabilities 3 credit(s)
SPE 627 - Early Intervention for Children’s Reading Problems 3 credit(s)
SPE 705 - Practicum in Psychoeducational Evaluation and Planning for Exceptional Children 3-6 credit(s)
Safe and Healthy Learning Environments (0 credit) or equivalent, which includes the following topics: Identifying/reporting child abuse, violence prevention, child abduction prevention, highway/general safety, alcohol/drug/tobacco prevention, fire and arson prevention, and training related to the Dignity for All Students (DASA) Act. Students who have already met requirements for a New York State certificate may already have this completed. Those who earned their other certificate in another area before the DASA requirement was instituted will have to complete DASA training. These must be completed before student teaching.

Second Summer Semester

EDU 508 - Student Teaching 2-15 credit(s) ECSE (offered at the Jowonio School)
EED 640 - Participation in the Professional Development School 0-1 credit(s)
SPE 633 - The High-Risk Infant: Medical Treatment and Educational Interventions 3 credit(s)

Second Fall Semester

EDU 508 - Student Teaching 2-15 credit(s) Early Childhood Full-time, requiring 7 weeks in regular kindergarten; and 2 weeks of documented observation in Grade 1 or 2
SPE 613 - Developmental Therapy for Children with Disabilities 3 credit(s)
Students complete a portfolio of specified assignments as a culminating experience, including the edTPA and other evidence of professional competence.

Note:

Students admitted without any certification or prior training in education or special education typically require a total of 60 graduate credits to complete the program.
Students with appropriate backgrounds may be able to complete fewer graduate credits (no fewer than 36) and possibly one less semester