Graduate Programs
Certificate Programs
Certificate Of Advanced Study Early Childhood Education(C.A.S.)
Program Description | |Admission
Requirements | | Certificate
Requirements | | Course Descriptions
NOTE: The information on this page represents
the current information available from the 2006-2007 Graduate Catalog.
Any changes in requirements made after the publication of this catalog
may not appear.
Program Description
The Certificate of Advanced Study
(C.A.S.) in Early Childhood Education is a post-masters program
that is in clear alignment with the mission and vision of the
University and the College of Education and is responsive to the
needs of early childhood professionals. This 30-unit post-master
certificate program is designed to address the need for increasing
professionalism and leadership for those who work in variety of
set tings with young children from birth through age 8 and their
families. The C.A.S. will pre pare graduate students to assume
greater roles as advocates and policy specialists, administrators,
family specialists, master teachers, researchers and teacher educators,
and may lead to later doctoral study. Guiding principles for the
C.A.S., as for the M.Ed., include an interdisciplinary perspective,
collaboration, mentoring, professional dispositions and advocacy,
with a foundation of the most current knowledge base in Early Childhood and best practice for all young children and families, consistent
with national professional standards and positions.
The C.A.S. in Early Childhood Education is a 30-unit program aligned
with the National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) Standards for Advanced Professional Preparation in Early
Childhood Education and structured to reflect advanced areas of
specialization for professionals in the field. Individualized as
well as interdisciplinary, the program is based on an 18-unit
Core and a 12-unit Area of Focus to be selected by the candidate.
The Core includes six units of internship aligned with the Area
of Focus.
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Admission
Requirements
- A master degree in Early Childhood Education or related
field from a nationally accredited institution
- An overall GPA of 3.75 or above for graduate work
Send the following admission materials to the Graduate School
Office, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252:
- Completed Graduate Application
- Official transcripts for undergraduate and graduate course
work
- A letter of application describing professional goals for advanced
graduate study and proposed Area of Focus
- Current resume or curriculum vita
- Three letters of recommendation that describe the candidate's
professional experience and academic work
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Certificate Requirements
Required Courses (18 credits)
ECED 694 Internship (6)
ECED 7XX Critical Perspectives in Early
Childhood Development (3)
ECED 750 Program Development
and Evaluation (3)
ECED 7XX Leadership and Advocacy
in Early Childhood Education (3)
ECED 7XX Social Justice and Ethics:
An Educational Perspective (3)
NOTE: Candidates for the Administrator I Certificate will take
3 units of ECED 694
Internship in Early Childhood Education and 3 units of ELED 797
Internship in Educational Leadership.
NOTE: New ECED course numbers have not been published at this
time.
Electives (12 credits)
Candidates will determine an Area of Focus as they begin the program
and, with approval of the program director or advisor, will select
four elective courses to support that Area.
Areas of Focus and Recommended Electives for C.A.S. Candidates:
1. Early Childhood Advocate/Policy Specialist (will prepare candidates
to act as advocates for children, families and the profession, specializing
in a particular issue or area of need or developing more generalized
advocacy and public policy skills). Candidates will work with program
director or advisor to identify specific professional goals and
select electives to support those goals. Suggested elective choices
may include:
ECED 694 Internship (an additional 3 units
for full-time public policy work on Capitol Hill, in Annapolis,
or with professional organization advocacy groups.)
HRD elective or related field: Organizational
and environmental change
ILPD 603 School Law
POSC elective or related field: Government and
legislative processes
WMST, SOCI, ECON elective or other issue-specific
elective
2. Early Childhood Teacher Educator/ Researcher (will prepare candidates
for doctoral study at Towson or elsewhere, for teaching in institutions
of higher education or for research). Candidates will work with
program director or advisor to identify specific professional
goals and select electives to support those goals. Suggested elective
categories may include:
Research methods (EDUC 715 Statistics, new EDUC
courses in Qualitative Methods, Advanced Qualitative or Statistical
Methods.)
ISTC elective course in Instructional Technology
ECED elective course to support specialization
for teacher educators
ECED 695 Independent Study: Research and Writing
for Publication
NOTE: New EDUC course numbers have not been published
at this time.
3. Early Childhood Family Specialist (will prepare candidates for
further work with families of young children and will also meet
requirements for a Family-Professional Collaboration Certificate).
Candidates will work with the program director or advisor as well
as the program director for Family Studies to determine electives
in this Area of Focus:
FMST 601 Applied Family Relationships
FMST 610 Family Professional Collaboration
FMST 620 Project in Family Focused Program Development
ECED or FMST elective or related
field
4. Early Childhood Accomplished Teacher (will support candidates
in preparation for NBPTS certification.) Candidates will choose
four electives as needed to supplement prior coursework in order
to align with NBPTS. ECED 694 Internship may focus
on Mentorship or portfolio building. Candidate who did not receive
the M.Ed. Towson may include one or more of the required courses
for the M.Ed. Possible elective choices:
ECED 604 Math/Science in the Early Childhood
Education Program:
ECED 608 Teaching and Learning Social Studies
in Early Childhood Education
ECED 612 Conflict Resolution and Management in
Programs for Young Children
ECED 623 The Art of Reading and Writing in Primary
Grades & Kindergarten or
ECED 680 Celebrating Young Children: Curriculum
and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education
REEDxxx Elective in Reading ISTCxxx Elective
Instructional Technology
5. Early Childhood Administrator: Public School Emphasis (building
on M.Ed. coursework, will prepare candidates in public school settings
to meet requirement for the Administrator I Certificate). There
are six required courses for Administrator I Certificate. In addition
to ECED 665 Curriculum Theory and Development (required
in the M.Ed.) and ELED 797 Internship in Educational
Leadership, electives in this Area of Focus will be:
ILPD 603 School Law
ILPD 668 Leadership & Group Dynamics
ILPD 781 Seminar in Supervision
ILPD 716 Administration of the Schools
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Course Descriptions
For course descriptions, see the online
catalog. (Be sure to click on "Graduate Catalog".)
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For information on all matters related to admissions, fees, or
registration, please contact the Graduate School at 410-704-2501.
Towson University is in compliance with federal and state laws and
regulations that prohibit illegal discrimination.
The university does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
D&P 0899.27
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