Department: Early Childhood & Childhood Education

The Department offers programs in Early Childhood Education and Childhood Education. The Early Childhood and Childhood M.S.Ed. programs serve students who (a) have qualified for initial certification in a related area of teacher education as undergraduates and are interested in dual certification with early childhood education or childhood education at the professional level (advanced degree), or (b) have 12 or fewer undergraduate credits in teacher education and are interested in initial and professional certification in early childhood education or childhood education, or (c) undergraduate Lehman College students accepted into the Minor to Masters Sequence in early childhood or childhood education.

Applicants for this degree include:

Curriculum: Sequence 1 (36-39 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education for students who already possess New York State certification

Curriculum: Sequence 2 (39-42 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education leading to Bilingual Extension for students who already possess New York State certification

Curriculum: Sequence 3 (42 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education leading to initial New York State Certification in Early Childhood or Childhood Education (grades 1-6)

Curriculum: Sequence 4 (42-48 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education leading to initial New York State Certification in Early Childhood or Childhood Education (grades 1-6) and Bilingual Extension

Curriculum: Sequence 5 (30 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education leading to initial New York State Certification in Early Childhood or Childhood Education (grades 1-6) for Minor to Masters Lehman College students.

Curriculum: Sequence 6 (30 credits): M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood or Childhood Education leading to initial New York State Certification in Early Childhood or Childhood Education (grades 1-6) and Bilingual Extension for Minor to Masters Lehman College students.

The work of the Department is guided by a conceptual framework referred to as LUTE (Lehman Urban Transformative Education), which expresses the Department's commitment to developing competent, caring, and qualified educators for the nation's urban schools. Lehman gives teachers a focus on philosophy, trends, curriculum, methods, materials, and research in the field. The bilingual extension option adds the possibility of initial certification with an emphasis on the bilingual/bicultural child.

Courses of study in Early Childhood Education and Childhood Education provide an educational model based on child development and child study principles, New York State Education Department standards and core curriculum, and Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standards as described by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).