Curriculum in Early Childhood Education

The curriculum in early childhood education is planned for students preparing to teach young children and work with their families. This program leads to careers in working with young children who are typically developing and those with special needs from birth through age eight. Graduates in this curriculum may teach in early childhood (preschool and primary) classrooms and home based programs, with emphasis on inclusive services; graduates may be employed by either public or private agencies or schools. This curriculum has been approved by the Iowa Department of Education and meets the requirements for the early childhood education unified teacher license, which permits individuals to teach general and special education for children from birth through age eight. The program is administered jointly by the Departments of Human Development and Family Studies and Curriculum and Instruction.

Students in early childhood education must make application to and be accepted into the teacher education program prior to enrolling in advanced courses. All early childhood students, including those seeking a double major, must meet general education requirements for teacher licensure. Iowa State University is in compliance with the Iowa Department of Educations mandate for a performance based system of teacher training. Following this same type of system, the state of Iowa has developed and implemented a competency system to evaluate the performance of all teachers. A detailed list of the eleven Teacher Education Standards along with other information about the University Teacher Education Program, can be found at www.teacher.hs.iastate.edu/, the teacher education website.

Foreign Language Requirement

Early childhood education majors must satisfy a graduation requirement equivalent to the first year of university-level study in one foreign language (normally, completion of a two-semester sequence in any one foreign language). The requirement may be met by completion of three or more years of high school study in one foreign language.

Students who have completed three or more years of French, German, or Spanish in high school may not receive graded credit for 101-102 in those languages; test-out credit (T credit) may be obtained by passing an appropriate examination or by completing an advanced sequence (200-level or higher) in that language. If these students choose to take 101-102 on a remedial basis, they will be graded S-F.