Graduate Catalog 2023-2024
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Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education, Rank I (156)

Department website: http://www.wku.edu/ste/


Program Coordinator

Janet L. Tassell, janet.tassell@wku.edu, (270) 745-5306

Program Contact
Rachael Lee, rachael.lee@wku.edu, (270) 745-2819

This non-degree program is designed to prepare educators to work with children both with and without special needs, age’s birth through kindergarten and their families. Graduates are eligible to apply for certification in interdisciplinary early childhood education (IECE), birth to primary (B to P). This certification qualifies individuals to work with children from birth to entry into the primary program. This includes teaching children in kindergarten or other programs for five-year-olds if those programs are operated separately from the primary program. Graduates are prepared for positions in public schools, First Steps, Head Start programs, child care centers, and other public and private agencies serving young children and families.

Concentration(s)

  • Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (KIE)

Program Admission

In addition to meeting Graduate School and College of Education and Behavioral Sciences admissions requirements, applicants must complete the IECE application process through the School of Teacher Education. This application process includes documentation of early childhood related professional experiences and training, a professional written goals statement, and three letters of reference.  Applicants must be officially admitted to the IECE program before beginning the program sequence. Students must also have had SPED 330 or SPED 516 or equivalent prior to entering the Rank I program or complete one of them as a program deficiency.

Graduate School Admission

Please refer to the admission section of this catalog for Graduate School admission requirements.

Program Requirements (33 hours)

The performance-based program of study requires 33 hours of course work and 240 clock hours of field experiences. Approximately one-half of the field experience hours are completed as a part of ongoing course work. The culminating experience of the program is a summer internship.

Prerequisites
SPED 330Introduction to Exceptional Education: Diversity in Learning3
SPED 516The Exceptional Child: Perspectives and Issues3
Total Hours6
Professional Education
SLP 517Normal Language Development3
CD 486GLanguage Disorders3
IECE 521Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education3
IECE 522Family-Focused Services3
IECE 524Internship in Early Childhood Special Education3
IECE 523Planning Curriculum and Instruction in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education3
SPED 523Curriculum/Methods in Early Childhood Special Education3
Content Area Courses
IECE 520Organizing Programs for Early Childhood Special Education3
FACS 577Child Development Theory and Research3
SWRK 436GServices to Children3
PSY 645Consultation in Educational and Mental Health Settings: Theory and Practice3
Total Hours33