Education with a Concentration in Early Childhood Education, M.A.

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The Early Childhood Education concentration of the Master of Arts in Education degree is designed to prepare teachers to work in schooland community-based programs that serve children from infancy through third grade (ages birth to age eight), and to take leadership roles in the field of early childhood education.

Required coursework focuses on advanced study of development in cognition, language, physical ability, morality, and social and emotional skills; work with diverse families and young children; and improvement of classroom curriculum and assessment from infancy through the primary grades. A basic course in child development and 45 hours of experience working with children in educational settings are prerequisites for admission to the program. Complete information about the program is available online at www.sonoma.edu/education/ecs/index.html

Program Coursework

The total number of units of the program varies from 30-36 semester units, depending on the culminating path selected by the student. The following is a list of the courses that Early Childhood Education master’s candidates take.

Education Core: 6 units in EDUC courses

EDUC 570 - The Reflective Educator Unit(s): 3
EDUC 571 - Research Paradigms in Education Unit(s): 3

Required ECE Core Courses in Concentration: 12 units

EDEC 531 - The Role of Play in Development and Learning Unit(s): 3
EDEC 532 - Social-Moral Development in ECE Unit(s): 3
EDEC 535 - Lead Adv for Children and Families Unit(s): 3
EDEC 538 - Cognitive and Language Development in Early and Middle Childhood Unit(s): 3

Electives: 6 units

At least two courses in the areas of special education, curriculum teaching and learning, reading and language, and/or special topics ECE-M.A. courses as offered will be chosen in consultation with the ECE advisor and the graduate advisors of the above mentioned areas. Some examples of course options are:

Special Education

EDSP 422 - Collaborative Partnerships in Special Education Unit(s): 4
EDSP 423 - Assessment of Students with Disabilities Unit(s): 3
EDSP 432 - Young Children with Special Needs Unit(s): 4

Curriculum Teaching and Learning

EDCT 585 - Curriculum Development: Theory, Practice, and Evaluation Unit(s): 3
EDCT 586 - Teaching and Learning: Research and Application-Classroom Unit(s): 3

Reading and Language

EDRL 507 - Research in Language and Literacy Unit(s): 3
EDRL 521A - Language Development in First and Second Languages Unit(s): 3
EDRL 524 - Literature and Literacy Unit(s): 3