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If you have thought about teaching young children with special
needs or even directing educational child care programs, then the
early
childhood education and exceptional needs major could be for you.
ECEEN students develop skills for working with typically developing
children as well as children with exceptional needs and their families.
Students are prepared to teach in inclusive preschool classrooms
and/or in classrooms serving children with exceptional needs up
through grade 3. With an ECEEN degree, you can help children reach
their full potential.
Students complete a program
that prepares them to apply for licensure in Indiana as Early Childhood
Generalist and Exceptional Needs through grade three. Students
are prepared to work in pre-kindergarten classrooms, early intervention
programs, and early childhood special education programs through
grade three. The Purdue Child Development Laboratory and Purdue
Child Care Program provide the perfect setting for these students
to get lots of hands-on experience. Students complete a semester
as a student teacher in a local preschool program.
Career Options
Coursework
Experiential Learning
Plan of Study
Career Options
Upon graduation, an ECEEN student is qualified for teacher certification
as an early childhood generalist (preschool level) and a teacher
of students with exceptional needs (preschool to grade 3). Work
settings include early intervention programs, school classrooms,
community education programs, home-based programs, healthcare institutions,
and government organizations. Positions include:
- Public school pre-kindergarten or special education teacher
- Child care teacher or administrator
- Head Start teacher or administrator
- Preschool teacher
- Family support specialist
- Special needs service coordinator
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Coursework
ECEEN majors take the following types of CDFS specialization courses.
(Not a complete list of all required or available courses.)
- Introduction to Family Processes (CDFS 201)
- Introduction to Human Development (CDFS 210)
- Child Development Practicum (CDFS 212B)
- Families in a Multicultural Society (CDFS 301)
- Guidance in Early Childhood (CDFS 310)
- Child Development (CDFS 311)
- Introduction to Research in Child Development and Family Studies
(CDFS 316)
- Developmental Assessment (CDFS 318)
- Health and Health Care for Children and Families (CDFS 325)
- Curriculum Applications of Language, Literacy and Social Development
in Early Childhood Education (CDFS 405)
- Curriculum Applications of Math/Science Concept Development
in Early Childhood Education (CDFS 406)
- Curriculum Applications of Atypical Development (CDFS 408)
- Approaches to Early Childhood Education (CDFS 415)
- Working With Families in Early Childhood Programs (CDFS 444)
Complete
list of CDFS courses and descriptions
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Experiential Learning
Several ECEEN courses include practicum components that give students
opportunities to develop their skills for working with infants and
young children. In their senior year, ECEEN students complete a
semester of full-time student teaching that includes normally developing
children and children with exceptional needs.
The Child Development Laboratory School and the Purdue Child Care
Program are state-of-the-art facilities within the department that
are used extensively by undergraduate students for observation,
practicum, and student teaching experiences.
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