Early Childhood Education, PreK-5

Faculty

Dr. Barbara Benson, Department Chair

Ms. Susan Smith-Patrick, Demorest Campus Coordinator

The Early Childhood Education (E.C.E.) Department offers the following three graduate programs in E.C.E.:

• The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program is designed to meet the needs of candidates who hold an undergraduate degree in a field other than education and are seeking initial certification. It consists of a minimum of 58 semester hours. 52 of the 58 required hours must be taken at Piedmont College. Candidates who complete the M.A.T. in E.C.E. are recommended for a Georgia Induction Certificate.
• The Master of Arts (M. A.) program is designed for candidates who hold an undergraduate degree and who are currently certified in E.C.E. and are seeking advanced certification. It consists of a minimum of 30 semester hours. 24 of the 30 hours must be taken at Piedmont College.
• The Adding a New Field (A.N.F.) program is designed for candidates who hold teaching certificates in a field other than E.C.E. and are seeking to add E.C.E. as a new field. Candidates electing this option must complete a minimum of 33 hours.
• A program option that does not lead to a degree is the Certification Only (Cert. Only) program. It is designed for candidates who hold a master’s degree from an accredited institution in a field other than Early Childhood Education and are seeking certification in E.C.E. A minimum of 15 hours of coursework, exclusive of Internship II must be completed at Piedmont College. For this program, a candidate may take courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level to meet certification requirements, but it is strongly recommended that graduate level courses be taken.

The last 12 academic hours in a candidate’s program (exclusive of Internship II, when applicable) must be taken at Piedmont College. Candidates have to meet prerequisites in academic areas. Candidates may take up to six years to complete the program. No course older than six calendar years may be applied toward the required program of study.

The candidate’s program is designed based on transcript analysis and the E.C.E. program of study pursued. The required courses and the electives create an effective program that accomplishes the goals of the candidate and the requirements of Piedmont College and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Through a combination of course work, use of technology, field experiences, research and integrated learning, candidates link theory to practice. Successful candidates will be recommended for certification to teach in grades PreK-5.

Note: Piedmont College reserves the rights to abrogate, add to, delete, or alter any regulation, requirement, or course whenever such change may be deemed necessary. Every effort will be made to keep candidates advised of any changes.

Course Descriptions