James Madison University

Early Childhood SPED

Post Baccalaureate M.A.T.

Birth - 5-Years (Early Childhood Special Education) Post Baccalaureate M.A.T.

This program is designed to prepare students to work with young children, birth to age five, with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. The program emphasizes family involvement, inclusive opportunities, and collaboration. Students are prepared to work in school, community, hospital, and home settings providing Early Intervention and/or pre-k special education services. Students accepted into the post baccalaureate degree M.A.T. in ECSE graduate with course work leading to initial licensure in Early Childhood Special Education. Course work includes

♦ foundations of early childhood education,

♦ language acquisition and development,

♦ literacy and reading,

♦ assessment,

♦ programming, curriculum and methods,

♦ classroom and behavior management, and

♦ collaborative and family centered service delivery.

Field experiences provide students with opportunities to learn and practice skills in working with young children and their families in diverse settings using varied delivery models.

Students accepted into the post baccalaureate M.A.T. have an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and meet all admissions requirements for the Graduate School. Completion of the post-bachelor degree M.A.T. program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours and prepares students for initial licensure. In addition to the required graduate coursework, students may be required to complete prerequisite coursework and co-requisite depending upon their prior academic preparation in order to meet Virginia licensure requirements.

For more information regarding the application process please visit The Graduate School’s website.

Additional courses beyond those listed below may be required for licensure. Students who are accepted into the program should meet with their adviser prior to beginning coursework to identify any additional courses that may be required.

SEMESTER	CRN #/COURSE DESCRIPTION
Summer	EXED 625 Med. And Tech. Aspects of ECSE (3) EXED 503 Ed. Tech for Students with Disabilities (1) EXED 502 Char. of Mild Disabilities (3)
Fall	EXED 622 Assessment in ECSE (3) EXED 623 Programming in ECSE (3) EXED 626 or 627 Practicum: Infants or Pre-K (3) NOTE: Pre/co-requisite EXED 623
Spring	EXED 505 Service Delivery Systems in ECSE (3) EXED 650 Student Teaching (6) EXED 621 Trends and Issues in ECSE (3)
Summer	EXED 510 Systematic Beh. Intervention (3) EXED 626 or 627 Practicum: Infants & Toddlers or Pre (3) NOTE: Pre/co-requisite EXED 623