Department of Early Childhood Education

Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.)

The Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Early Childhood Education is a post-masters program that is in clear alignment with the mission and vision of the University and the College of Education and is responsive to the needs of early childhood professionals. This 30-credit post-master's certificate program is designed to address the need for increasing professionalism and leadership for those who work in variety of settings with young children from birth through age 8 and their families. The C.A.S. will prepare graduate students to assume greater roles as advocates and policy specialists, administrators, family specialists, master teachers, researchers and teacher educators, and may lead to later doctoral study. Guiding principles for the C.A.S., as for the M.Ed., include an interdisciplinary perspective, collaboration, mentoring, and advocacy, with a foundation of the most current knowledge base in Early Childhood and best practice for all young children and families, consistent with national professional standards and positions.

The C.A.S. in Early Childhood Education is a 30-credit program aligned with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards for Advanced

Professional Preparation in Early Childhood Education and structured to reflect advanced areas of specialization for professionals in the field. Individualized as well as interdisciplinary, the program is based on an 18-credit Core and a 12-credit Area of Focus to be selected by the candidate. The Core includes six credits of internship aligned with the Area of Focus

Admission Requirements

• A master's degree in Early Childhood Education or related field from a nationally       accredited institution
• An overall GPA of 3.75 or above for graduate work

Send the following admission materials to the Graduate School Office

Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252:

•  Completed Graduate Application

•  Official transcripts for undergraduate and graduate course work
•  A letter of application describing professional goals for advanced graduate study and proposed
  Area of Focus
•  Current resume or curriculum vita
•  Three letters of recommendation that describe the candidate's professional experience and academic work

Certificate Requirements

Required Courses (18 credits)

ECED 694      Internship (6)
ECED 760      Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood Education (3)
ECED 750      Program Development and Evaluation (3)
ECED 7XX      Leadership and Advocacy in Early Childhood Education (3)
ECED 7XX      Social Justice and Ethical Issues (3)

NOTE: Candidates for the Administrator I Certificate will take 3 credits of ECED 694 Internship in Early Childhood Education and 3 credits of ELED 797 Internship in Educational Leadership.

NOTE: New ECED course numbers have not been published at this time.

Electives (12 credits)

Candidates will determine an Area of Focus as they begin the program and, with approval of the program director or advisor, will select four elective courses to support that Area.

Areas of Focus and Recommended Electives for C.A.S. Candidates:

1. Early Childhood Advocate/Policy Specialist (will prepare candidates to act as advocates for children, families and the profession, specializing in a particular issue or area of need or developing more generalized advocacy and public policy skills). Candidates will work with program director or advisor to identify specific professional goals and select electives to support those goals. Suggested elective choices may include:

HRD elective or related field: Organizational and environmental change
POSC elective or related field: Government and legislative processes
WMST, SOCI, ECON elective or other issue-specific elective
ILPD 603 School Law
ECED 694 Internship (an additional 3 credits for full-time public policy work on Capitol Hill, in
Annapolis, or with professional organization advocacy groups.)

2. Early Childhood Teacher Educator/ Researcher (will prepare candidates for doctoral study at Towson or elsewhere, for teaching in institutions of higher education or for research). Candidates will work with program director or advisor to identify specific professional goals and select electives to support those goals. Suggested elective categories may include:

Research methods (EDUC 715 Statistics, new EDUC courses in Qualitative Methods, Advanced Qualitative or Statistical Methods.)

ISTC elective Course in Instructional Technology
ECED elective Course to support specialization for teacher educators
ECED 695 Independent Study: Research and Writing for Publication

NOTE: New EDUC course numbers have not been published at this time.

3. Early Childhood Family Specialist (will prepare candidates for further work with families of young children and will also meet requirements for a Family Studies Certificate). Candidates will work with the program director or advisor as well as the program director for Family Studies to determine electives in this Area of Focus:

FMST 601 Applied Family Relationships
FMST 610 Family Professional Collaboration
FMST 620 Project in Family Focused Program Development
ECED or FMST elective or related field

4. Early Childhood Accomplished Teacher (will support candidates in preparation for NBPTS certification.) Candidates will choose four electives as needed to supplement prior coursework in order to align with NBPTS. ECED 694 Internship may focus on Mentorship or portfolio building. Candidate who did not receive the M.Ed. Towson may include one or more of the required courses for the M.Ed. Possible elective choices:

ECED 604 Math/Science in the Early Childhood Education Program:
ECED 608 Teaching and Learning Social Studies in Early Childhood Education
ECED 612 Conflict Resolution and Management in Programs for Young Children
ECED 623 The Art of Reading and Writing in Primary Grades & Kindergarten or
ECED 680 Celebrating Young Children: Curriculum and Best Practices in Early Childhood
Education
REEDxxx Elective in Reading
ISTCxxx Elective Instructional Technology

5. Early Childhood Administrator: Public School Emphasis (building on M.Ed. coursework, will prepare candidates in public school settings to meet requirement for the Administrator I Certificate). There are six required courses for Administrator I Certificate. In addition to ECED 665 Curriculum Theory and Development (required in the M.Ed.) and ELED 797 Internship in Educational Leadership, electives in this Area of Focus will be:

ELED 781 Seminar in Supervision
ELED 716 Administration of the Schools
ILPD 603 School Law
Choice of EDUC 646 Human Relations & the Professional or HRD 644 Team Building

• Application Information

Program Director: Edyth J. Wheeler
410-704-2460
ejwheeler@towson.edu