Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE)
Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (Birth to Primary)
The interdisciplinary early childhood education program prepares graduates to provide early intervention, care and educational services for infants, toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten children with and without disabilities and their families. The program includes courses in special education, family studies, and professional education. Home-based programs, center-based programs, hospitals and public schools provide professional experiences for program participants.
An associate program in child development prepares students to work in child care agencies. The program includes courses in special education, family studies, and professional education. Home-based programs and center-based programs provide professional experiences for program participants. The curriculum is designed so that students may elect to continue studies in the interdisciplinary early childhood education program.
The Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program offers a certificate to students to teach children across a range of abilities The performance standards used in the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) Program are the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education New Teacher standards. The Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program prepares graduates to provide early intervention, care and educational services for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten children with and without disabilities and their families.
Undergraduate students in the interdisciplinary early childhood teacher education program complete programs of study in three general areas. First, they complete the Murray State University's required University Studies Program. Second, students are required to complete the professional education courses sequences. Finally, they must complete content area requirements in the IECE emphasis. In addition, IECE students must earn a passing score on the Kentucky IECE State Specialty Exam and successfully complete their KTIP internship year for initial certification.
Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (Birth to Primary)
This program leads to eligibility for certification in interdisciplinary early childhood education, birth to primary. Appropriate undergraduate majors for program entry are child development, early childhood education, special education, communication disorders, or other human service fields. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required for completion of this program. Exit assessments: Portfolio and PRAXIS scores. You may contact the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education Coordinator through the link on the top right of this page.
The standards and expectations of many academic organizations guide the program. Kentucky's New Teacher Standards (NTS) provide the framework for our general professional expectations. The Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education Standards (IECE) provide additional guidelines. Both Kentucky's New Teacher Standards and the IECE Teacher Standards include high expectations for knowledge of content as well as working with families. The professional organizations within each content area are the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Division of Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children (DEC/CEC) and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). These professional organizations provide detailed guidelines about what students are expected to know, understand, and to be able to do at the early childhood level and are used to guide the content expectations within the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Teacher Education Program.
The interdisciplinary program includes course work, practicum experiences, and expertise from faculty with diverse backgrounds and areas of specialization. Courses include lecture, peer collaboration exercises, research, simulations, demonstrations, reflection, and discussion. All students, during their course of study, complete an eligibility portfolio documenting evidence of meeting Kentucky's Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education Teacher Standards.
The program requires 33 credit hours and leads to eligibility for a certification in interdisciplinary early childhood education, birth to primary. Students for whom this is their initial certification must meet all university requirements for admission to Teacher Education.
Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education is described through advising sheets.