About the Early Childhood Education Program
Learn more about what it’s like to major in Early Childhood Education at Dean College.
Learn about the developmental needs while exploring your academic interests with a major in Early Childhood Education at Dean College.
Program Overview
The Early Childhood Education program at Dean is designed to provide you with a solid foundation of skills and knowledge in the fundamentals of childcare and education for young children.
Dean College offers an associate degree and bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, which prepares students for certification through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) as Preschool Teacher, Lead Teacher and Infant-Toddler Teacher.
You’ll study the developmental stages of young children, developmentally appropriate teaching methodologies, adaptive curriculum planning, partnering with families and evaluation of children and programs, and more as you prepare for career opportunities with young children from infancy through age six in the mixed-delivery system outside the public schools.
You will gain valuable hands-on experience in our on-campus lab school, which reflects current research in child development and early childhood education. The student teaching experience requires a minimum of 200 hours working directly with children in an approved placement. You will work with an assigned college supervisor and an EEC licensed, site-based cooperating practitioner, increasingly taking responsibility for managing the classroom, designing learning experiences, and communicating with families and administrators. You’ll also develop a performance portfolio documenting your competencies and attend scheduled seminars.
Q&A With The Program Coordinator
Get your questions answered by Joanne Hogan, Program Coordinator for Early Childhood Education.
School of Liberal Arts Faculty
Gain valuable insights from our School of Liberal Arts faculty, who are here to help you every step of the way.
Requirements for Certification
The Early Childhood program is designed specifically for EEC certification in Massachusetts and certification may not be required for this purpose in other states. The institution has not determined whether this program meets other states’ requirements for certification or professional licensure. Please go to https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/licensing or http://ceelo.org/state-map/ for more information on requirements in your state. Dean College’s Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Education is available to work individually with out of state students who are considering certification to review the information from their state. For further information, please contact Joanne Hogan, Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Education at 508-541-1525 or jhogan3@dean.edu. Students should verify whether this program will meet their home state’s or their intended state’s practice requirements for licensure and/or certification.
Information regarding the Massachusetts certification process and Dean College’s Early Childhood Program can be found below.
Early Childhood Education Courses
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDU 111 | Introduction to Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| EDU 114 | Infants and Toddlers: Care and Curriculum | 3 |
| EDU 130 | Classroom Behavior Management | 3 |
| EDU 231 | Curriculum for Young Children | 3 |
| EDU 240 | Social and Emotional Learning | 3 |
| EDU 261 | The Diverse Learner | 3 |
| EDU 270 | Collaboration for the Child: Engaging Family and Community Connections | 3 |
| EDU 280/281 | Field Observation and Participation | 3 |
| EDU 282/283 | Seminar in Early Childhood Education Practicum and Lab for Practicum in Early Childhood Education | 6 |
| EDU 285 | Observation and Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 211 | Child Development | 3 |
| EDU 323 | Language Development and Early Literacy: Birth-K | 3 |
| EDU 327 | STEM Learning in Early Childhood | 3 |
| EDU 475 | Student Teaching | 12 |
| EDU 495 | Senior Capstone | 3 |
| DCA 100 | Campus Connections: Making the Transition | 1 |
| DCA 110 | Career Connections: Developing Your Brand | 1 |
| DCA 350 | Future Connections: Launching Your Career | 3 |
Total Credits
62
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 111 | Composition l | 3 |
| ENG 112 | Composition ll | 3 |
| SPC 101 | Communication Fundamentals | 3 |
| MATH ELECTIVE | Core Mathematics Elective | 3 |
| LAB SCIENCE ELECTIVE | Core Lab Science Elective | 4 |
| ARTS ELECTIVE | Core Distribution Arts Elective | 3 |
| NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATH ELECTIVE | Core Distribution Natural Sciences and Mathematics Elective | 3 |
| HUMANITIES ELECTIVE | Core Distribution Humanities Elective | 3 |
| PSY 111 | General Psychology | 3 |
| COM 327 | Applied Professional Communication | 3 |
| UDLA ELE | Upper-Division Liberal Arts Electives | 9 |
Total Credits
40
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ELE | Electives | 18 |
Total Credits
18
Beyond the Classroom
Practice your skills and put your knowledge to use in the world. At Dean, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get hands-on childcare experience.
You'll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a 14-hour-per-week practicum at the Dean College Children’s Center, an accredited laboratory school right on campus. Through the practicum, you'll:
- Develop your teaching and childcare skills while working alongside the Children's Center professional instructors.
- Plan and teach lessons.
- Learn about behavior management, schedules and routines, problem-solving with children, observation and assessment, how to develop a curriculum based on children’s interests and what’s developmentally appropriate, and more.
- Meet with parents to discuss their children's development.
- Build relationships with families by participating in events such as parent orientation, parent nights and social programs.
- Receive guidance, feedback and support from faculty members and professional instructors.
Graduates of our Early Childhood Education program can enjoy careers as preschool teachers, childcare assistant directors, educational administrators, early childhood education curriculum coordinators, child life specialists and more.
Get Involved
Learn more about how to get involved with our student-run organizations and experiential learning opportunities.-
Internships & Experiential Learning Gain hands-on experience through practicums, internships and early childhood education programming. -
Community Service Give back to the community on campus and in Franklin.
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Student Clubs & Activities Join one of our 40+ student organizations or start one of your own.
Uniquely Dean
Discover the unique programming that the Early Childhood Education program has to offer.
- Gain hands-on experience through the completion of an on-campus practicum at the Dean College Children's Center.
- Hear from guest speakers who visit Dean to share stories of their professional journeys, offer advice and counsel, and provide valuable networking contacts.
- Learn firsthand from experienced faculty and professional teachers at the Children’s Center.
- Participate in early childhood programming at the Franklin Public Library, just steps from campus.
- Interested in teaching dance or incorporating creative movement as an educator? Learn about creative movement for children with our Dance program.
- Dean College was ranked #5 in Best Undergraduate Teaching in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Regional Colleges, North category.
Participating in the student-teacher practicum at the Dean College Children’s Center has been one of the best hands-on experiences that I've had. I learned how to interact with children and what teaching techniques work best. This program has allowed me to feel supported, challenged and excited for my future as an ECE educator.
The Early Childhood Education program at Dean gives me the opportunity to create my own lesson plans for students in The Children's Center. I can see how the topics we have talked about in class actually work, and also test if the children would enjoy the plans I create.