Early Childhood Education

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 child care and education for young children.

Dean offers both a bachelor’s degree and an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. Designed to prepare you for certification through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) as Lead Teacher, Infant-Toddler Teacher, the Early Childhood Education program offers training in child development, adaptive curriculum planning, developmentally appropriate teaching methodologies, evaluation of children and programs, and establishing partnerships with families.

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. Students develop a performance portfolio documenting their competencies and attend scheduled seminars.

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, where you'll:

• Develop your teaching and childcare skills while working alongside the Children's Center professional instructors.
• Plan and teach lessons.
• Meet with parents to discuss their children's development.

Graduates of our Early Childhood Education program can enjoy careers as preschool teachers, child care assistant directors, educational administrators, early childhood education curriculum coordinators and more.

Uniquely Dean

What makes our Early Childhood Education program best of the breed? 

• 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.