Early Childhood Education

Degree Requirements

Instructional Courses

Classroom instruction occurs through 14 instructional courses offered during four terms. Three or four courses will be completed each term, but only one course will be taken at a time. Students receive a week off at the end of each term, or approximately every three months. The courses are scheduled in a way that allows adults to fit the program into their busy schedules. Groups of 15-20 students progress through the program together as a cohort at the same location. The program is offered at the JBU Rogers Center and the JBU Fort Smith Center. All students will attend occasional seminars and/or labs on JBU's main campus in Siloam Springs.

In addition to weekly class and occasional labs, 10 Saturday labs are required during the program. Students will also be expected to complete field assignments each term, including regularly scheduled, focused observations, as well as participation and practice teaching in an educational setting. A schedule of field experiences required for each course will be provided prior to each term. A schedule of classes showing the exact date of each class meeting is available from your recruiter. Following the four terms of instruction in the education major, students will have a fifth term, during which they will complete an internship (12 weeks of full time teacher days) and internship seminar (one-hour weekly after school hours during the internship.)

Early Childhood Education Courses

Term I
EDC 3113 Human Growth and Development (3 hours)
EDC 3123 Educational Psychology (3 hours)
EDC 3134 Educational Foundations and Technology (4 hours)
EDC 4334 Math Structures: Early Childhood Education (4 hours)

Term II
BBL 3923 Biblical Ethics for Teachers (3 Hours)
EDC 3243 Assessment for Early Childhood Education (3 hours)
EDC 3222 Fine Arts for Early Childhood Education (2 hours)
EDC 3214 Instructional Methods: Grade 1 - 4 (4 hours)

Term III
EDC 4413 Curriculum and Instruction: Arithmetic for Early Childhood Education (3 hours)
EDC 4423 Curriculum and Instruction: Reading for Early Childhood Education (3 hours)
EDC 4433 Curriculum and Instruction:Science for Early Childhood Education (3 hours)

Term IV
EDC 4314 Curriculum and Instruction: Language Arts for Early Childhood Education (4 hours)
EDC 3234 Curriculum and Instruction for Early Childhood Education (4 hours)
EDC 3144 Exceptional Student for Early Childhood Education (4 hours)

Internship

Students in the education degree completion program must complete an internship as the culmination of their studies. Internships are completed after the final term of study and require the student to practice teaching in an actual classroom setting in an Arkansas school using the professional knowledge base learned throughout the program. In order to participate in an internship through JBU's education degree completion program, students must complete:

  1. All field experience and assignments.
  2. All courses in the education major.
  3. General education requirements in the areas of natural science, math, and social/behavioral sciences.
  4. Have no more than six hours remaining to complete in the program outside of the education major and the natural science, math, and social/behavioral sciences areas.
  5. Provide evidence of current First Aid/CPR certification for young children.