Program Overview

Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education Program

The elementary education and early childhood education major prepares students to teach children from preschool through grade 6. Students participate in practicum experiences and student teaching in both elementary schools and child development centers, including the Ruth Staples Child Development Lab on East Campus. Upon completion of the program, students are recommended for certifications in both elementary education and early childhood.

College and Hours Required

• College: College of Education and Human Sciences
• Hours Required: 131 credit hours

Program Features

Leadership Development

Become an educational leader prepared to work with diverse learners, schools, and communities.

Professional Mentoring

Receive professional mentoring from content area experts who will help transform passion into teaching expertise.

Global Experiences

Observe and analyze STEM instructional practices in Finnish and Estonian classrooms or take an in-depth look at the educational system in Costa Rica during faculty-led global experiences.

Notable Courses

• Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School (TEAC 308): Covers the scope, content, and organization of the mathematics curriculum, development, use, and sources of instructional materials, and teaching procedures.
• Multicultural Education (TEAC 330): Introduction to historical, sociological, and philosophical foundations of multicultural education, exploring and modeling attitudes toward diversity, cultural knowledge, curricular resources, and multicultural instructional practices for diverse PK-12 populations.
• Educational Program for Kindergarten Children (TEAC 410): Study recent developments in childrens education and their bearing on the selection and guidance of appropriate activities and materials for kindergarten.
• Human Development and the Family (CYAF 160): Explore a developmental life cycle approach, studying individuals from conception to death from the perspective of how individual development is fostered within the family system.
• Curriculum Planning in Early Childhood Education + Lab (CYAF 374L): Learn best practices in early childhood education and the role in facilitating learning, planning, implementing, and evaluating developmentally appropriate activities in an early childhood setting.
• Reading and Writing Disabilities: Elementary Students + Practicum (SPED 415 and 415A): Learn to assess and teach early literacy skills in small groups and 1-to-1, applying classroom learning by tutoring children at the Schmoker Reading Center.

Career Opportunities

Internships

• Intern, Ruth Staples Child Development Lab
• Counselor, Camp Kesem
• Teacher, Christ Academy Preschool and Childcare
• Intern, America Reads

Careers

• Youth development behavior specialist, Lincoln YMCA
• Camp program facilitator, Lincoln Childrens Museum
• First grade teacher, Lincoln Public Schools

Graduate Schools

• M.Ed. Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education, University of NebraskaLincoln
• M.A. Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, Elementary Teaching Specialization, University of NebraskaLincoln
• M.A. Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, Innovative Learning Technologies Specialization, University of NebraskaLincoln
• Ph.D. Educational Studies, University of NebraskaLincoln