Program Overview

Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Early Childhood Education

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Early Childhood Education is a program designed to prepare teachers to work with a diverse range of children by providing them with knowledge about instructional practices, along with perspectives on children, schools, and society. The program stresses a humanistic approach to teaching that is both developmentally appropriate and intellectually challenging.

Partnerships and Research

The program reflects close linkages between current research and best practices in teaching and learning through partnerships with the Boston College Children's Center (NAEYC accredited) and Saint Columbkille Partnership school.

What You Will Learn

You'll learn to:

• Promote the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using the data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an ongoing basis, and continuously refining learning objectives.
• Promote the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
• Promote the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.
• Demonstrate an inquiry stance by collecting and reporting data on pupil outcomes for the purpose of assessing, teaching, and modifying instructional practice.
• Identify policies and practices that contribute to systemic inequities in education and be aware of how his or her own background experiences are influenced by these systems, and recognizes a professional responsibility to promote and practice principles of social justice teaching.

At a Glance

• The program consists of 15 courses and a practicum, for a total of 37 credits.
• Full-time students typically finish in 1.5–2 years.
• Start dates include fall, spring, and summer semesters.
• To estimate your total program cost, multiply the number of credits required in your program by the tuition cost per credit.

Curriculum

Our curriculum prepares teachers to work with a diverse range of children by providing them with knowledge about instructional practices, along with perspectives on children, schools, and society. This program offers both licensure and non-licensure pathways.

Requirements

• Courses: 15
• Credits: 37
• Practicum

Program of Study

The program includes the following courses:

• EDUC7438: Educating Learners with Disabilities
• EDUC7520: Mathematics and Technology: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum
• EDUC7542: Teaching Reading
• EDUC7543: Teaching Language Arts
• EDUC6346: Teaching Bilingual Students in Elementary Education
• EDUC6316: Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum in Early Childhood Education
• APSY7611: Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education
• EDUC7435: Social Contexts of Education
• EDUC6100: Partnering with Diverse Families and Communities in Early Childhood
• EDUC6101: Art and Music in Early Childhood Education
• EDUC6102: Science Playing and Learning in Early Childhood Classroom
• EDUC7431: Graduate Inquiry Seminar I
• EDUC7432: Graduate Inquiry Seminar II
• EDUC7429: Graduate Pre-practicum
• EDUC7420: Graduate Full Practicum / Initial License
• EDUC8100: Master's Comprehensive Exam

Professional Learning Outcomes

Elementary Education program students will demonstrate learning in four professional areas required for licensure in Massachusetts:

1. Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment: You will learn to promote the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an ongoing basis, and continuously refining learning objectives.
2. Teaching All Students: You will learn to promote the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
3. Family and Community Engagement: You will learn to promote the learning and growth of all students through effective partnerships with families, caregivers, community members, and organizations.
4. Professional Culture: You will learn to promote the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.

Student Teaching

Professional experiences comprise early field experiences, referred to as pre-practicum placements, and an immersive, semester-long full practicum experience.

Pre-practicum

Graduate students complete a pre-practicum experience, which consists of one school day per week for 10 weeks.

Full Practicum

Full practicum experience is five days each week in the classroom for the entire semester.

Donovan Urban Scholars Program

As part of an intensive one-year M.Ed. program that leads to licensure, Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars learn how to flourish as K–12 teachers in urban schools through a curriculum that prioritizes critical inquiry, social justice education, and community building.

Accreditation

We are an approved teacher preparation program by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Upon successful completion of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development's educator preparation program, students earn endorsement from Boston College for licensure in Massachusetts.

Faculty

The program is led by experienced faculty members, including:

• Lillie R. Albert, Program Director, Secondary Education
• Anne Homza, Program Director, Elementary Education
• Katherine McNeill, Program Director, Curriculum and Instruction, M.Ed.
• Mariela Paez, Program Director, Early Childhood Education, M.Ed.
• C. Patrick Proctor, Professor; Teaching, Curriculum and Society Department Chair; Global Perspectives (M. Ed.) Coordinator

Tuition & Aid

The Lynch School of Education and Human Development provides more than $11.4 million in financial aid to students each year. As a result, the quality of BC's instruction, the benefit of our alumni network, and the impact a BC degree will have on your employment options is both affordable and invaluable.

Careers

Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue careers as:

• Assistant Principal of Academics
• Fourth Grade Teacher
• Sixth Grade Teacher
• High School History Teacher
• Director of Exhibits
• Court Procedures Attorney
• First Grade Teacher
• Special Education Teacher
• Mathematics Instructor
• School Principal & ELL Coordinator

They have worked in organizations such as:

• St. John's Preparatory School
• Littleton Public Schools
• Papillion La Vista School District
• Concord-Carlisle Regional School District
• Museum of Science
• Goodwin Procter LLP
• Boston Public Schools
• Needham Public Schools
• Steppingstone Foundation
• North Attleborough Public Schools