Current Issues in Early Childhood Education – EDUC 653

Course Description

An examination of current standards and exploration of controversies related to early childhood education.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated the importance of early childhood education: “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:13–14, KJV).

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in Module/Week 1.

Discussion Board Forums (7)

Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate will write an analysis of the assigned case studies from the Ozretich et al. textbook. Your analysis will be supported by: reading material, current related sources, and Scripture; and pertinent, conceptual, or personal examples. The thread must be at least 400 words. The candidate will then read and reply with at least 250 words to at least 2 of his/her classmates.  Initial thread must include at least two citations and references and responses must include at least one citation/reference.

Reading Summaries (7)

The candidate will write a summary of the reading from the Paciorek textbook. Each summary will be divided into 2 sections. The first section will be summaries of each of the articles in the unit and must be at least 400 words; the second section will be summaries of at least four Internet resources that are listed in the textbook at the end of the articles. Choose at least 1 website per article to summarize (with at least 4 Internet resources total in the summary). Your Internet resources summary must be at least 400 words. In both parts, you must critique the concepts presented through a biblical perspective as well as present unique connections between the reading materials. All summaries must be written in current APA format.

Issues Essay

The candidate will browse position statements on the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website (www.naeyc.org) and choose 1 position statement as the topic of his/her Issues Essay. There are 3 parts to this assignment:

Topic Approval

The candidate will submit the topic of the Issues Essay to the instructor for approval. This will be done through the discussion board. Every candidate must have a different topic for the Issues Essay. Topics will be approved on a first come, first served basis.

References

The candidate will have at least 3 references that help discuss the NAEYC position statement. This will be turned in as an annotated bibliography.

Submission

After completing the other parts of this assignment, the candidate will submit his/her completed Issues Essay. The 5-page essay must include a title page and an APA formatted reference page (which is not included toward the final page count) and will inform on an issue that is relevant to young children.

Reflection

A final course reflection will be written by the candidate as related to the School of Education’s (SOE) Conceptual Framework. This reflection must be at least 400 words in current APA format.