Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood / Special Education

Early Childhood/Special Education Program Highlights

Biblical

With both your Bible minor and education coursework, you will learn how to incorporate biblical principles in your classroom.

Innovative

You will take part in innovative field experiences within local public schools.

Efficient

Just one extra semester of coursework allows you to add special education certification to your elementary education certificate.

Student Teaching Options

You can choose to complete your student teaching experience locally in Christian and public schools or in a foreign country approved by the School of Education.

Changing Lives

We believe that a degree in education is the opportunity to change lives for the Kingdom of God and at Cedarville, you’ll find plenty of ways to pursue your passion and hone your teaching skills: tutoring local students, teaching in area ministries, and educating diverse communities. You’ll come to see students with disabilities as a gift from God and see you work with them as a mission field.

Diverse

You will have field experiences or clinical practice for both conventional and distance learning programs that provide experiences with male and female grade PreK–3 students from different socioeconomic groups and ethnic/racial groups. You will also work with English language learners and students with both mild and moderate disabilities during some of your field experiences and/or clinical practice to develop and practice your knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions for working with all students.

What Can I Do With Early Childhood/Special Education?

• Our teacher-candidates are known for their quality of education, commitment to the field of education, and their diversified experiences to prepare them for teaching in the classroom. Cedarville Education graduates are teaching all around the world in public, private, Christian, urban, international, and mission schools!
• Testing Success! Every teacher candidate is required to complete licensure exams in order to be a licensed teacher in the state of Ohio. The teacher-candidates at Cedarville University are well prepared for these exams, as evidenced by our 97% success pass rate on the licensure exams (data from the 2016-2017 Ohio Assessment for Educators Pass rate Test Summary ResultsAnalyzer). The average pass rate for teacher-candidates in the state of Ohio is 91% success.
• As a graduate of the Teacher Education Program at Cedarville University, you are eligible to receive two  teaching certifications. Our accreditation status enables you to receive a state of Ohio teaching license in your field of study that is transferable to any state in the U.S. You will also qualify to apply for an Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) certificate, which allows you to teach internationally and in Christian schools. The ACSI certificate is nationally recognized and does not require state-to-state transfer.

Opportunities to Learn Outside the Classroom

You coursework will be complemented by the following opportunities as you complete your special education degree.

Field experiences early and often! — The School of Education believes that it is important that our teacher-candidates have many hands-on experiences in schools. That is why you will engage in local school settings during your first year as a teacher-candidate at Cedarville University and will continue to experience teaching within a school setting each year of your teacher training at Cedarville. By the time you graduate, you will have completed more than 600 hours in classroom experiences!

Student Education Association (SEA) — Cedarville's education student organization is a Christ-centered community built on equipping teachers to serve each other and those around them. Throughout the year, you will participate in professional growth events, ministry opportunities, and fun activities. You’ll also have ministry opportunities through the adopt-a-senior program, the birthday ministry, breakfast for teachers, and other ministries. Any education major is welcome!

Partnership Programs — These programs allow you to be part of field experience and classroom learning within one of the schools in nearby participating school districts. You will learn teaching strategies and practices from Cedarville University professors while engaging those practices and theories in real classrooms with real students and teachers.

Cross-cultural experiences/classes in Ireland — This year, our faculty will be lead a group of teacher- candidates to Ireland to complete several of the core teaching courses in another culture. As part of this three-week adventure, you will earn credit for your courses, observe classrooms and the education system in another country, and have one-on-one opportunities to minister to the people of Ireland.

Overseas student teaching program — You may choose to complete your student-teaching experience overseas. This experience occurs as the final semester of your study as a teacher-candidate at Cedarville University. You will spend approximately 16 weeks overseas in an English-speaking school. The School of Education of Cedarville University works with CCTEC to coordinate an overseas experience for teacher-candidates who wish to complete their student teaching internship abroad. You may choose to go to almost any country in the world and will receive specialized training for this experience. Recent teacher-candidates have completed their Overseas Student Teaching Program in the following countries:

• Australia
• China
• Columbia
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Hungary
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Nepal
• New Zealand
• Niger
• Portugal
• Spain
• South Africa