Early Childhood Education

The Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (BSE ECED)

Kent State University at Salem offers a 2 + 2 program that focuses on professional preparation and application of current theory, methods and practices for future teachers of preschool to grade five classrooms. Graduates of the program who pass the State of Ohio Assessment Tests are eligible for Ohio licensure in Early Childhood, which is valid for teaching children, age 3 through fifth grade, who are typically developing, at-risk, gifted or who have mild/moderate educational needs.

Early Childhood Education Program - Salem Campus

As part of the Early Childhood Education program, students form a cohort to complete the four-block course sequence while gaining teaching experiences linked to their coursework. All students complete field and practicum experiences in diverse settings, including urban and inclusive schools, and accumulate approximately 1,200 hours of field experience in preschool, kindergarten, and primary classrooms. Graduates also have the option to receive International Baccalaureate recognition concurrent with degree completion.

Early Childhood Education Program Outcomes 

This Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education will teach you to:

• Co-construct curriculum as a co-worker with learners and others (parents, families, colleagues, and community members) and make sound decisions for learning and teaching experiences, as opposed to being passive receivers of prescribed curriculum
• Synthesize conceptual understandings of children, theory, content, technology and sociocultural contexts into meaningful activities and opportunities for learning with all preschool to fifth grade students.
• Engage in self-assessment and self-improvement in order to continually uncover new possibilities in children’s learning, classroom practice, educational theory, and one’s own teaching identity locally and globally
• Become committed to the children and their learning, the families, and the local community while having an awareness of the global context
• Apply skills, knowledge, and dispositions to challenge “questionable” policies that limit opportunities for all children
• Utilize research and theory to develop varied, effective pedagogies and assessments that will positively impact all students’ learning (learning and teaching is a transdisciplinary practice)
• Advocate as ethical leaders and moral agents striving for social justice
• Acknowledge and practice multiple, multi-ethnic, multicultural, multiracial, multi-social and -economic and multilingual perspectives in a global society

Admission to the Early Childhood Education Program

Typically, students begin this degree by completing the Kent Core requirements and completing coursework in the Associate of Applied Science Early Childhood Education Technology program. Completion of the associate degree in Early Childhood Education does not guarantee admission into the last two years of the baccalaureate program. Students seeking admission to this program must meet all professional requirements for admission to advanced study and have a minimum cumulative 2.75 GPA in all previous undergraduate coursework. Because of the instituted enrollment management plan, meeting the above requirements does not automatically provide students admittance to the early childhood education major. Faculty will select the most qualified applicants based upon the number of available student spaces, students’ standardized test scores, essay, interview and overall GPA. 

Careers for Early Childhood Educators in Ohio

This Early Childhood Education program at Kent State University at Salem prepares students for Ohio licensure. To obtain licensure, students must pass the State of Ohio Assessment Test. Early childhood educators are qualified to work with young children in many settings including: 

• Preschool/nursery schools
• Daycare centers or other forms of childcare
• Kindergarten-fifth grade classrooms at public, community/charter schools
• Elementary school administrators 

Future salary can vary widely depending on the type of institution and age of children being taught. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, kindergarten teachers in Ohio earn a mean wage of $58,960.