Mission

We, the faculty of the Early Childhood and Special Education Program are committed to supporting the development of teachers who acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to construct effective, high quality educational programs for all children and their families. Our mission is to foster knowledgeable, passionate, competent, and reflective program graduates who will serve as eloquent and articulate advocates for all children, families, and their profession.

Early Childhood Program Goals/Performance Outcomes/Standards

The Early Childhood Education Program prepares its undergraduates and post baccalaureate candidates to meet the unit outcomes and standards of the following:

• WCU's Conceptual Framework to meet the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (for these unit outcomes and performance indicators see: http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/CoEd/CollegeofEd/knowledge.asp
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which include knowledge and skills based on standards in the following areas: Promoting Children and Learning; Building Family and Community Relationships; Observing, Documenting and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families; Teaching and Learning; and Becoming a Professional.
• The Pennsylvania Department of Education

The NAEYC Standards my be found at http://www.naeyc.org/faculty/pdf/2001.pdf

The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Guidelines for Early Childhood Education can be found at: EarlyChildhoodEducation (pdf)

The Early Childhood Education Program prepares its master degree candidates to meet the unit outcomes and standards of the following:

• WCU's Conceptual Framework to meet the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (for these unit outcomes and performance indicators see: http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/CoEd/CollegeofEd/knowledge.asp
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which include knowledge and skills based on standards in the following areas: Promoting Children and Learning; Building Family and Community Relationships; Observing, Documenting and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families; Teaching and Learning; and Becoming a Professional

The NAEYC Advanced Program Standards can be found at: http://www.naeyc.org/faculty/pdf/2002.pdf

Special Education Program Goals/ Performance Outcomes/Standards

The Special Education Program prepares its undergraduate and post baccalaureate candidates to meet the unit outcomes and standards of the following:

• WCU's Conceptual Framework to meet the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (for these unit outcomes and performance indicators see: http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/CoEd/CollegeofEd/knowledge.asp
• The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) which includes knowledge and skills based standards under the following domains: Foundations, Characteristics of Learners, Individual Differences, Instructional Strategies, Learning Environments and Social Interactions, Language, Instructional Strategies, Assessment, Ethics and Professional Practice and Collaboration.

The CEC standards may be found at: Red_book_5th_edition (pdf)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education for teachers of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped can be found at: http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/lib/teaching/SpecialEdN12.pdf

The Special Education Program prepares its master degree candidates to meet the unit outcomes and standards of the following:

• WCU's Conceptual Framework to meet the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (for these unit outcomes and performance indicators see: http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/CoEd/CollegeofEd/knowledge.asp

• The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) which includes knowledge and skills based standards under the following domains: Foundations, Characteristics of Learners, Individual Differences, Instructional Strategies, Learning Environments and Social Interactions, Language, Instructional Strategies, Assessment, Ethics and Professional Practice and Collaboration.

The CEC standards may be found at: Red_book_5th_edition (pdf)