Early Childhood Education, B.A.

The Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education provides undergraduate students with a solid foundation in child development, methods of teaching and significant concepts in ECE necessary for supporting the education of students ages birth to grade 2. Students who pursue this major are interested in working in a classroom setting with children, typically preschool aged to 2nd grade. Topics in this major include best practices in curriculum, a variety of assessment techniques, culturally relevant pedagogy, methods of teaching in literacy, math, science and social studies, equity-informed practice, and other relevant topics in early childhood education.

Successful completion of the program enables students in Illinois to apply for a Professional Educator License, endorsed for early childhood and self-contained general education (age 0 to grade 2).

For more information on state licensure and certification information please visit NLU’s Public Disclosures page. 

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

At the completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program, students will be able to:

PLO1. Use knowledge of self, students, curriculum content, and effective instruction to develop appropriate learning outcomes and design activities to meet diverse learner needs including students with special needs and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds;

PLO2. Develop a variety of assessments and explain how they will use them to anticipate varied ways students might perform, make accommodations, monitor student progress, and adjust and evaluate instruction;

PLO3. Demonstrate respectful and responsive interactions with students that motivate, support, and advance students’ development and learning;

PLO4. Establish a culture of appropriately high expectations for student learning and behavior and design a classroom environment that supports all students to be successful;

PLO5. Persist in their efforts to engage all students in content learning through effective instructional discourse, use of appropriate technologies, ongoing performance monitoring, flexibility, and adaptability to support students’ behavior and advance their learning;

PLO6. Apply knowledge of human development and learning to interpret a variety of assessments to inform their instruction and provide meaningful feedback;

PLO7. Use feedback from a variety of stakeholders to develop meaningful professional learning goals and identify appropriate professional activities to continuously improve their practice; and

PLO8. Demonstrate the capacity to collaborate effectively and ethically with colleagues, families, and community members to promote positive and inclusive learning for all students.

Admissions Requirements: 

Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program is a two-step process. In the first step, students are admitted to National Louis University with a preliminary status in the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program. In the second step, students must be admitted to the licensure program which updates the admission to full status in the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education. Students must be admitted to the licensure program before beginning their Early Childhood Education Student Teaching course (ECE 470).

Full Admission requirements for students beginning Early Childhood Education Major courses: 

• Successful completion of all general education courses with a grade of "C" or better
• Successful completion of EDU 200, EDU 210, EDU 290, and EDU 299 with a grade of "C" or better
• Achieve a GPA of 2.5 or better on all previous coursework, with a grade of "C" or better in all courses
• Creation of account in the Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS)

Program Details:

• Requires 180 QH including 75 QH of General Education for completion 
• Requires completion of all courses in the program with a grade of "C" or better, with the exception of ECE 470, which must be completed with a grade of "B" or better
• Requires completion of the following courses at NLU: EAL 312, ECE 470, EDU 305, EDU 420, EDU 477, EDU 480, EDU 483, and SPE 435.
• Requires completion of field hours built into courses across the entire program, taken each term. They are mapped to the following Credentials and Endorsements:
  • Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Early Childhood Education Endorsement.
  • ISBE ESL/Bilingual Endorsement (for students who choose to pursue the ESL/Bilingual Concentration).
  • ISBE Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS1) Endorsement (for students who choose to pursue the Special Education Concentration).
  • ISBE ECE Special Education Approval (for students who choose to pursue the Special Education Concentration).
  • Illinois Gateways to Opportunity Level 5 ECE Credential.
  • Illinois Gateways to Opportunity Level 2 Director’s Credential (for students who choose to pursue the Early Care and Education Administration Concentration).
• Requires completion of coursework that addresses the following:
  • At least three areas of sciences:
    • Life Science (e.g. Biology, Botany, Ecology, Infectious Diseases, Human Physiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Zoology, Environmental Science)
    • Physical Science (e.g. Chemistry, Physics)
    • Earth and Space (e.g. Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, Astronomy, Environmental, Ecology)
  • At least four areas of the social sciences:
    • History
    • Cultural Geography
    • Civics and Government
    • Economics
• Demonstrate a 2.5 GPA or greater on a 4.0 scale prior to EDU 305 and a 2.75 GPA or greater on a 4.0 scale prior to beginning methods coursework
• Candidates may complete one of the concentrations listed below:
  • ESL/Bilingual 
  • Special Education
  • Early Care and Education Administration

Required Courses

General Education Requirements

Communications

ENG 101	Beginning English Composition	5
ENG 201	Intermediate English	5
ENG 203	Effective Speaking for the Undergraduate	5

Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines: academic writing, oral communications, and written communications.

 

Humanities and Fine Arts

HIS 103	History Across the Globe	5
ART 105	Race, Identity and Experience in American Art	5

Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the following disciplines:  

• Humanities: foreign language, history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, interdisciplinary humanities and fine arts, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences

• Fine Arts: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film), film and cinema studies, and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance, theatre appreciation and performance, and dance) 

 

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

MTH 105	Math for Educators I	5
SCI 101	Physical Science	5
SCI 105	Environmental Biology with Lab	5

Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use courses in the following three general education disciplines: 

• Mathematics: college-level and not developmental in nature
• Natural Sciences: coursework which covers at least three areas of science; Life, Physical (Chemistry or Physics), and Earth and Space
• Mathematics or Natural Sciences

 

Social and Behavioral Sciences

HIS 102	Civics and American Government	5
PSY 101	Introduction to Psychology	5

Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the area of Social and Behavioral Sciences as long as the following licensure requirements are met: History, Cultural Geography, Civics and Government, and Economics.

Program Specific General Education Requirements

The following courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better:

EDU 200	Applied Educational Psychology	5
EDU 220	Children’s Literature for Educators	5
MTH 115	Math for Educators II	5

Additional General Education Requirements

GEN 103	Student Success Seminar	5
	or
GEN 203	NLU & You: Tools & Strategies for Student Success	3

Note: GEN 103 is required for the first-time freshman students only. Students transferring in less than 90 QH are required to complete GEN 203. 

Career Development Requirements

First-time Daytime Students - 5 QH

CAR 214	Creating and Communicating the Professional Brand	5
	or
BRV 200	Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator	5

Transfer Students - 5 QH

BRV 200	Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator	5
	or
CAR 214	Creating and Communicating the Professional Brand	5
	or
CAR 202	Creating Professional Identity	0 TO 2
	and
CAR 203	You The Professional	3

Educator Preparation Core - 35 QH

EAL 300	Educational Foundations for Learning English as an Additional Language	5
EAL 331	Cross Cultural Studies for Working with English Language Learners	5
ECE 334	Language and Early Literacy Development	5
EDU 210	Educational Philosophy- A Historical Account	5
EDU 290	Professionalism and Ethical Engagement with Children, Families and the Community	5
EDU 299	Practicum I Child Development	5
EDU 305	Equity in Education	5

Early Childhood Education Major- 55 QH

EAL 312	Linguistic Considerations for Learning to Read in a New Language	5
ECE 324	Integrated Preprimary Methodology in Early Childhood Education	5
ECE 470	Early Childhood Education: Student Teaching	10 TO 14
EDU 350	Teacher Preparation Curriculum and Assessment	5
EDU 420	Practicum II: Professional Practices and Classroom Contexts	5
EDU 477	Literacy Teaching Methods	5
EDU 480	Methods of Teaching Mathematics	5
EDU 483	Inquiry Based Teaching Methods: Science and Social Studies	5
SPE 300	Introduction to Special Education and Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities	5
SPE 435	Autism-Spectrum Disorders and Characteristics of Children With Disabilities	5

Note: ECE 470 must be taken for 10 QH. Application to participate in ECE 470 must be made two quarters prior to the quarter of the student teaching experience. 

Concentration- 15 QH

See links to concentrations above

Early Childhood Education Student Teaching Enrollment Requirements

Admission to and continuance in student teaching are contingent on the following actions.

Candidates must:

• Be accepted into the Undergraduate College of Education Licensure Program (see above).
• File, by the designated deadline, the application form for student teaching.
• Submit to the Undergraduate Office of Field Experience a report of a TB test taken within 90 days of the student teaching placement, results of criminal background check and acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter status form.
• Pass the Early Childhood Education Content Area Test (206) prior to EDU 420, per ISBE requirements.
• Complete all of the licensure courses except for ECE 470 (Student Teaching) with a grade of "C" or better.
• Successfully complete necessary program assessments, including the professional disposition assessment.

Graduation and Licensure Requirements:

Completion of the degree requires the following be met:

• All courses leading to licensure must have a grade of "C" or better, except for ECE 470: Early Childhood Education Student Teaching.
• Pass ECE 470: Early Childhood Education Student Teaching with a "B" or better.
• Have an overall program GPA of 3.0.
• Achieve a satisfactory rating on all field assessments during student teaching demonstrating knowledge, skills and dispositions to teach the early childhood grades.

Completion of the Professional Educator License, awarded by ISBE, requires the above, as well as the following:

• Earn a passing score on the appropriate content test.
• Earn a passing score on the edTPA.