Characteristics of Unified and Separate Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education Programs: A National Study

Abstract

This study examined the characteristics of course content, field experiences, and program administration at 14 unified early childhood/early child special education (ECE/ECSE) and 13 separate ECE and ECSE undergraduate teacher preparation programs across the United States. Students and faculty members at the 27 programs completed surveys to help determine the characteristics of unified and separate teacher education programs. In addition, personal interviews were conducted with students and faculty members at two unified and two separate early childhood/early child special education teacher preparation programs.Findings revealed that students from unified programs and ECSE programs had a balance of ECE and ECSE course content, as well as field experiences with children with and without disabilities in diverse settings. Conversely, ECE students were found to have minimal knowledge related to ECSE course content, and few, if any, field experiences with children with disabilities. State certification and program specific administrative structures were found to have an impact on faculty members' abilities to collaborate with other departments.

Promoting Special Education Preservice Teacher Expertise

“…Graduates from master's level programs that were unified, dual certification, or separate ECE or ECSE were asked to rate their knowledge of each standard using a 5-point Likert scale. Consistent with findings from the faculty interviews and the results of Dunne (2002), graduates of ECSE programs reported stronger knowledge when it came to standards related to collaboration with colleagues across disciplines. While ECE graduates reported having a strong knowledge base in relation to ECE standards, they lacked competence in ECSE standards.…”

“…In addition, in these studies, unified programs showed some promise for improving preservice teachers' ability to include students with mild disabilities successfully, although, in early childhood unified programs, graduates perceived needing more information about students with severe disabilities. This latter finding is important because students in all programs are qualified to work with students with both mild and severe disabilities (Dunne, 2002;LaMontagne et al, 2002;Miller & Losardo, 2002). Additionally, we do not know how specific aspects of the program assisted preservice teachers in developing more accessible and effective content instruction.…”

“…Three studies examined the benefit of unified preparation models specifically for early childhood teacher preparation (Dunne, 2002;LaMontagne et al, 2002;Miiler & Losardo, 2002). Dunne (2002) sought to understand the differences between unified early childhood and programs offering separate early childhood (EC) and early childhood special education (ECSE) programs.…”

“…Dunne (2002) sought to understand the differences between unified early childhood and programs offering separate early childhood (EC) and early childhood special education (ECSE) programs. She administered surveys to and conducted follow-up interviews with faculty, program coordinators, and students no more than 1 year past graduation from 23 programs across the country.…”

Diversity Competencies within Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Innovative Practices and Future Directions

“…In these studies, data were collected using faculty and graduates' surveys and interviews (Dunne, 2002;LaMontagne et al, 2002;Levin et al, 2002;Miller et al, 2001;Miller & Losardo, 2002). Results from studies examining unified and separate programs indicate that students in unified programs had more course work on teaming as well as opportunities to work as a team, coteach and collaborate; while students in separate programs seldom get opportunities to do so, due to perceived differences in philosophical beliefs, time, or budget constraints (Dunne; LaMontagne et al).…”