MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Graduate Program in Early Childhood Special Education provides graduate courses and experiences leading to licensure for teaching students with disabilities from birth through 4th grade and an MSE in Special Education. Just as special education instructors individualize programs for those with disabilities, so must graduate students’ programs be tailored, as much as possible, to each person. The requirements for state licensure are now based on meeting specific competencies, not on course credit. Courses that provide instruction and practical experiences are offered to help the student meet the competencies required by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education for Early Childhood Special Education Instructional Specialist (Birth – 4th grade). In terms of the state licensure competency-based requirements, the program is flexible enough to adapt and adjust to each graduate student’s knowledge and skill level as they enter the program.
Our Vision
We strongly believe that every individual with a disability has the legal and moral right to be educated by reflective and compassionate professionals who value each individual’s uniqueness and adapt instruction to these individual strengths and needs. Every individual with a disability deserves educational opportunities to develop to his or her maximum potential, and to become included, valued, and productive members in their schools and communities. This requires individualized learning experiences and instructional efforts that span many contexts, from the home environment to a variety of school and community settings. Thus, all educators who instruct individuals with special needs, not just special education instructors, must become reflective and compassionate professionals who are knowledgeable, sound pedagogically and who are willing and eager to effectively and compassionately instruct individuals with special needs and be their advocates for a better future.
Our Graduate Program in Early Childhood Special Education not only prepares our graduate students to instruct individuals with disabilities from birth – 4th grade, it also is an advanced program of study leading to a Masters of Science in Education degree. Therefore, we expect our graduate students to not only develop into reflective and compassionate professionals in terms of instructing individuals with special needs, but we also expect them to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to inform the knowledge base and the profession. This requires that our students are offered instruction and experiences that prepare them to understand, use, and value advanced academic and scholarly processes of learning and inquiry across their graduate special education program.
Our Mission
To assist the development of reflective and compassionate professionals who are
• extremely knowledgeable;
• exceptionally skillful;
• ethical; and
• strong, tireless, and courageous advocates for individuals with disabilities and their families
Our Goals
Our major goals are grouped in general instructional and scholarly domains that were largely adopted from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Guidelines for Teacher Education Programs. By the end of our program the graduate student in special education will understand and reflectively and compassionately use sound knowledge, skills, and dispositions encompassed in the following domains:
1. philosophical, historical, legal, and ethical foundations of special education;
2. characteristics of learners with diverse and special needs including human development and the effects of various disabilities and diversity on
development and instruction;
3. the processes of accommodating to individual and group learning and behavioral differences in planning, instructing, managing, and assessing students
with disabilities;
4. instructional content and practice, including sound models, theories, philosophies, and the methods that flow from them, that inform and comprise the
knowledge base of best practices of special education;
5. sociocultural, economic, political, family, and school contexts and their influence on development, learning, and instruction;
6. communication, especially language;
7. planning, organizing, establishing, maintaining, and adjusting the academic and social curricula and the instructional and learning environment, including
managing student behavior, small and whole group behavior, and social interaction skills;
8. assessment, diagnosis, and evaluation;
9. professional, legal, and ethical processes of learning and critical thinking, inquiry and scholarly activity, and personal development, reflection, and renewal;
10. effective, compassionate, and harmonious communication and collaboration with students, parents and families, educators and administrators, and other
professional and community members;
11. technology used for communication, information, instruction, and the accommodation of special needs.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the admissions requirements to HSU's Graduate School and the Master of Science in Education Programs, the Graduate Program in Early Childhood Special Education (P-4) also requires the following specific admission requirements:
1. Evidence of the possession of a standard teacher’s license from the state of Arkansas
OR
Concurrent enrollment in an accredited program leading to standard initial license
2. Three letters of recommendations – one each from a peer, current or immediate past supervisor, and an Institution of Higher Education (IHE) academic
professional.
3. Current Resume
4. Signed Release of Information form from the HSU Graduate Office
5. Written essay which is to address the following:
Philosophy of Special Education
Autobiographical information on why you are choosing to enter into the special education field
6. Initial formal interview with a minimum of two graduate faculty members, one of which must be from the graduate special education program.
Based on the results of this assessment process, an individualized licensure plan is formulated. This plan represents the necessary coursework for the candidate to develop the required competencies to be licensed as an Instructional Specialist P-4.
In terms of the Master of Science in Education (M.S.E.) program, however, Hendersonis bound by course credit. The Graduate Program in Special Education requires 33 hours of specific graduate course work. All graduate students must take at least 33 hours of course work to receive the M.S.E. Those students who have taken similar courses previously and who meet state requirements for the course will have alternative courses substituted in their plan for meeting the 33-hour course work requirements for the MSE degree.
Basic Graduate Plan (MSE) Early Childhood Special Education
Prerequisites: SPE 5013 Psychology of Students with Exceptionalities (or equivalent)
EDU 5573 Early Childhood Curriculum (or equivalent)
EDU 5783 Early Childhood Techniques (or equivalent)
EDU 6663 Advanced Child Development (or equivalent)
Hours Required Courses:
3 SPE 6403 Assessment and Programming
3 SPE 6353 Advanced Studies in Early Childhood Special Education
3 SPE 6313 Special Education Law
3 SPE 6323 Behavior Management
3 SPE 6363 Advanced Methods of Early Childhood Special Education
3 SPE 6393 Advanced Methods of Instructing Students with Severe to Profound Disabilities
3 SPE 6413 Practicum: Birth to Age 5
3 SPE 6423 Practicum in Teaching Students with Disabilities (K-4)
3 EDU 6413 Introduction to Research
3 SPE 6273 Research Problems
3 Elective Approved by Advisor
33
Exit Requirements
In addition to a the satisfactory completion of the program of study, candidates must meet all exit requirements for Master level programs as stated in the current HSU Graduate Catalog and the following specific exit requirements:
1. A successful demonstration of performances based on an exit portfolio assessment. A portfolio is required of all candidates for the M.S.E. in Early Childhood
Special Education. Upon entrance to the program, each candidate is provided with portfolio construction guidelines and rubrics for assessing performance.
2. A successful presentation of the portfolio to an Exit Evaluation Committee. The Committee is composed of the candidate's faculty advisor, serving as the Chair
of the Committee, another special education faculty member, and a special education supervisor or a special education teacher.
Exit Portfolio Construction Guidelines and Assessment Rubrics
The scoring rubrics for the exit portfolio assessment are offered in the following pages. In constructing the portfolio, you must provide evidence that you have met each of the program standards described throughout the scoring rubrics. These ten program standards are taken from the Council for Exceptional Children’s Content Standards for All Beginning Special Education Teachers and represent the required standards for beginning teachers in the special education profession. For each of these standards we have suggested possible course assignments, observations, artifacts, test scores, etc., that can be used as evidence that you have met each standard. You are responsible for creating and maintaining your portfolio and you will also have to present and defend your portfolio during your exit portfolio presentation. During each graduate special education course you will also receive instructions and feedback that will assist the construction of your portfolio. Your portfolio should follow this structure:
Exit Portfolio
Section 1: Cover Page, Current Resume, Praxis Scores
Section 2: Evidence for Standard 1: Foundations
Section 3: Evidence for Standard 2: Development & Characteristics of Learners
Section 4: Evidence for Standard 3: Individual Learning Characteristics
Section 5: Evidence for Standard 4: Instructional Strategies
Section 6: Evidence for Standard 5: Learning Environments and Social Interactions
Section 7: Evidence for Standard 6: Communication
Section 8: Evidence for Standard 7: Instructional Planning
Section 9: Evidence for Standard 8: Assessment
Section 10: Evidence for Standard 9: Professional and Ethical Practice
Section 11: Evidence for Standard 10: Collaboration
Section 12: Completed Exit Questionnaire (not included in this handbook)
At the beginning of your final semester prior to graduation, you will be required to declare your intent to defend your exit portfolio to your advisor. One month before graduation you will be required to schedule your exit portfolio presentation with your advisor and two weeks before your presentation you must hand in your completed portfolio to your advisor.