Early childhood education

Early Childhood Special Education Program

Special education teachers are in demand throughout and beyond Pennsylvania.

Through LVC’s early childhood special education program, you’ll build effective communication and teaching skills, learn best practices and emerging methods, and gain rewarding classroom experiences starting in your first semester. School districts throughout the region have confidence in LVC’s teacher preparatory program, and they’ll know you have what it takes to succeed in the classroom.

We’ve been pairing student teachers with public school classrooms for more than 25 years, and we can prepare you for a competitive job market in the teaching profession. With a rigorous mock interview process and plenty of field experience, you’ll be ready for a world that needs you.

 

A Double Major for Double the Impact

LVC’s early childhood special education degree requires a dual major in Early Childhood Education (PreK-4) and Special Education (PreK-8). This intensive course of study takes commitment and dedication to master your schedule from the first year, so we’ll pair you with a faculty advisor to guide you through the process.

Through foundational coursework for the bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, you’ll put educational theory into practice by pairing evidence-based teaching methodologies with the latest technology. Dive deeper into early childhood special education with courses that cover cognitive development in diverse learners and evidence-based instruction for students with an identified disability.

You’ll also gain more than 200 hours of field experience to prepare you for a student teaching semester in partner districts such as Annville-Cleona, Cornwall-Lebanon, and Cumberland Valley. During the semester before you begin student teaching, we pair you with your mentor teacher to help you begin to acclimate to your classroom and develop a relationship with your supervisor.

 

Discover Your Degree Pathway

  • Apply to our Education department as a first-year undergraduate, and specialize with our Early Childhood/Special Education degree.
  • Master your degree requirements for both Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education in LVC’s dual major track.
  • Tackle your Pennsylvania teaching certification requirements with the help of a dedicated faculty advisor.

 

Gain Hands-On Research Experience in Early Childhood Special Education

At larger universities, you might not get the opportunity to work with special-needs students until your student teaching semester. But at LVC, we help our early childhood special education majors get experience in the field as early as their first or second semester.

Our Education faculty understand what it takes to be a good teacher. Join them in their research, which focuses on areas including the effects of exercise on special needs students and the importance of soft skills for student success.

 

What makes studying Early Childhood Special Education at LVC special?

  • Learn how to teach from our award-winning faculty, which specializes in areas like special education and early intervention.
  • Tackle new field experiences every semester to support your teaching certificate by enrolling in student-faculty projects like BOSS.
  • Receive support for your student teaching semester and share resources with other majors in our junior year student teaching co-op.
  • Join our student PSEA chapter or present in our yearly conference for Education majors.
  • According to College Factual, Lebanon Valley College’s special education major is among the top 5% in the nation and top 5% (most focused). LVC’ Special Education Program also is among the top 15% for highest-paid graduates.

 

What You Can Do with an Early Childhood Special Education Degree

LVC’s Education Department is ranked nationally by the National Council on Teacher Quality for its undergraduate secondary teacher prep program. Thanks to our long-standing relationships with partner school districts, we know how to prepare you to support the needs of diverse learners and provide positive behavioral supports for your students.

Recent Education graduates work as teachers, assistants, principals, school administrators, and project managers in a variety of settings. You’ll be prepared to navigate a teaching position in both public and private school districts or tackle an education manager position in an early learning center. You might also wish to work for children and youth organizations across the United States and abroad, like Teach for America.

Because of the strength of our teacher prep program, Education majors often receive job offers from schools like Manheim Christian Day School, Goddard School, Caroline County Public Schools (Md.), Borger Independent School District (Texas), and Flood Brook School (Vt.), upon graduation. Other alumni pursue graduate-level programs in educational classroom technology, literacy education, music education, science education, and school leadership.

 

About the B.S. with a major in early childhood/special education

With an LVC special education degree, you’ll become a teacher who makes a lasting difference in your students’ lives. You’ll build effective communication and teaching skills, learn best practices and emerging methods, and get experience in the classroom. School districts across the region surrounding campus have confidence in LVC teachers, and they’ll know you have what it takes to succeed.

You’ll meet all content requirements mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education while getting more than 200 hours of field experience before your student teaching semester.