Master of Education (MEd) in Curriculum & Instruction - Early Childhood Education (Online) The Master of Education (MEd) in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Early Childhood Education is a practitioner's degree that is designed to advance the professional knowledge, skills and understanding of individuals teaching children birth to Grade 3.

Starting in July 2009, teachers in public school pre-kindergarten and kindergarten settings must possess an early childhood certificate or endorsement to meet new Arizona Department of Education requirements. Currently, Arizona teachers with an elementary education certificate are eligible to teach kindergarten. That eligibility ends in July 2009 for those without an early childhood endorsement.

The Online Degree

The Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, in collaboration with the education colleges at ASU's Polytechnic, and West campuses, offer an online program that enables teachers to add an early childhood endorsement to their elementary education or special education teaching certificate while earning a master's degree.

Students may complete 25 credit hours required for the Early Childhood Education Endorsement only or a total of 34 credit hours to earn the MEd while completing the requirements for the ECE Endorsement. A passing score on the early childhood subject knowledge portion of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment is required for the endorsement.

Program Delivery

This program is offered 100 percent online following a one-day orientation held at the beginning of each semester. To complete the endorsement, teachers need to complete:

• the required coursework,
• a practicum and
• pass the appropriate AEPA exams

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