Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs Endorsement– ND8925
Department of Teacher Education
Patton Hall
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
740.593.4400
specialeducation@ohio.edu
Delivery Mode: Online
Terms of Entry: Fall, Spring, Summer
Enrollment Eligibility: Non-degree status
Terms of Entry Requiring Program Permission: None
Program Overview
The mission of the Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs program is to increase the quantity of high-quality Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs teachers across the state of Ohio and the nation. This program will help to ensure that there are a sufficient number of fully credentialed and well-prepared teachers to instruct preschool children with disabilities and developmental delays so that the quality of instructional services received by children and their families is resolute. Educational professionals will benefit from the Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs program by acquiring advanced knowledge and skills to enhance the early educational opportunities for preschool children with disabilities. This is a part-time program. Individuals complete one course per semester and complete the program in one year.
Program Learning Outcomes
By the completion of this endorsement, candidates will be able to:
- Explain the key principles of the major theories of child development
- Describe the typical progression of child development in all of the following developmental domains, as well as the nature and sequence of atypical development: cognitive; communication, language, and literacy; social-emotional; fine- and gross-motor; and, adaptive skills
- Summarize the inter-relatedness of a child’s developmental domains
- Explain genetic, biological, and environmental factors that influence children’s development
- Compare the impacts of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors that place a child at risk for developmental delays and disabilities
- Differentiate the characteristics and causes of various disabilities
- Explain the formal assessment tools used to screen, diagnosis, and evaluate children
- Develop individual intervention plans that reflect consideration of family resources, concerns, and priorities, natural environments, and child assessments
- Implement informal assessment tools to (a) monitor children’s progress, (b) adapt instructional practices, and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of teaching on children’s learning
- Utilize a variety of methods and resources to evaluate meaningful curricula that addresses children’s learning goals
- Analyze strategies to support and empower families from diverse social and cultural backgrounds in the screening, diagnosis, educational planning, and ongoing assessment processes
- Construct curriculum objectives that are relevant for particular children, and the systematic matching of instructional techniques and settings to those objectives
- Implement planning and intervention strategies conducive to fostering independence, initiative, and problem solving in young children with disabilities
- Design activity plans that integrate intervention objectives and strategies from different disciplines into ongoing, everyday routines and activities
- Execute appropriate guidance techniques that maintain child engagement individually and in group situations
Opportunities upon Completion
Teacher shortages in special education have been a problem for numerous years and they tend to be even more challenging to resolve in rural settings. Three-fourths of all young children in Ohio enter kindergarten without the skills necessary to be successful. Completion of the program meets Ohio’s Educator Licensure Standards for Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs, which are standards for teaching children ages 3-5 who have disabilities. After completing this coursework and passing the Ohio Educator Assessment, individuals will be fully credentialed to teach preschoolers with disabilities in inclusive and separate settings.
Program Relationship to Parent Degree Program
The parent program of this graduate certificate is the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist Master’s degree, with program code ME6220. Neither enrollment in nor completion of the master’s degree is required to complete the endorsement, but completion of this program does fulfill one of the courses toward completion of the master’s degree. EDSP 5830: Methods in Early Childhood Special Education can be used toward fulfillment of the master’s degree requirements.
Further Information
Link to Program: https://www.ohio.edu/education/teacher-ed/endorsements/pksn
Admission Requirements
Applicants whose qualifications satisfy all the following elements are reviewed for admission to the Pre-Kindergarten Special Needs Endorsement program:
- Bachelor’s degree in an accredited institution or equivalent.
- Overall 3.0 GPA from most recent degree program.
- Current teaching licensure in early childhood education, elementary education, intervention specialist, special education, a Pre-K 5-year Associate License, or a related field approved by the program coordinator.
The application requires a resume or CV, one letter of recommendation, a brief personal goal statement that addresses personal, and professional reasons for seeking the endorsement, a copy of current teaching license, and transcripts (undergraduate and graduate when applicable).
International Students
This program does not permit full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 cannot be issued based on admission to this program.
Completion Requirements
