Program Director: Hannah Miller, Ph.D.
Email: hannah.miller@vermontstate.edu
Program Description
The Inclusive Childhood Education (MA) program (50 credits) prepares participants for research-based work as professional educators with children of all backgrounds and learning abilities. This is an innovative and rigorous academic program that prepares individuals to earn an Initial Educator license with endorsements in both Elementary Education (K-6) and Special Education (K-8) while pursuing a master’s degree in education. Courses are interdisciplinary, standards are coherently integrated throughout the curriculum, and participants are immersed in school and community experiences. A full-time, full-semester internship is required. Candidates must have undergraduate coursework in a variety of disciplines. A transcript analysis is required to determine whether previous content-area coursework fulfills all requirements. The Licensure Office or its designee will conduct the review. If necessary, participants complete additional content courses to be recommended for licensure.
Course and practicum experiences provide practical knowledge of the theories, research, standards, and norms that affect schools and informal educational settings. Learning is studied as an ecological human venture involving characteristics and capabilities, culture and context, imagination and interaction, reason and reaction. Careful attention is given to the development of learners through a strengths-based approach. Inclusive education is identified, studied, and employed broadly.
Participants in the Inclusive Childhood Education program are prepared to advance social justice, embrace difference, and advocate for inclusion by becoming knowledgeable professionals with the courage to pursue excellence and equity for all learners.
Program Outcomes
Students in Education programs gain both an understanding of the discipline of education and a practical grasp of effective professional practice. Connecting these two realms provides a foundation for achieving the department’s objectives for each student, including:
- The use of academic study in the formation of content-specific professional knowledge,
- The use of practitioner inquiry to design effective pedagogical strategies,
- The use of critical theory to confidently serve as a progressive colleague and advocate, and
- The use of transformative reflection in pursuit of continuous personal growth.
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