Early Childhood Education in Tennessee

Early childhood education is an influential and important career choice. If you love children and want to share your knowledge with them to help them develop for the future, working in early childhood education is the right path. This sector has high demand, making it a reliable career for many people.

Tennessee has various early childhood education programs available to help you become an educator for young children. After completing one of these programs, you will be able to reach your dream career.

Early Childhood Education Degree Programs in Tennessee

Below is a list of the popular schools offering graduate and undergraduate early childhood education degree programs in Tennessee:

  • Vanderbilt University
  • Johnson University
  • Lynn University
  • Christian Brothers University
  • Walden University
  • Tennessee Technological University
  • Capella University

To find out how we select colleges and universities, please click here.

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it consists of a total of 10 schools. It was founded in 1873, and since then, its goal has been to help students excel in their chosen fields.

The U.S. News & World Report ranked Vanderbilt as no. 1 for Educational Administration and Supervision, Special Education, Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Nurse-Midwifery in 2023.

The university welcomes students from the U.S. and beyond.

Early Childhood Education Program Information

Vanderbilt University makes it possible for students to pursue an early childhood education career by offering an elementary education major. The program is available at Peabody College.

Students following the elementary education major can prepare for their K-5 licensure. This will give them the opportunity to educate students to work with grade K-5 children.

The program focuses on the learning and developmental reasoning and thinking of young children. Anyone who enrolls in Peabody College and follows the Elementary Education major can study children’s behaviors and learn how to teach the young generations. From their first year, students can already take part in many educational activities in experimental schools, public agencies, and local schools.

The program requires more than 120 credit hours for completion. The major will take a total of 4 years, after which you can graduate and begin working in the early childhood education field. Some of the courses in this program will be from categories such as:

  • Mathematics
  • Humanities
  • Communications
  • Social Science
  • Natural Science
  • Cultural Studies
  • Liberal Core Elective

If you want to apply to this university and study elementary education, you will have to send the following documents:

  • Official high school transcripts
  • Two recommendation letters written by academic teachers
  • Counselor letter of recommendation
  • All the required sections of the Coalition or Common Application, powered by Scoir. This will include the short answer and a personal essay.

Johnson University

Johnson University was founded in 1893. Emma and Ashley Johnson were the founders and the first presidents of the institution. The institution has its campus in Knoxville, right on the French Broad River banks.

The university wants to help students reach their dreams, educating them for Christian ministries, as well as different other strategic vocations.

Early Childhood Education Program Information

If you want to study early childhood education, Johnson University offers a major that will help you achieve your dream. Under the early childhood & ESL education program, you have the opportunity to prepare for your career, so that you can influence young generations for the better.

Under this program, you will be introduced to the basics of teaching in early childhood, as well as English. You will be studying for a total of 4 years, after which you will be able to work in your designated field.

Also, you will get your PREK-3 and PREK-12 certifications once you graduate.

The program will involve various courses. You will go through educational and vocational areas such as:

  • Science concepts & methods
  • English composition I
  • Literature for children and adolescents
  • Fine arts elective
  • American history elective
  • Mathematics concepts
  • ESL methods

Not only will you follow actual courses, but you will also need field experience. There are three different types of field experiences you can get: school observation, team teaching, and tutoring.

The school observation field experience will involve participating in various classrooms and schools in Knoxville, analyzing classroom teaching methods, environments, management, and more.

The tutoring field experience will be a one-on-one tutoring session that includes an at-risk child, and it will take place as part of a partnership with Johnson University and Mooreland Heights Elementary.

Lastly, the team teaching field experience will involve spending time at the Bonny Kate Elementary School on Mondays. While working in teams, students will have to prepare science lessons and teach them while adding technology into the mix and doing hands-on activities.

In the end, students will talk with a field experience coordinator about these experiences and complete all tasks that were assigned.

Practicum will also be required. Students can go for Day in School or Christian School practicum. Moreover, they will go through senior practicum, practicum ESL I, and Practicum: Public Preschool or Practicum ESL II.

In order to apply for this program, you will need to send the following documents:

  • An online application
  • SAT, CLT, or ACT scores
  • Official transcripts from all schools or colleges you have attended before

Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers University was founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers back in 1871. The institution is a great chance for Christians to work towards their future careers. It has a diverse student community and a 75-acre wooded campus.

Christian Brothers University is located in Midtown Memphis and it represents 30 states and 28 countries. The mission of the school is to help people from all backgrounds and faiths prepare for their future.

Early Childhood Education Program Information

The Christian Brothers University has created a great program for people who want to pursue a career in early childhood education. You have the opportunity to enroll in the Early Childhood Education (PreK-4) undergraduate program. PreK-4 teachers are very important because they can be a huge influence in children’s lives, planting the seeds of knowledge in their minds and caring for them.

During your journey, you will be aided and instructed by very experienced teachers and the expert faculty of CBU. The program requires a total of 124 credit hours. Some of the courses you will have to attend during the program include:

  • Liberal Arts
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Religious Studies
  • Moral Values
  • Social Science or History
  • Education as a Profession
  • Methods of Teaching Early Childhood Education
  • Fine Arts
  • Behavioral Science
  • Elective courses

After finishing your 4 years of study, you will meet Tennessee teacher licensure requirements. Therefore, this will allow you to begin teaching classes of young students, helping the newer generations grow and develop into wonderful and worthy people.

Undergraduate applicants will have to go through an online process to apply for the university. The best thing about it is that the whole application procedure is easy and free. Furthermore, you should know that test scores are not mandatory.

Tennessee Technological University

Tennessee Technological University is located in Cookeville, Tennessee. Around 10,000 students have enrolled in the university, pursuing their passions and working hard to obtain the degree that will bring them their desired vocation.

The institution had 46% female and 54% male undergraduate students in Fall 2022, as well as 57% female and 43% male graduate students.

Early Childhood Education Program Information

Anyone interested in early childhood education can attend the Tennessee Technological University. It provides a bachelor’s degree program in Early Childhood Education/Special Education (PreK-3). The program is a dual endorsement one.

After graduation, students will have the right educational foundation and experiences to be able to work with young children and help them learn and develop. The program has national accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

You will have to complete a total of 120 credits in order to graduate. This should be done over the course of 4 years. Some of the courses you will have under this program include:

  • Introduction to Teaching and Technology
  • English Composition I
  • Humanities/Fine Arts Elective
  • Introductory Field Experience
  • Communicating in the Professions
  • Early United States History
  • Topics in American Literature
  • Concepts of Biology/Geology/Physics/Chemistry

The application process is straightforward. The first thing you have to do is submit an online application. If you make any mistakes or need to make changes, you can submit an application update form.

Then, your application will be evaluated by the university. Following this evaluation, the university can request official college and high school transcripts. If you are a freshman who is younger than 21, SAT or ACT scores will also be necessary if they are not already on the high school transcript. These will all determine whether you will be admitted to the university or not.

Your application will be reviewed by the Admissions Office, and you will have to wait for an answer to see if you were accepted.

If you have been admitted, you will be asked to set up a TechExpress account, access Email and Eagle Online through TechExpress, apply for scholarships, submit the FAFSA, and apply for housing if you wish to live on campus.

Early Childhood Education Work Opportunities in Tennessee

If you have a passion for working with children, then Tennessee provides many different jobs that will make this possible. You can work as a teacher or pursue different careers in the early childhood education sector. Some available options in terms of jobs include childcare workers, childcare center directors, nannies, school psychologists, and school counselors among others.

Tennessee seeks individuals with early childhood education degrees in various institutions. You can work as an early childhood specialist for TN Voices or Tennessee Tech University. Furthermore, you can work as an early childhood education assistant teacher for Vanderbilt University, an early childhood teacher for the First United Methodist Church, or an early childhood pre-K teacher for Children’s Discovery Learning Center. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and other institutions also seek child life specialists.

The Developmental Services of Dickson County also look for Early Childhood Quality Coaches. If you want, you can even work as a Family Support Specialist for the University of Tennessee.

As you can see, there are numerous career options – the ones listed above are only some examples. And what’s great is that you can stick to teaching children from large cities or you can go to rural areas to help kids learn and develop. It’s up to you which part of Tennessee you will operate in.

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