Early Childhood Special Education/P-5
Program Overview
An emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education/P-5 is for individuals interested in teaching students with high incidence mild disabilities who are primarily following the general curriculum preschool through 5th grade. This certification area is open at the graduate level only for individuals who already hold Early Childhood Education certification. This emphasis also includes a concentration on preschool students with significant developmental delays.
Upon satisfactory completion of this program, the Special Education Program recommends to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission that a graduate be awarded a clear renewable teaching (T) certificate in Special Education General Curriculum (P-5). The state of Georgia awards the certificate to an applicant based upon this recommendation and passing of the appropriate Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) tests.
Graduates with degrees in Early Childhood Special Education/P-5 find such rewarding careers as
- Teaching students with mild disabilities in public P-5 schools
- Serving as instructional and behavioral consultants in early childhood settings
- Serving students in alternative school settings such as the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS)
- Pursuing advanced degrees in related fields
General Information
- Prepares students to work in collaboration, inclusion or resource models
- The special education students who are most frequently served in these settings kindergarten through 5th grade will include those with
- Behavior disorders (BD)
- Learning disabilities (LD)
- Mild intellectual disabilities (MID)
- Other health impaired (OHI)
- Some students with autism or Asperger’s (ASD or AS)
- Preschool special education classes serving students with significant developmental delays can be self-contained, collaborative or community based
- M.Ed. only degree option
- Offered at the Athens location only
For More Information:
Dr. Cynthia Vail
Associate Department Head & Associate Professor
Special Education Program Coordinator
Communication Sciences and Special Education
College of Education
Email: cvail@uga.edu
Phone: 706-542-4578