The Development of Program Identity in Blended Early Childhood Personnel Preparation

Abstract

Blended personnel preparation programs grant teacher candidates more than one teaching license, qualifying them to provide educational services to young children and their families in a variety of early childhood education (ECE), early childhood special education (ECSE), and early intervention (EI) settings. However, there is not yet a cohesive understanding of the qualities and characteristics blended programs share. In this paper, we describe one blended program from a four-year, undergraduate educator preparation program at a large, research institution in the Midwestern United States. We address multiple key components of our program, including a brief historical overview, its curriculum and content, and several unique program features. We also discuss how our program aligns to both the EI/ECSE Standards and the ECE Standards and Competencies. We include specific examples from our program to illustrate our blended approach to personnel preparation.