The Master of Arts in Teaching in Early Childhood Education is a 28-32-credit-hour program (varies by state) designed to prepare and support early childhood educators in the field. The program develops Relay students to become culturally responsive and inclusive early childhood educators through an intentional, yet flexible, pathway composed of Foundations courses, Early Childhood Content Pedagogy courses, Clinical Practice courses, and a selection of Flex courses. 

In their Foundations courses, Relay students in the Early Childhood Education program will learn to establish culturally responsive and inclusive classrooms through systems for instructional planning, teaching multilingual learners, and teaching exceptional learners, and community engagement. 

Early Childhood Content Pedagogy courses integrate learning from Foundations courses with an Early Childhood content focus that includes methods for engaging learners with developmentally appropriate play-based instruction in literacy, math, science, social studies, physical development, and the arts. Relay students also develop systems for data-informed cycles of assessing, planning, teaching, and reflecting to meet the diverse needs of all students. 

The program culminates in a capstone project in which Relay students share findings from an action research project that explores a problem of practice in their classroom and advocacy for a practice that has a positive impact on their students’ academic growth, social-emotional development, and/or experience. 

Academic Plans
Relay’s programs are tailored to local contexts and are designed to meet educational requirements for educator certification/licensure in multiple states; therefore, academic plans for each program vary by state and clinical experience pathway (e.g., Resident/non-Resident). State- and program-specific academic plans for all program offerings described in this catalog may be accessed on the Academic Plans site.