The Infant to Preschool Education Specialty delves into the knowledge of psychology and pedagogy in order to design creative didactic strategies and innovative educational projects. This Specialty is part of the UDEM's Preschool Education Network, which strengthens the quality of childhood education by focusing on the integral development of the child. This network is supported by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Objective

To provide knowledge of the psychological and pedagogical characteristics of children during their early pedagogical stages. To develop pedagogical skills for the design of creative didactic strategies and for the orientation and evaluation of the needs of children and their families. The curricular program contains five courses related to the evolutionary and psychological apects of the breastfeeding period, first infancy, and preschool, the pedagogical models and teaching strategies adequate to those stages, the importance of play and of a creative experiential education, and the diagnostic, evaluation, and orientation of childhood development and its close link to the family system.

Graduates from the Infancy and Preschool Education Master's Degree Program:

• Become part of the Preschool Education Network, an international collaborative network with the following objectives: sharing experiences, developing research projects, sharing expert opinion and reserach, and generating permanent learning.
• Master the contemporary infant and preschool educational paradigms
• Develop creative teaching strategies that consolidate their active and experiential methodology.

Specialty in Infant and Preschool Education

1st trimester	2nd trimester	3rd trimester
Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education	Teaching Means and Strategies in Childhood Education	Childhood Development Diagnosis, Evaluation and Guidance
	Games and Creative Education	The Family System in Preschool Education

Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education
Understand the integral development of children during the early stages of life, with an emphasis on the accompanying processes

Teaching Means and Strategies in Childhood Education
Delve into pedagogical principles, teaching models, and strategies for initial and preschool education.

Diagnosis, Evaluation and Guidance of Childhood Development
Identify the main developmental and learning problems connected with the early years of childhood, so as to offer diagnosis and guidance.

Games and Creative Education
Understand the theoretical contents and didactics of games, and how they relate to psychic development and its interrelation with creative processes.

The Family System in Preschool Education
Design educational programs for parents based on the new forms of family organization and the relationships between school and family.

The courses offered in this program meet weekly from 18:30 to 22:00 hours.

A student with a full course load will have a schedule similar to following:

	M	T	W	TH	F
May		Games and Creative Education		Teaching Models and Strategies in Childhood Education
June		Games and Creative Education		Teaching Models and Strategies in Childhood Education
July		Games and Creative Education		Teaching Models and Strategies in Childhood Education
August		Games and Creative Education		Teaching Models and Strategies in Childhood Education

A student with a half course load will study one course per week and will have a schedule similar to the following:

	M	T	W	TH	F
May			Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education
June			Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education
July			Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education
August			Evolutional Fundamentals in Childhood Education

The following requirements must be fulfilled in order to enroll in the Early Childhood and Preschool Education Master's Degree Program:

• Hold the corresponding Undergraduate Degree level.
• Have professional experience in childhood education.
• Attend an interview with the Education and Humanities Master's Degree Programs Director.
• Submit your résumé and a cover letter explaining the reasons why you wish to enroll in the Master's Degree program.
• Submit an Application for Admission to the Graduate Program along with the required documentation.
  [See the application in PDF format: admision_posgrado {admission_graduateprogram}]
• Pass the Graduate Studies Admission Test ¿ [Prueba de Admisión para Estudios de Posgrado (PAEP)]
• Take an English diagnostic exam

Specialty in Infant and Preschool Education.

During each course the students will prepare a project in which they apply the theoretical contents of the course to their pedagogical work. The classroom learning will be consequently enriched with the students' collective experience and new proposals. Students and teachers work together to foster a creative teaching-learning environment.

Participation in Childhood Education Conferences and Symposiums is established as an experiential requirement for the students' Graduate Degree Specialty acquisition.

José Humberto Alanís Alanís MHU Academic Program Director     jalanis11@udem.edu.mx Building 6, office 6127   T. (81) 8215-1000, ext. 1562 01 800-801-UDEM, ext. 1562

Enrollment Profile

• Hold an undergraduate degree in Education, Psychology, or a related field.
• Be committed to the ongoing pursuit for quality and excellence in their childhood educational pursuits
• Be interested in acquiring the knowledge and skills to design, develop, implement and evaluate formation programs in childhood education.
• Be highly motivated to know and participate in graduate education supported by the use of new communication and information technologies.
• Enjoy exchanging comments and opinions with professors and other students.
• Possess teaching experience at the early education and preschool levels.

Graduation Profile

Knowledge:

• To master basic knowledge in childhood and pedagogical education
• To update and advance knowledge specific to childhood education and participate in improvement projects and conferences.

Skills:

• Design and execute quality educational initiatives in educational and other social institutions.
• Design, diagnose, and evaluate childhood educational processes and programs
• Teach and train personnel involved in childhood education.

Attitudes: 

• Encourage an attitude favorable to qualitative change
• Commitment to improving and supporting social functioning