Master of Early Childhood Education

Master's Degree Programme
(Postgraduate)

Provides the continuing professional development for early childhood educators and the extension in career pathways.

Applications Open: 16 October 2024

Applications Close: 15 October 2025

Next Available Intake: January 2026

Programme Type: Graduate

Fees: View More Details on Fees

Area of Interest: Adult Learning

School/Department: S R Nathan School of Human Development

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In Singapore and around the world, there has been increasing emphasis on providing quality care and education to children as governments recognise the importance of investing early in their well-being and development. High quality early childhood care and education services require well-trained and continuously improving educators. Therefore, there is a need to prepare more knowledgeable teacher educators and professional developers within education systems to support teachers’ continued growth and development.

Working with adults (i.e., teachers and leaders) in a childcare centres/kindergarten, however, requires additional knowledge base and skillsets that are different from working directly with young children.

Increasing with the need to raise the quality of the teachers in the early childhood sector, it is also essential for the curriculum developers, trainers in local preschool chains and standalone entities to have deeper expertise on the teaching of English Language which is the working language in many parts of the world.

The revised Master of Early Childhood Education Programme (MECED) has two specialisation tracks:
- Teacher Trainer
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

The goal of the programme is to support existing professional developers, trainers and curriculum developers as well as enhance curriculum leadership and pedagogical knowledge amongst early childhood educators (teachers and leaders included). The programme has also broadened its admission criteria to support related educational professionals who need to design the curriculum, training and provide continuous learning and development opportunities for early childhood educators within ECCE organisations as well as the ECCE sector-at-large.

Unique Features of the Programme

Contemporary findings in research on child development and quality ECCE.
Adult-learning or TESOL theories/strategies that can be applied to ECCE teacher training and development contexts.
Application of research-based practices into the design of workshops and courses for early childhood teachers.
Courses are taught by academics and practitioners with a blend of local and global perspectives.
Classes are scheduled to suit the needs of working adults, in short bursts of face-to-face seminars and plenty of self-directed learning materials
Assignments revolve around real-world problems and contexts.
Currently, none of the other autonomous universities are offering a Master degree for Early Childhood Education with either Teacher Trainer or TESOL specialisation.

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Refer to general admission criteria for graduate programmes.

In addition, applicants will need to meet these minimum requirements:

A Bachelor's degree in Education or related fields including Early Childhood, English Studies, Linguistics, and/or strong professional record
There will be language requirements for applicants whose Bachelor's degree is not in English Studies, Linguistics, Education or a related field, they are:
- A excellent score in the English Proficiency Assessment to be conducted by Singapore University of Social Sciences (or)
- IELTS (Academic) > 6.5, with no sub-score below 6 (or)
- TOEFL PBT > 580, with (preferably) a TWE of 5 (or)
- TOEFL iBT > 85, with a minimum of 22 in writing
- PTE Academic score of 58, or
- C1 Advanced score of 180
- IELTS/TOEFL score must be obtained within the last 2 years at point of application
Relevant work experience

In the event of limited vacancy, priority will be given to eligible applicants who apply early. You are encouraged to submit your application early to avoid disappointment.

This programme is currently unable to take in international students, i.e., you must be a Singapore citizen, permanent resident or a resident in Singapore (e.g., Employment Pass holder) in order to apply for admission.

The University offers course fee concession for selected graduate programmes. Please click here for more details.

The ECDA Scholarship is offered to outstanding and deserving in-service early childhood educators who wish to pursue the MECED programme. Please click here for more details.

To graduate with the Master of Early Childhood Education, students are required to complete a total of 60 credit units (cu) and obtain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0.

The revised Master of Early Childhood Education Programme (MECED-SPE) has two tracks:
- Teacher Trainer
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Teacher Trainer Track

This track has been designed to meet the needs of experienced educators who aspire to become trainers, mentors, coaches and professional developers within individual childcare centres/kindergartens or within larger organisations that provide early childhood care and education (ECCE) services. As such, the track will provide adult learning theories and pedagogical knowledge.

The goal of the programme is to support existing professional developers and trainers, as well as enhance curriculum leadership and pedagogical knowledge amongst early childhood educators (teachers and leaders included). The courses in the adult learning component will provide insights into contemporary approaches to engaging adult learners, including blended learning approaches. Additionally, course development and assessment for adult learners as well as emerging trends in adult learning will also be covered.

The relevance of this programme is highly dependent on the real-world problems that you bring to the course instructors. Assignments for many of the ECE courses will allow you to delve into specific curricular topics of your choice, so that you can immediately apply what you have read, discussed, and learned in the courses to your workplace.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Track

Language acquisition is one of the most important ‘tasks’ for children during the early childhood stage. Neuroscience research in the last twenty years has found that the first few years of life is the most sensitive period for language acquisition. When early childhood teachers are well-equipped to facilitate the children’s language acquisition, they can help the children to build a strong foundation for future learning. Students opting for the TESOL track will be awarded the Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics (GDTSL) upon completion of the TESOL track.

ProgStruc_MECED

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Module Types
COMPULSORY	CET501 Child Development and Early Childhood Curriculum: Shifts in Research and Practice ECE509 Valuing Diversity: Inclusive Early Childhood Care and Education ECE515 Leadership in Curriculum Development, Analysis and Instruction ECE521 Mentoring and Coaching in Educational Settings ECE525 Investigating Curricular Content and Constructivist Pedagogies ECE599 Independent Curriculum Project	30 cu
SPECIALISATIONS	Teacher-Trainer SPECIALISATION CORE (30 cu) BXL641 Adult Learning, Learners and Their Contexts BXL642 Innovative Design, Facilitation and Assessment of Learning BXL643 Integrating Technology and Workplace Learning BXL651 Understanding and Analysing Learning Needs BXL652 Future-oriented Learning Design BXL653 Quality and Evaluation in Different Contexts TESOL SPECIALISATION CORE (15 to 30 cu) TSL501 Fundamental Aspects of Language Structure TSL503 Fundamental Aspects of Language Meaning TSL505 Sociolinguistics and Education TSL507 Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy TSL508 TESOL Methods TSL509 TESOL Curriculum SPECIALISATION ELECTIVE (0 to 15 cu) TSL551 Global English and Language Teaching TSL553 Classroom Discourse TSL555 Literacy, Language and Education TSL557 Pragmatics and TESOL TSL561 Pedagogical Grammar TSL563 Materials Development TSL565 Language Testing and Evaluation TSL567 English for Specific Purposes TSL569 English Pronunciation and TESOL TSL571 Academic Discourse: English in a Global Context TSL573 Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

Practitioners, curriculum developers, supervisors and other professionals in the early childhood education field who are aspiring to become early childhood lecturers/trainers and/or are currently supporting teacher professional development should embark on the Master of Early Childhood Education (MECED) programme. Foundational understanding of early childhood educational knowledge and practice is required and most of the project-based assignments will require course participants to have access to early childhood teachers/students in order to design, implement and evaluate early childhood training and development.

With a combination of two related sets of knowledge and practice in adult learning and early childhood education, graduates of the SUSS's Master of Early Childhood Education programme should be poised to take on critical roles in designing early childhood training and professional development opportunities for teachers in the sector as well as other professionals in related fields.

How many intakes are there in a year for Master of Early Childhood Education?
There is currently only one intake a year; every January.
What is the duration to complete the programme?
The Master of Early Childhood Education is a 2-year programme, with a fixed sequence of courses. The maximum candidature period is 4 years.
How many courses do students take in each semester?
Students are recommended to complete 3 courses per semester.
When are the lessons scheduled?
For the ECE courses, lessons are scheduled on Saturdays (from 8.30am to 5.30pm/8.30am to 12.30pm). Lunch break will be from 12.30pm to 1.30pm for full day lessons. Lessons will be conducted either physically in Singapore University of Social Science or online through zoom.

For adult learning courses in the Teacher-Trainer track, lessons are scheduled on Saturdays (from 8.30am to 5.30pm). Lunch break will be from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Lessons will be conducted physically at Institute of Adult Learning (Nearest MRT station: Paya Lebar Station).

For TESOL courses in the TESOL track, lessons are scheduled on weekdays from 7pm to 10pm physically in SUSS or online through zoom. Only TSL561/TSL551 will be scheduled on Saturdays (8.30am to 11.30am) online.
Can I qualify for the principal role in the Early Childhood Development Centre after completing the programme?
No, ECDA requires the Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Leadership, please refer to this link for more information.
Will I be able to enjoy SkillsFuture Singapore Funding (SSG) subsidy if I only register for 1 or 2 of the BXL courses offered under the Graduate Certificate in Innovative Approaches to Adult Learning?
Students must sign up for all the courses offered under the GCert (i.e. BXL641, BXL642 and BXL643) in the same semester to be eligible for SSG funding. Terms and conditions apply.
What happens if I do not complete the graduate programmes (e.g. Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master) within the candidature period? Can I apply to take the remaining courses via CET pathway?
Students who have not completed their graduate programmes within the stipulated candidature period will not be eligible for the award of the qualification for such graduate programmes. Such students however may apply to take, via the CET pathway, the remaining courses which they did not complete under their graduate programmes as part of their personal learning and development. Such application will be subjected to the CET admission requirement. However, as such students have exceeded the candidature period for their graduate programmes, they will not be awarded the qualification for such graduate programmes even after taking and completing the remaining courses via the CET pathway (“Condition”).

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE, IS ONE OF THE COURSES UNDER A GRADUATE PROGRAMME. THEREFORE, APPLICANTS FOR THIS COURSE ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOREGOING CONDITION. BY SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR THIS COURSE, THE APPLICANT AGREES TO BE SUBJECT TO THE FOREGOING CONDITION.

Master of Early Childhood Education