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Grant Projects Welcome to the Early Childhood Education Program at the University of Memphis. We are a part of the Instruction and Curriculum Leadership Department in the College of Education. Below is current information about our programs and the degrees (licensure and graduate) we offer in Early Childhood Education. Mission Statement The Early Childhood Education teacher education program is designed to prepare educational leaders who are able to maximize the development and learning of children with diverse needs in a variety of program settings serving children from birth through age eight years. Early Childhood Degrees - Bachelor of Science in Education (BSEd & Licensure)
At the University of Memphis, the Bachelor of Science in Education consists of both general education courses taken by all persons planning careers as educators and specialized studies (related to specific professional practice settings). All teacher education students study knowledge and skills in human development, basic instruction, technology, foundations, cultural diversity and children with special needs. - Master of Arts in Teaching Degree (MAT & Licensure)
The Master of Arts in teaching degree is designated for people with outstanding undergraduate records who are seeking initial teacher licensure at the graduate level. It is also available to those already licensed who seek additional licensure in one or more areas. Students may pursue licensure in special education, early childhood, elementary, or secondary fields. - Master of Science (MS)
- Doctor of Education (EdD)
Early Childhood Faculty Dr. Sally Blake, Ph.D., Associate Professor, 419B Ball Hall, (901) 678-4861 Dr. Blake has been working at the University of Texas at El Paso for ten years with the National Science Foundation and NASA initiatives in reform of science and mathematics education. - Seventeen years of teaching experience with young children in Arkansas and Texas.
- Recipient of the UTEP College of Education’s Outstanding Teaching, Service, and Research Awards.
- Recipient of more than $6,000,000 in grant funding from NSF, NASA, TexPREP, and Teacher Quality.
- Board Member for the Bill Gates School of Excellence in El Paso.
- Member of the National TexPREP Advisory Board.
- Specializes in early childhood science and mathematics.
- Research interests are the influence of teachers’ belief systems on student learning in mathematics and science.
Dr. John Johnston, Ph.D., Professor, 404C Ball Hall, (901) 678-3443 Director of Assessment and Accreditation for the College of Education, and Director of Graduate Curriculum for the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership. - Chaired the ATE Commission on Early Childhood Teacher Education that worked collaboratively with NAEYC and DEC to develop positions and standards regarding early childhood and early childhood special education licensure.
- Serve on the NAEYC Professional Development Panel and participate as a program reviewer, a trainer for program report compilers and program reviewers, and as a member of the Audit Committee.
- Served on the first and second NBPTS Early Childhood/Generalist standards committees and also participated in designing, implementing, and scoring assessment exercises for the EC/Gen certificate.
- Serves as an NAEYC appointee to the NCATE Board of Examiners and am serving on and chairing NCATE visiting teams.
- Participates with NCATE and NAEYC in training new BOE members and Professional Development Panel folio reviewers.
- Participated as a member if both committees that revised NAEYC’s initial and advanced teacher education standards.
- Serves as a member of an Educational Testing Service advisory committee of teachers and teacher educators who are developing a new ECE Praxis examination.
Dr. Deb Moberly, Ph.D., Associate Professor, 415A Ball Hall, (901) 678-5749 Dr. Moberly serves as the Early Childhood Coordinator and is beginning her fifth year at the University of Memphis. - Director/Principle Investigator of the Ready, Set, Grow! Pilot Project (RSG). RSG is an NAEYC accreditation facilitation project working with 37 directors of Head Start and community child care centers.
- Director/Principle Investigator of the University of Memphis Head Start Centers of Learning. These centers of excellence provide services for 76 children and families in classrooms at the Barbara K. Lipman Research Center, True Light Baptist Church, and an extensive home-based program for families in the Church’s surrounding area. The centers of Learning provide multiple types of professional development opportunities for Head Start teachers and administrators.
- Directed the National Board Certification Initiative of the U of M and Memphis City Schools 2003-2005
- Research Support Specialist for the Home Visitation Assessment
- NCATE/ACEI Program Reviewer and Auditor
- Specializes in early childhood curriculum, administration of programs for young children, leadership, and family involvement
- Research interests are leadership decisions, developing teacher dispositions, and reflection
Cheryl Rike, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, 400C Ball Hall, (901) 678-5492 Dr. Rike has had a long career in education. She has taught every grade level from Kindergarten through 8th grade and served as a principal for a public school early learning center for 10 years. She began her career at the University of Memphis as an instructor and served in that position for six years. In that position, her major responsibility was teaching both undergraduate and graduate classes. During those six years, Dr. Rike received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching and was named one of the four Distinguished Teachers of the Year in 2000. As an Assistant Professor, Dr. Rike served as the Early Childhood Coordinator for two years and assumes a leadership role in the Department. Dr. Rike specializes in early childhood curriculum, administration of programs for young children, classroom management, teaching and learning, observation and assessment, as well as foundations of early childhood education. Topics of interest include: providing appropriate experiences, environments, and teacher expertise in order to maximize cognitive development in infants and toddlers; improving teachers’ ability to differentiate instruction based on implications from recent brain research; improving the quality of the M.S. and Ed.D. programs by revising graduate courses based on NAEYC and National Board Certification Standards; and, determining the perception of the directors of childcare and Head Start centers regarding the importance of NAEYC criteria and various other aspects of their job. Current research projects include: Examining Administrative Issues and Leadership Beliefs of Directors of Programs for Young Children, and Appropriately Assessing Pre-Service Teachers’ Dispositions Based on NAEYC Standards. L. Kathryn Sharp, Ed.D., Instructor, 416D Ball Hall, (901) 678-5332 Dr. Sharp completed her doctoral studies at the University of Memphis in the Early Childhood Program. Prior to joining the Early Childhood team at the university, she taught kindergarten and second grade for Memphis City Schools. Dr. Sharp has conducted numerous in-service training sessions and workshops. She is active in outreach, consulting, and mentoring in city, county, and private schools in the greater metropolitan area. Her research interests are urban learning environments, early childhood literacy, values education, and teacher burnout. She is the co-sponsor of the UMAEYC. Satomi Taylor, PhD, Professor, 401B Ball Hall, (901) 678-5363 Dr. Taylor is a consulting editor for the International Journal of Early Childhood, PlayRights, and Tennessee’s Children. She is a member of the NAEYC’s Professionsal Education Review Panel. Her interests include play, reflective teaching, creativity, infant/toddler development, and cross-cultural studies. She is a Co-PI for the Japanese Ministry of Education grant for 2006-2009 (a cross-cultural study of children’s attachment in Japan, the U.S., China, and Sweden) and for the Kama Kura Women’s University grant for 2006-2007 (a cross-cultural study of student teaching in the U.S. and Japan). Sandra Brown Turner As a native Memphian, Mrs. Turner has spent her professional life working with and in behalf of children. She holds two degrees from the University of Memphis, a B.S.Ed. in Child Development (August 1975) and a M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration. Mrs. Turner’s history with Lipman School dates back to 1975 when she did her student teaching there and then in 1986-1987 she was a graduate assistant. Before becoming the Director of Lipman School in July 2000, Mrs. Turner was a tenured Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Southwest Tennessee Community College. She has served on numerous local, state, regional, and national boards, task forces, committees, and presented workshops or keynotes all over the United States. She is published in a variety of professional journals with a particular interest in the development of spirituality in young children.
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