2012-2013 CGC Catalog.indd - The Citadel

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Graduate Programs
The purpose of the Graduate Programs of the School of Education
is to serve the people of the Lowcountry, the state of South
Carolina and the Southeast by providing high quality programs
in the areas of professional education and school counseling. The
School offers programs to prepare secondary school teachers,
school counselors, reading teachers and consultants, and
educational administrators.
The Citadel has been involved in the preparation of teachers
since the creation of the School of Education and Psychology in
1929. In 1954, the School of Education was approved as a separate
department. Master’s degree programs for teachers and Master’s
degree programs for prospective counselors were authorized
in 1968. Master’s degree programs for school administrators
were authorized in 1970. The Educational Specialist degree
in educational administration was approved in 1975 and the
Educational Specialist degree in school psychology was approved
in 1980.
Prior to 1974, the South Carolina State Department of Education
approved The Citadel’s educational preparation programs. In
1974, all professional education programs offered by the College
were initially accredited by the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE). Both state-approved program
status and national accreditation have been continuous since
they were initially granted. The most recent SCDE, Commission
on Higher Education (CHE), and NCATE program reviews,
conducted in the spring of 2000, resulted in continuing program
accreditation approval. The Council for Accreditation of
Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) granted
accreditation in July 2005 to the School Counseling Programs
which offers a Master of Education in Counselor Education.
Statement of Philosophy
The philosophy of the School of Education at The Citadel is based
on five fundamental propositions. These propositions serve to
orient the mission and conceptual base of the School, guide the
actions and value system of the faculty, shape the curricula of the
various programs, and provide to its faculty their sense of purpose
and meaning for teaching, scholarship, and professional service.
These five propositions are:
1. The faculty is committed to promoting education for
all individuals to the fullest extent possible. With the
implementation of appropriate teaching and assessment
strategies, a fundamental guiding belief is that all students,
though having unique learning styles and experiences, are
capable of learning.
2. It is the educator’s responsibility, with the aid of appropriate
resources and support, to establish a mutually respectful
environment where effective learning occurs for all students.
3. Education is a systematic effort to facilitate the knowledge,
skills, attitudes, and values necessary for the student to
function in a diverse society.
4. The faculty is committed to upholding the highest
professional standards in all situations in which they model
5.
these standards to students through their teaching, research,
and service endeavors.
The faculty is committed to an open interchange of ideas
wherein the perspectives of all are valued.
The School’s Conceptual Model
The Citadel’s Professional Education Unit prepares principled
educational leaders to be knowledgeable, reflective, and ethical
professionals. Candidates completing our programs are committed
to ensuring that all students succeed in a learner-centered
environment.
Rationale:
• Society is in need of principled educational professionals
committed to ensuring all students learn;
• All children and young adults require high quality educational
experiences that enable them to compete and prosper in the
global economy; and
• Such high quality educational experiences require a
transformed educational system focused on fostering twenty–
first century knowledge and skills in all children and young
adults.
In today’s world we must educate all children and at
unprecedented high levels. As noted by Ted Hershberg and his
colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, “the evidence makes
clear that the current structure of public education designed for a
different purpose and different century cannot help all students
become effective citizens or productive workers in the new
economy.’
The Citadel’s Professional Education Unit is committed to the
simultaneous transformation of the preparation of educational
leaders and of the places where they work. Specifically, The
Citadel’s Professional Education Unit seeks to develop principled
educational leaders who:
• have mastered their subject matter and are skilled in using it
to foster student learning;
• know the self who educates (Parker J. Palmer) and integrate
this self knowledge with content knowledge, knowledge of
students, and in the context of becoming professional change
agents committed to using this knowledge and skill to ensure
that all students succeed in a learner-centered environment;
and
• exemplify the highest ethical standards by modeling respect
for all human beings and valuing diversity as an essential
component of an effective learner-centered environment.
The Citadel’s Professional Educational Unit is on the march,
transforming itself into a Center of Excellence for the preparation
of principled educational leaders. Through our initial program for
teacher candidates for P-12 schools and our advanced programs for
professional educators in P-20 schools, The Citadel’s Professional
Educational Unit transforms cadets and graduate students into
principled educational leaders capable of and committed to
transforming our schools into learning communities where all
children and youth succeed.
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