Elementary Education

Overview

Educational Objectives

• able to redefine their personal philosophies of education
• well-grounded in the theoretical and substantive issues in elementary education
• knowledgeable in their subject matter
• able to supplement and enrich their knowledge about such crucial instructional issues as inclusion, reading and writing across the curriculum, integrating the curriculum, and varied methods of authentic assessment
• aware of the constantly changing diverse, social context of schools
• reflective practitioners
• scholarly agents for change

Degree Program
The Master of Arts in Elementary Education consists of two options. Option I is designed for persons who hold an elementary certificate and who choose to pursue a Master's Degree in Elementary Education. Option II is designed specifically for persons who hold a baccalaureate degree and wish to pursue certification in elementary education while earning a Master's Degree in Elementary Education. This option is also appropriate for teachers who hold certification in other areas, as well as those who hold an undergraduate degree in a field other than education. Both options require the completion of an independent research project.

Practica and Student Teaching
Students enrolled in Option I and students enrolled in Option II who hold teacher certification are not required to complete additional practica or student teaching. Students who are pursuing elementary education certification through Option II of the graduate program will be required to complete three separate practica in area schools and a clinical laboratory which prepare them for the student teaching experience. The practica are designed to move students from classroom observations to actual teaching experiences with individual students and small groups under the supervision of classroom teachers and college faculty. The clinical laboratory provides students the opportunity to refine and perfect the teaching skills they have learned in the methods courses and to develop the reflective skills which result in effective planning and teaching practices. The student teaching experience requires a commitment of one full semester of teaching in a classroom under the supervision of a classroom teacher and a member of the college faculty.

Pennsylvania Teacher Certification and Employment
Pennsylvania Certification (Instructional I) is dependent upon completion of the course of study delineated under Option II, recommendation of the college, and achievement of passing scores on the PRAXIS Test (National Teacher's Exam). Students seeking initial certification must take the Core Battery Tests and the Specialty Area Test in Elementary Education. Students who hold certification in an area other than elementary education must take only the Specialty Area Test in Elementary Education.

To convert the Instructional I certificate to an Instructional II certificate, teachers must be employed full time for a minimum of three years and earn 24 additional credits beyond the bachelor's degree within six years of full-time employment.

Salary increases are commonly associated with the achievement of the master's degree.