Education

Joel H. Meisel
CHAIRPERSON

MAJOR PROGRAM IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
There are three major programs in Education: Early Child-hood Education-certifying grades nursery-3, Elementary Education-certifying elementary grades, and elementary/special education, certifying in both elementary grades K-6 and special education. Students who wish to become certified in Early Childhood or Elementary must have a major in an academic area other than Education. They also need to successfully complete the professional major in Education with no grade less than "C" in any professional course.

Southern's program in special education and elementary education is a win-win approach to education, one that benefits future teachers and their students by building on the proven strengths of Southern's departments of elementary education and special education. The results? Greater knowledge of the educational process and better teachers.

Early Childhood Certification
The successful completion of this program includes a minimum of 41- 45 credits in the University requirements, 15 credits in the academic distribution, 43 credits in the early childhood education major (including 10 credits allotted to student teaching), and 30-38 credits in a liberal arts major. This fulfills the course requirements of the Connecticut Initial Educators Certificate and prepares the individual to teach grades Nursery, Kindergarten, and grades 1-3. Students will graduate with two majors - a major in early childhood education and a liberal arts major. The number of credits required to complete the program vary according to the student's choice of a liberal arts major. Students must pass Praxis II to be recommended for certification.

Students in the early childhood program are encouraged to begin their liberal arts major in their freshman year. It is recommended that students choose this major either in Psychology or Liberal Studies (including at least one 18 credit minor in Psychology). Students should receive academic advisement from both the liberal arts major department and the Education Department.

Elementary Education Certification
The successful completion of this program, including a minimum of 41-45 credits in the University Requirements - 12 credits in the academic distribution, 34 credits in Elementary Education, and 30-38 credits in the student's subject area major, fulfills the course requirements of the Connecticut Initial Educators Certificate and permits the individual to teach elementary grades. The number of credits required to complete the program will vary according to the student's choice of major in an academic area. There are 34 credits in Education including 10 credits allotted to student teaching. Students must pass Praxis II to be recommended for certification.

All students in this program must complete the University Requirements. For the foreign language requirement there may be a difference in the minimum level of competency to be achieved. In that case, the student is required to meet the higher level.
Students in the elementary education program are encouraged to begin their academic major in their freshman year. They should receive academic advisement from the department of their academic major and from the Education Department.

Elementary/Special Education Collaborative Certification
The successful completion of this program, consisting of a minimum of 128 credits, fulfills the requirements for the Initial Teaching Certificate in Connecticut and permits the individual to teach all elementary academic subjects to students in both regular and special education settings. Liberal education requirements total 52-55 credits. In addition, students must elect a subject area major. Professional education is composed of 52 credits, 10 of which are allotted to student teaching.

MAJOR PROGRAMS IN SECONDARY EDUCATION
The successful completion of this program, consisting of a minimum of 121 credits, fulfills the competency and content requirements for the Initial Teaching Certificate in Connecticut and prepares the individual to teach in the subject-matter area of his or her major concentration in grades 7-12. The major may be taken in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, mathematics, economics, geography, history, political science, or sociology. The required courses for majoring in a subject field are listed under the appropriate discipline.
Students in secondary education programs are required to complete the University Requirements, including PSY 100 or 102 and PHI 370. Students may complete no more than six credits in the professional education sequence before being admitted to the School of Education. In addition, the following professional education and cognate courses are required:

EDU 201 - Introduction to Teaching Professions
EDU 413 - Secondary Education
EDU 452 - Secondary School Student Teaching
EDU 453 - Student Teaching Seminar
PSY 370 - Educational Psychology
SED 482 - Teach. Excep. Students in Second. Ed.

and one of the following:
EDU 490 - English (Secondary School)
EDU 491 - Foreign Language (Secondary School)
EDU 492 - Mathematics (Secondary School)
EDU 493 - Science (Secondary School)
EDU 494 - Social Science (Secondary School)

STUDENT TEACHING
In order to enroll in student teaching for any subject area, a student must be accepted into the certification program of that department. Students must complete all required education courses, student teaching, and pass Praxis II prior to completion of their program and recommendation for Connecticut Certification. Admission requirements are listed under Academic Standards. Questions regarding acceptance procedures may be directed to the department Chairperson or the department student teaching coordinator.