Education (EDUC)

The Department of Education offers courses required for students who wish to prepare for licensure as teachers in grades 9-12 in biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, social studies (history, government, economics, psychology, and sociology) and K-12 in Spanish and French.

Admission to the Teacher Education Program

The following basic criteria must be met by the Wofford teacher candidate for admission to the Teacher Education Program. The teacher candidate must have:

• successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours of course work applicable toward degree requirements;
• achieved a cumulative 2.6 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
• submitted an acceptable essay with the application;
• demonstrated academic proficiency by passing PRAXIS I (passing scores on the PRAXIS I exams are set by the State Department of Education) or by making the required score set by the General Assembly on the SAT or the ACT;
• received two professional recommendations addressing character and academic promise and performance (one from general education faculty and one from Teacher Education faculty);
• presented a positive assessment of his or her eligibility for full licensure based on FBI background check.

To initiate admission procedures, the teacher candidate must complete the Wofford College Teacher Education Program Interest Form, confer with a faculty member in the Department of Education, and submit the Application for Admission to the Teacher Education Program to the chair of the Department of Education. The chair will review the application for completeness and submit it and the recommendations to the Teacher Education Committee for review, discussion, and action. The chair will notify the teacher candidate of the committee’s action.

Admission to the Teacher Education program should be sought during the sophomore year. However, prior to admission, students may complete four courses offered by the department:  EDUC 200 Foundations of Education, EDUC 220 Teaching Diverse Student Populations, EDUC 320 Human Growth & Development: A Life Span Approach, and EDUC 330 Educational Psychology.  in order to take additional professional education courses, students must be formally admitted.  Teacher candidates must be admitted to clinical practice at least one semester prior to student teaching.

Transfer students interested in teacher education should discuss their status with the chair of the Department of Education.

Students who already have earned bachelor degrees and who desire to earn licensure through Wofford’s program must follow the established procedure for admission to the program (i.e. present transcripts of all college work and a letter of character recommendation). The chair of the department can advise what requirements are met by the work previously completed at Wofford or other institutions. Admitted students must fulfill all the requirements of the program in which they enroll. 

Retention in the Teacher Education Program

Evaluation of teacher candidates enrolled in the Teacher Education Program is a continuous process. A teacher candidate’s knowledge, skills and dispositions are important indicators of interest and success in completing the program. Students who do not meet minimum course requirements and/or who do not exhibit the required teaching dispositions may be advised to withdraw from the program.    Specifically, to be retained in the program the teacher candidate must: maintain a grade-point average overall and in the content major of at least a 2.5 and complete satisfactorily each prerequisite professional education course and the prescribed field experiences in, EDUC 340 Teaching of Reading, EDUC 420 Instructional Methods, and EDUC 430 Senior Seminar and Field Experience, prior to enrolling in EDUC 440 Clinical Practice.

Recommendation for Teacher Licensure

The college advises teacher candidates about requirements of the Teacher Education Program and helps with scheduling the appropriate sequences of courses. Responsibility for starting the program and pursuing it to completion, however, rests upon the individual candidate. Deficiencies in preparation at the time the candidate seeks recommendation for licensure are not the responsibility of the college. Wofford College recommends for licensure only those candidates who have completed satisfactorily all requirements in the three Teacher Education Program components and passed the state-required national examinations.  Components of the Teacher Education Program are reviewed in the Major Requirements.

Chair

Cynthia A. Suárez

Professor

D. Edward Welchel

Program Requirements

Components of the Teacher Education Program

The Teacher Education Program at Wofford College has three interrelated components. First, there are those studies required to ensure a broad exposure to our intellectual heritage. For this purpose, teacher candidates are required to take courses in English, diverse cultures, fine arts, foreign language, humanities, science, history, philosophy, public speaking, religion, mathematics, and physical education. These are commonly referred to as the “general education” component of the Teacher Education Program. The requirements in general education for graduation established by Wofford and the requirements in the Teacher Education Program for licensure are similar, but because they are not identical and because the Teacher Education requirements change over time, teacher candidates should consult the chair of the Department of Education and become familiar with the specific general education requirements listed in this Catalog for graduation and in the Teacher Education Handbook for licensure.

The second component of the Teacher Education Program is concentrated study in one or more academic fields. The college requires each student to complete a major in one of several fields. In order to obtain solid grounding in their subject of teaching specialization, teacher candidates complete a major in the field they will teach. To graduate, teacher candidates must complete the Wofford College requirements for a major; to teach, they must complete the South Carolina Department of Education approved program requirements provided at Wofford in the teaching specialization. The latter are referred to as “teaching major” requirements. Teacher candidates should become familiar with both the college’s requirements and the state’s approved program requirements offered in the teaching major at Wofford College. A statement of the Wofford requirements for a major can be found in this Catalog. The state-approved program requirements are listed in the Teacher Education Handbook.

The third component of the Teacher Education Program is made up of courses in professional education and applied or field experiences in the public schools. These offerings include in-depth study for those who wish to become professional teachers, as well as several introductory courses open to all students who seek a broader understanding of education.

The required professional education courses and the year in which they should be completed are as follows:

Sophmore Year
EDUC 200	Foundations of Education	3
EDUC 220	Teaching Diverse Student Populations	3
Junior Year
EDUC 320	Human Growth & Development: A Life Span Approach	3
EDUC 330	Educational Psychology	3
EDUC 340	Teaching of Reading	3
Senior Year
EDUC 420	Instructional Methods	3
EDUC 430	Senior Seminar and Field Experience	4
EDUC 440	Clinical Practice	12

Periodically, selected special topics courses may be offered as electives to enhance the prospective teacher’s skills.

Additional explanations of the professional education requirements are included in the Teacher Education Handbook, the Field Experiences Handbook, and the Clinical Practice Handbook, available in the Department of Education and through consultation with the chair.