EDEF 320

EDEF 320: Introduction to Professional Education

Pre-or Co-requisite: Course in human growth and development (HUMD 300; EDEF 300; or PSYC 230; or PSYC 218; or PSYC 317; or ESHE 294 for ESHE majors only).

Credit Hours: (3)
 

Introduces teaching as a profession. Topics include the organization, governance, and culture of schools; legal and ethical responsibilities of teachers; historical, philosophical and sociological  foundations underlying education in the United States; how teachers are evaluated; contemporary issues and current trends in education; and teaching from a multicultural perspective.

Note(s): Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designated course.

Detailed Description of the Course

The course will seek to address the following topics:

1. Becoming a Professional Educator 

(Including teacher rights and responsibilities; accountability under Virginia's Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers; professional ethics; being a reflective practitioner who engages in inquiry, research, and continuing professional development in the profession; professional teaching organizations; and characteristics and dispositions of professional educators.) 

2. Philosophical, Historical/Legal, Sociological, Political and Economic Issues in American Education

(Including differing perspectives on the purposes of schools; how philosophical perspectives influence what we teach; the history of American education and how changes in American culture and economy lead to changes in school purposes, organization, and curriculum; school finance; school reform; and school law and governance.)

3. Sociological Issues

(Including diversity in abilities, race, class, and sexual identity and orientation and how these diversities impact a child’s experiences in school.)

Detailed Description of the Conduct of the Course


A variety of instructional methods will be used, which may include, but are not limited to: lecture, small group work, research, class presentations, guest speakers, university-wide events, videos, case studies, and/or class blogs and threaded discussions.

Goals and Objectives of the Course

1. Becoming a professional educator:
   1. Students will understand the rights and responsibilities of professional educators, including:
      1. accountability under Virginia's Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers,
      2. the roles of teachers and schools in communities.
   2. Students will describe and demonstrate the characteristics and dispositions of teacher, including:
      1. professional ethics and personal integrity,
      2. reflective practice,
      3. continuous learning,
      4. engagement with professional teaching organizations.
2. Roles and organization of schools:
   1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical, philosophical, and sociological foundations underlying the role, development and organization of public education in the United States. 
   2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of schools as organizations and cultures within the larger community context and understand the operations of the relevant aspects of school systems. 
3. Laws and Governance:
   1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of
      1. federal and state laws and regulations affecting children, families, and programs for children,
      2. federal and state laws pertaining to schools and educators’ rights and responsibilities,
      3. the relationship among local, state, and federal governance of schools.
4. Contemporary Issues:
   1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of contemporary issues in education, including:
      1. the impact of current technologies on education,
      2. how individual differences (e.g., neurodiversity, racial, social class, gender, and sexual identity and orientation) impact a child’s experiences in school,
      3. how factors in students’ environments outside of school (e.g., prior learning, language, culture, family) as well as individual experiences and talents may influence students’ lives and learning.
   2. Students will use a research-based framework for understanding cultural and community diversity and explore and reflect upon their own cultural frames to attend to issues of equity, diversity, access, power, human rights, and social justice within their schools and/or communities.   

 

Assessment Measures

Learning will be assessed via a variety of methods, which may include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Participation in discussions  
2. Written responses to readings
3. Participation in small group projects or presentations
4. Participation in a variety of professional development (PD) activities

Students pursuing licensure may be asked to complete a limited number of additional tasks directly related to meeting licensure requirements. 

 

Review and Approval

March 01, 2021 

November 29, 2023