School of Education
The School of Education provides initial preparation and continuing education opportunities to aspiring teachers and other professional personnel engaged in educational activities on Guam, the Western Pacific region, and the U.S. mainland. These purposes are accomplished primarily through classroom instruction and related practicum activities monitored and coordinated by the teaching faculty.
The School of Education requirements presently meet teacher certification requirements for Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and many U.S. states. Students are responsible for becoming familiar with certification requirements of the geographic areas in which they plan to seek employment. Students need to be aware that certification requirements change and that it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of changing standards for certification.
Programs to prepare candidates for teacher certification in elementary and secondary education provided by the School of Education are accepted by the Guam Commission on Educator Certification (GCEC).
The mission for the School of Education is to prepare teachers, professionals, and leaders in education to meet the multicultural educational demands of Guam and the region in the Pacific. The emerging challenges brought about by social, economic, and political changes within the region have created a need to expand the school’s ability to deliver appropriate instruction and related educational services. Thus, an integral part of the school’s mission is becoming the academic, research, and service resource center for Guam and the greater Micronesian area.
The School of Education believes that an effective educator must possess the knowledge, skills, and disposition necessary to carry out the roles of facilitator, collaborator, motivator, manager, mentor, evaluator, and change agent. The development of knowledge, skills, and disposition draws from the various activities in each program intended to assist candidates in becoming knowledgeable scholars, effective communicators, and reflective decision-makers.
The School of Education is organized into two academic divisions:
This division encompasses graduate programs that center on advancing learning opportunities in educational theories and research-based best practices to advance graduate students in their area of specialization.
This division, which includes the undergraduate education programs, and the Master of Arts in Teaching, focuses on the pedagogical component of educator preparation with an emphasis on diversity in an effort to meet the needs of the island’s public school system. Upon completion of our educator preparation programs, candidates meet the certification requirements for Guam.
The academic quality of program offerings within the School of Education is monitored by the Academic Affairs Committee. SOE programs/units are designed to meet the needs of public education and focus on teaching, practice, in-service, and research programs to prepare educators in both the pre-service and in-service areas at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Academic Affairs Committee works with the SOE Advisory Council, which is typically composed of the educational leadership from the public and private schools as well as related service agencies, such as Mental Health and Public Health.
Student Organization | Advisor |
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Gearing Education for Maximum Service | Dr. Jackysha Green |
Students must submit an application for admission to the School of Education that includes a LiveText portfolio with the following, demonstrating that he/she has the knowledge, skills, and disposition necessary for success as a teacher candidate:
The Admissions Committee will review all documents and make a recommendation to the dean to approve or deny admission. The action will be binding unless successfully appealed. Within four weeks of submission, the dean will inform each applicant and their program of the decision. In case of denied admission, the applicant must re-apply by submitting a new application for admission the following semester.
An official IDP is defined as an Individual Degree Plan appropriately signed by the School of Education designee and the registrar in the Office of Admissions & Records. Holders of an official IDP will be granted admission to the School of Education if they can fulfill the following requirements:
Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher seeking certification only must seek admission into the School of Education.
Students seeking degrees in the School of Education should familiarize themselves with the General Education Requirements. All students working toward a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree must complete the General Education requirements of the University with a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher.
Additionally, a grade of “C” or better must be earned by SOE undergraduate majors in all SOE courses. Secondary major students must maintain a grade of “C” or better in all relevant content areas.
The letter grade system is used in all courses.
Students who have declared Education as their major are required to seek academic advisement through the School of Education. All students should read this catalog carefully as it is the authority on degree requirements.
See the Academic Advisement section to view the School of Education advisors.
The courses of instruction offered by the School of Education are organized into undergraduate and graduate levels in a developmental sequence that promotes the acquisition of knowledge and competencies at increasingly complex levels and in important areas of specialization.
There are two categories of student status at the undergraduate level: Pre-Education and Teacher Candidate.
During the freshman and sophomore years, students who are interested in investigating and understanding teaching as a career can explore their interest as a Pre-Education major. Through interactions with School of Education advisors, students plan an initial course of study and participate in entry-level experiences with these goals in mind. The School of Education encourages interested students to explore the teaching profession through actual involvement in school classrooms beginning in the freshman year. These experiences help students to become familiar with pupils’ attitudes, values, and abilities. Additionally, they provide an increasingly important opportunity to acquaint interested students with pupils from diverse cultural environments and schools at a variety of levels. These early experiences assist interested students in making an informed decision about their further participation in the program as a teacher candidate.
Admission to teacher candidacy typically comes at the beginning of the junior year. A formal application is required during the sophomore year. During the junior and senior years, students gain detailed experiences and training in their specific program area.
The student teaching assignment (ED-492) in the senior year is the culminating experience of the teacher education program. The student is placed with a classroom supervisor at the appropriate level where he/she is guided through an induction period of observation, a period of participation and observation, and a final period of increasing responsibility for teaching full-time during his/her hours at school. Faculty members of the School of Education provide supervision and assistance to the student teacher.
Prior to student teaching/internship, all teacher candidates must take the following Praxis tests and pass with a score as set by the Guam Commission for Educator Certification:
Scores from the student’s two Praxis tests must be presented prior to acceptance for student teaching or internship. Because of the importance of the student teaching experience, there are specific requirements for admission. Candidates for student teaching must contact the Office of the Field Experience Coordinator in the semester preceding student teaching to be apprised of the various requirements and to submit materials and information required prior to acceptance into the student teaching experience.
Students are cautioned about the need to concentrate their full resources during the student teaching semester on student teaching. Students are not allowed to carry an overload as student teaching is a full-time job. Students are urged to review the contents of the Student Teaching Handbook, available from the Office of the Field Experience Coordinator prior to enrollment.
Individuals who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher in education (i.e. elementary or early childhood) from any regionally accredited college or university and have not completed the certification requirements as set forth by the Guam Commission for Educator Certification must meet the following University requirements:
The common attributes of each major include the following:
Students successfully completing their degree program and becoming certified educators should be well-educated individuals who possess:
Our program learning outcomes are based on the 10 standards of the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC). The following standards guide the School of Education toward outcomes in its teacher preparation programs: