Minor available in Education

Education Department Mission

Equipping teachers for transformative learning and service.

The Houghton University Teacher Education Program is rooted in the conviction that education at every level must not only inform the mind, but also enrich the spirit and develop the character of all who participate. We further believe that, to serve effectively as teachers in the changing world of the 21st century, our graduates must enter the profession solidly prepared in academic content, intellectual abilities, and pedagogical knowledge. Additionally, graduates must demonstrate personal responsibility and professional dispositions that will ensure a positive educational experience for all learners. Since no amount of preparation can anticipate all teaching contexts or subsequent developments in the field, our graduates must also be ready to continue learning as they teach.

The mission of Houghton University’s teacher education program, derived from these convictions, is to equip teachers for transformative learning and service.

The Goals

The Houghton University Teacher Education Program prepares teachers as competent scholars, reflective teachers, and caring servants who:

• Demonstrate a breadth and depth of subject matter knowledge and facility with the intellectual tools of the liberal arts.
• Articulate and implement a personal philosophy of education based on their knowledge of students’ cognitive, psycho-social, and moral development as well as the cultural and philosophical foundations of education, all of which inform and give coherence to their teaching.
• Integrate the knowledge and intellectual tools of the liberal arts with pedagogical knowledge to create instruction and assessment practices that acknowledge, address and value the varied learning needs of diverse students in nurturing and culturally-responsive learning environments.
• Work in partnership with students, educational professionals, parents, and community members to foster students’ learning and development.
• Develop and critique educational thought and practice in light of Christian faith in a way that communicates the commitment and ability to grow as lifelong learners who contribute thoughtfully to the profession while demonstrating integrity in their personal and professional behavior.

Hands-on Learning

All students participate in a variety of classroom experiences that place them in rural and urban schools, service learning, and individual student teaching placements.

One Program: Four Strands

Education majors will complete one of four program strands: adolescence education, inclusive adolescence education, inclusive childhood education or music education. Students in each strand receive thorough preparation in educational theory and practice as well as intensive preparation in their chosen content area.

Careers in Education

Reports from the New York State Department of Education demonstrate that Houghton students’ success rates on the New York State Teacher certification Examinations exceed overall statewide rates and private sector rates.

Recent graduates are teaching across the United States in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Masachusetss, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont and Virginia, and internationally in countries including Bahrain, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.