CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT
EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Mission statement: To teach, to learn, to help others teach and learn.

The Professional Education Programs at EKU are dedicated to preparing the highest quality educators and related professionals for Kentucky and beyond. Our graduates integrate content, effective pedagogical skills, and dispositions that foster life-long growth and learning.  Being true to our heritage as a school of opportunity, EKU provides a climate that supports, challenges, and enriches students aspiring to careers in a diverse society. (November 2000)

 THE EFFECTIVE EDUCATOR^* AS AN EFFECTIVE PERSON

Eastern Kentucky University's professional education programs are developed around the belief that effective educators are effective people.  This belief is based on the extensive body of research into the characteristics of effective helping professionals and is cited below. At Eastern, students are provided opportunity to acquire both depth and breadth in knowledge of subject matter, to study and practice the skills of teaching, and to reflect upon personal abilities, interests, and dispositions as they relate to helping diverse populations learn and grow.  The effective educator is perceived as one who is able to integrate content and skills with personal dispositions in order to help students learn and develop.  The primary goal of the professional education programs is to help pre- and in-service educators become more effective people. The three major elements of the EKU Professional Education Conceptual Framework are Knowledge, Pedagogical Skills, and Dispositions are based upon and are aligned with Kentucky's New and Experienced Teacher Standards.( The standards addressed under each element are indicated.)  Students progressing through a professional education program at Eastern Kentucky University encounter numerous opportunities for inquiry, analysis, and reflection as they strive to become more effective persons and educators. The student’s performance and the overall effectiveness of each program are assessed during regular reviews of student progress across each element of the conceptual framework.

The Knowledge element enables students to construct understanding of the complexity and richness of the learning /teaching process^1,2,3 and includes:

1. general knowledge needed in order to develop as an educated person and citizen in a diverse society,

2. specific knowledge related to a professional specialty,

3. foundational knowledge in professional subjects basic to professional preparation, and

4. behavioral knowledge  needed for understanding of self and others,

5. technological knowledge needed to enhance professional practice.

(New Teacher Standards I, VIII, IX; Experienced Teacher Standards  1, 2, 10)

The Pedagogical Skills element enables the professional educator to facilitate learning.  Program experiences for both pre-service and in-service educators address best practices in content-independent and content-specific pedagogical methods.^4,5 This is accomplished through a variety of in-class, virtual, and field-based experiences involving acquisition of knowledge, application, and reflection^6,7,8,9 upon effectiveness. Recognizing the vital connection between knowledge, experience and reflection¹⁰, faculty incorporate these in every course in every program. The Model Laboratory School and Madison County as well as educational communities scattered throughout the state provide essential settings for guided field-based experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.  These experiences allow students to apply theory to real-life situations and receive immediate feedback - an essential component of a program utilizing authentic, continuous assessment.

(New Teacher Standards I, II, III, IV, Vi, VII, IX; Experienced Teacher Standards 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)

The Dispositions element includes the attitudes, beliefs, professional commitments,  and/or perceptions that educators possess which form the basis for behavior and include:

1. self-perceptions that allow for identifying with diverse student populations,

2. perceptions of students as able learners and worthy individuals,

3. perceptions of the purposes of education in a larger context, and

4. frames of reference as people oriented.

Research indicates that educators' dispositions strongly influence student learning and development.^11,12,13,14 A major goal of Education programs at Eastern Kentucky University is to assist students in identifying the dispositions associated with effective educators, to help them self-assess their dispositions in order to determine their "fit" for an education career, and to facilitate their development of even more positive perceptions.  Effective educators can handle a multiplicity of rapidly developing situations in ways that maximize learning and facilitate the psychological growth of students.  Being such an "effective educator" is an outcome of developing and maintaining certain perceptions about oneself, students, and the tasks of teaching.

(New Teacher Standards I, II, III, V, VI; Experienced Teacher Standards 1, 7, 8)

 (October 30, 2001).

References

1.  Darling-Hammond, L. (1998).  Teacher learning that supports student learning. Educational Leadership, 55 (5), 6, 6b-6c.
2.  Darling-Hammond, L., Wise, A., and Klein, S. (1995).  A license to teach.  San Francisco: WestView Press.
3.  Henson, K.T., (1995). Curriculum development for education reform: New York: Harper Collins.
4.  Sparks, D. (1997).  A new vision for staff development. Principal, 77 (1), 20-22.
5.  Cawelti, G (ed.),  (1995). Handbook of research on improving student achievement.  Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
6.  Freese, A. R. (1999). The role of reflection on pre-service teachers’ development in the context of a professional development school. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 895-909.
7.  Bell, B., & Gilbert, J. (1994). Teacher development as professional, personal and social development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 10, 483-497.
8.  Kruse, S. D. (1997). Reflective activity in practice: Vignettes of teachers’ deliberative work. Journal  of Research and Development in Education, 31, 46-60.
9.  Pugach, M. C., & Johnson, L. J.  (1990).  Fostering the continued democratization of consultation through action research.  Teacher Education and Special Education, 13(3-4), 240-245. 
10. Ferraro, J., (2000). Reflective practice and professional development. ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, Washington, DC. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED449120)
11. Combs, A.W. The schools we need: New assumptions for educational reform. University Press Of America, 1991.
12. Combs, A.W., Richards, A.C., and Richards, F.  Perceptual psychology:  A humanistic approach to the study of persons.  New York:  Harper & Row, 1976. 
13. Combs, A.W., Blume, R.A., Newman, A.J., and Wass, H.L.  The professional education of teachers. Boston:  Allyn & Bacon, 1974.  
14. Combs, A. et.al. 1969. Florida studies in the helping professions. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press.

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*Educators include teachers, administrators, school counselors, interpreters of the deaf, speech-language pathologists, library media specialists, school psychologists and non-teaching Special Education service providers