Education

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Education at Winston- Salem State University is the preparation of knowledgeable, reflective, ethical, and effective teachers and care providers who are critical thinkers, advocates for the learner, multicultural educators, and change agents.

Departmental Goals

1. Ensure the effectiveness of teachers and teacher candidates to work with PK-12 students.
2. Provide curriculum and instructional strategies that enable candidates to meet professional teaching standards.
3. Enhance opportunities, resources, and infrastructure for faculty to conduct and disseminate research related to teaching and learning.
4. Provide experiences and resources that enhance teachers’ and teacher candidates’ critical thinking skills.
5. Provide service opportunities that support educational equity and social justice.
6. Provide effective teaching and support services to teachers and teacher candidates.
7. Promote and model effective use and integration of instructional technologies into teaching, learning, research, and service.

General Information

The Department of Education offers programs of study leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in birth-kindergarten, elementary, middle grades, and special education. In addition to baccalaureate degrees in education, the Department of Education provides professional courses for all teacher education programs. The teacher education programs provide field experiences through directed observation, participant observation, and student teaching under the guidance of experienced cooperating teachers and university supervisors.

Students, who complete requirements for baccalaureate degrees in education with satisfactory performance on Praxis examinations, also satisfy the requirements for teacher licensure as outlined by the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction.

The teacher education programs at Winston-Salem State University has long enjoyed a reputation for preparing competent and dedicated teachers. The success of the teacher education programs has been the result of diligence, resourcefulness, and innovation. Informed by recent research on cognition, teaching, and higher order thinking abilities of children, the department has established the theme and goal of producing effective thinkers. Critical and Creative Thinkers: Evolving Professionals Who Facilitate Learning for All Children in a Diverse, Technologically Dynamic World

Education majors are prepared to be effective thinkers through the provision of learning experiences which require them to engage in critical, creative and logical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. Such opportunities for higher order thinking are made available not only in education courses but in courses campus-wide. The conceptual framework is knowledgebased, articulated, shared, coherent, and consistent with the unit and institutional mission.