Our Departments and Programs

Overview

The Lehman College School of Education first received NCATE accreditation as a Division of Education in 2002 and, again, in 2007. Accreditation in 2015 will be the first as a School of Education. Each of our departments, and the programs within them, is guided by our conceptual framework. Our framework anchors our approaches to facilitating transformative education. The framework is also integrally rooted in our conceptual and pedagogical foundations for stimulating and supporting the development of knowledge, skills, dispositions, and leadership potential that are crucial to working effectively in urban schools and communities. Detailed information for each of our programs is available on the Lehman College website (www.lehman.edu).

The curricula and courses of the Early Childhood and Childhood Education, Middle and High School Education, and Counseling, Leadership, Literacy, and Special Education Departments reflect the knowledge that faculty across departments and schools within Lehman College intend to impart. The curricula and courses also reflect the pedagogical, counseling, and leadership orientations that are needed to nurture strong and effective teachers, school counselors, and educational leaders. Prospective teachers, school counselors, and school leaders develop broad knowledge of human development, upon which their understanding of pedagogy, counseling, and leadership skills and dispositions rest. All of our courses and field experiences develop critical thinking, reflection, data-driven equity assessment, problem-solving abilities, knowledge, and dispositions.

The pedagogical, counseling, and leadership content of the courses within our departments integrates theory with practice. Extensive field-based experiences, arranged in collaboration with schools and community organizations, complement and reinforce students’ courses of study. Students gain valuable knowledge and insights in relation to the people and to the institutions that they may ultimately serve. In contexts, within and outside of Lehman College, students also gain valuable knowledge and insights from new technologies and first-hand experiences in dynamic environments. Prospective teachers, school counselors, and school leaders are further supported through advising, practica, student teaching, internships, support services, access to technology, and mentoring opportunities after they graduate.

The School of Education monitors and continually assesses its learning environments to ensure that all contexts for learning emphasize high academic expectations and promote respect, appropriate assessments, innovation, and advocacy. Faculty model pedagogical, counseling and leadership practices that reflect LUTE working themes. In addition, programs provide opportunities for faculty and students to reflect on the mission of education in a culturally- and linguistically-diverse society. By honoring individual and communal voices, values, and beliefs, these inquiries generate knowledge, affirm individual and group identities, and narrow achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps.

Ongoing self-assessment and evaluation are part of the commitment of the faculty as a community of teachers, school counselors, leaders, and learners and are incorporated in all aspects of our work. Assessment practices are reflective, multifocal, and performance- and outcome-based. Ongoing assessment: 1) supports reflective development; 2) documents candidates’ experiences for review by faculty and peers; 3) identifies candidates’ strengths, areas for improvement, and attention to next steps in development as teachers, school counselors, and leaders; 4) recommends changes to improve the quality of School of Education offerings; and, 5) provides a baseline for future employers.