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Southern Wesleyan School of Education nationally accredited

CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University’s School of Education recently received accreditation for seven years — until 2021 — under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards.

NCATE’s performance-based accreditation system for teacher preparation ensures that teacher candidates are prepared to make a difference in P-12 student learning. The School of Education prepares students at the initial certification level in biology, math, science, social studies, physical education, special education, elementary education, music and early childhood education.

In fall 2015, a new major in early childhood family studies will be offered. At the graduate level, the School of Education offers a master’s degree in administration and supervision, preparing candidates for certification as administrators and supervisors and a master’s degree in classroom leadership. The master’s in administration and supervision is offered at Southern Wesleyan’s Central campus and at its learning centers, located in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and North Augusta. The master’s in classroom leadership is primarily offered in the online format.

According to Dr. Sandra McLendon, dean of the School of Education, NCATE accreditation is valuable in guiding the School of Education to strive to continuously improve and focus on ongoing efforts toward excellence and connections to preparing teachers. Ultimately, this continuous improvement is connected to improved preschool to grade 12 student achievement.

Based on its conceptual framework, the School of Education has adopted the theme statement, “Educators who demonstrate scholarship within a Christian ethic of care.” Teacher candidates are guided in the acquisition of skills that are necessary to plan and implement instruction of content area subjects at the elementary and secondary school levels. Further, teacher candidates are instructed in specific aspects of assessment and classroom management that facilitate the improvement of student learning and teacher instruction. This is accomplished through interacting with experienced university faculty in the classroom and clinical experiences in actual classrooms with mentor teachers.

Southern Wesleyan’s School of Education is accredited under NCATE standards, as well as those accredited under the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) Quality Principles, which are now served by the single specialized accreditation system for educator preparation in the United States, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). More than 900 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP accreditation system.

More information about Southern Wesleyan University School of Education can be found online at swu.edu/academics/school-of-education. More information about CAEP can be found at caepnet.org.

With regional education centers conveniently located across South Carolina, as well as fully online programs for select degrees, Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, visit swu.edu.