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Standard II
Interpretive,
Normative, and Critical Studies Component of Initial Teacher Certification and
Continuing Professional Development
Professional
preparation leading to initial teacher certification and/or licensure shall
include studies (at least one course, preferably two or more) in the
foundations of education. Such study shall promote the development of
interpretive, normative, and critical
perspectives on education and schooling as defined in Standard
Inservice education for the continuing
professional development of educational practitioners and field personnel shall
include foundational studies which foster the interpretive, normative, and
critical perspectives on education described in Standard I.
In the preservice program, instruction in
the interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on education should
reflect and serve the rationale and goals of the professional teacher
preparation program. No particular organization or format is specified.
Learning may be structured around aspects of the school-society relationship,
issues in educational policy, or particular disciplines, e.g., the
history, philosophy, and sociology of education. Field experiences designed and
supervised in collaboration with educational practitioners are appropriate
components of foundational studies when those experiences contribute to
students’ abilities to interpret and communicate the content and context of
educational thought and practice. This standard recognizes the importance of
such areas of study as educational psychology, curriculum and instruction,
educational administration, and pedagogical methods within professional teacher
preparation programs. However, instruction in these areas is not an acceptable
substitute for humanistic and social foundational studies. The general
objectives of these foundational studies are to introduce students to
interpretive uses of knowledge germane to education and to establish a basis
for life-long learning through normative and critical reflection on education
within its historical, philosophical, cultural, and social contexts.
Discussion of Standard II
This Standard seeks to ensure at least a minimum foundational
studies component in initial teacher certification programs as a disciplined
basis for developing interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on
education. Standard II also seeks to ensure that instruction in Foundations of
Education, Educational Studies, or Educational Policy Studies is part of
inservice or continuing professional development programs and that such
instruction is staffed by appropriately qualified faculty.
Standard II is addressed to criteria of accreditation
agencies that prescribe instruction in humanistic and behavioral studies in
education within the professional preparation component of each curriculum for
prospective teachers. It acknowledges the basic distinction between the social
and behavioral sciences and does not intend to establish instructional
guidelines for the latter. For candidates in initial teacher certification
programs, social foundations studies contribute directly to the development of
interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on educational arrangements,
practices, and discourse. They focus on the content and context of issues and
problems that are fundamental to education, regardless of the candidate’s eventual
area of specialization.
The foundational component of the professional preparation program is to be
developed and conducted or supervised by persons who meet the qualifications of
Standard VIII. As a rule, these faculty members will be identified with
Foundations of Education, Educational Studies, or Educational Policy Studies.
They are expected to maintain collaborative relations with colleagues in other
academic units of the department, school, or college of education and with
educational practitioners.
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