Syracuse University - School of Education
About
The mission of the Syracuse University School of Education is to prepare thoughtful and socially just leaders who bridge scholarship and practice. Through collaborative partnerships and multifaceted inclusive approaches, we enhance student learning and success, physical activity and health, and mental health and wellbeing across communities.
Introduction
Leading through inquiry, inclusion, and action
The mission of the Syracuse University School of Education is to prepare thoughtful and socially just leaders who bridge scholarship and practice. Through collaborative partnerships and multifaceted inclusive approaches, we enhance student learning and success, physical activity and health, and mental health and wellbeing across communities. We enact our mission through the following nine core commitments.
- To graduate highly skilled and knowledgeable practitioners, teachers, administrators, counselors, scholars, and other professionals who are leaders in their respective fields and are committed to inclusion in policy and practice
- To operate from a social justice philosophy that includes advocating for the rights of historically marginalized populations and for educational, health, and broader forms of equity
- To pursue rigorous scholarship, including evolving forms of intellectual and creative work that has an impact in local and global contexts
- To promote wellness across communities including multiple dimensions of physical health and activity, and socio-emotional wellbeing
- To prepare leaders in multiple fields including through intensive field experiences informed by theory, scholarly evidence, exemplary practices, and reciprocal university-community relations
- To stimulate student success through transformative pedagogy, student-centered learning, and effective integration of technology-based and other resources
- To recognize that diversity and academic excellence are inseparable. Diversity is embraced in its varied dimensions including but not limited to a diverse community of faculty, students, and staff; multiculturalism; and work in diverse schools and social environments.
- To foster interdisciplinary scholarship and collaborative partnerships, and to promote a climate in the School of Education and the broader university community characterized by mutual respect and democratic and sustainable practices
- To nurture a vibrant, close-knit community of scholars and students who enrich as well as draw from the breadth of resources and opportunities of a research university.
Accreditation
The School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). On July 1, 2013, NCATE consolidated with the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) to form the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). CAEP is the new accrediting body for educator preparation. CAEP continues to require institutions of higher education who prepare school professionals (Education Preparation Providers (EPPs)) to use performance-based assessments to measure a candidate’s proficiencies, a programs’ success in achieving its goals, and the EPPs’ operations in support of candidates and programs.
Professional accreditation of preparatory education programs is the bedrock upon which all professions (e.g., architecture, engineering, medicine, and law) have built their reputations. It assures that those entering the respective field have been suitably prepared to practice through assimilation of a body of knowledge and pre-service practice in the profession. Accreditation of schools of education indicates that the school underwent rigorous external review by professionals, that performance of a teacher candidate in the program has been thoroughly assessed before he or she is recommended for licensure, and that programs meet standards set by the teaching profession at large.
Regional accreditation organizations are now following this same rigorous approach to assessments and are asking faculty from education to be leaders at their institutions. This paradigm shift is creating a culture on college campuses towards innovation and quality improvements.
For additional information on accreditation please visit http://caepnet.org.