Education department to offer correlate

Brian Farkas News Editor

Beginning in the Fall of 2008 with the 2008-2009 academic year, Vassar College will offer a correlate sequence in education. This will be the first formal program in education that the College has ever offered other than preparation for New York State teaching certification.

“We wanted to find a way for students interested in education, but not necessarily planning on becoming teachers, to pursue those interests in greater depth,” said Associate Professor and Chair of the Education Department Christopher Bjork.

On Sept. 10, the department submitted a proposal to the Committee on Curricular Policies (CCP), a joint committee chaired by Dean of the Faculty Ronald Sharp and Vassar Student Association Vice President for Academics Jessica Cho ’08.

After the CCP unanimously accepted the department’s proposal, it was then approved by the faculty during their Nov. 14 meeting.

The new correlate sequence will be structured along two tracks. The first focuses on human development and learning, and the second on educational policy and practice.

Students wishing to elect an education correlate will meet with a member of the education department to design a program that addresses a particular theme or topic.

“We believe that investigating that topic over an extended period of time will challenge students to think more deeply and critically about the role that educational institutions play in our society,” said Bjork. “People who take courses in education often pursue careers in everything from education policy to social work. The correlate will allow people like that to develop a more formal relationship with our department,” he said.

“Students will also have closer, more consistent guidance from the faculty in the education department than they would if they simply picked a course or two from the catalogue,” added Sharp.

While individual interests will guide the coursework, students will have several requirements. They must take six units of education classes consisting of three introductory or intermediate-level courses, and two advanced-level courses. The correlate will also require a half-unit of field work credit at a local school or through the Internship in Irish Schools Program, as well as another half-unit of independent study credit, for which the student will write a research paper.

The new correlate was proposed in response to student requests. “For several years we had been hearing from students who thought we should create a major or correlate sequence,” said Bjork. “It took a long time to formulate and polish the proposal, but we think students will be happy with the way it turned out.”

The correlate arrives during a time of considerable student interest in education. In a survey that Vassar College administered to the Class of 2005 in May 2005, 19 percent of students had already accepted a full-time job in education, and nine percent were actively seeking one. An additional 10 percent of students indicated that they planned to pursue a graduate degree in education.

“Student interest in education at Vassar is accelerating considerably,” said Dean of Studies and Associate Professor of Education Chris Roellke. Roellke said some 400 students enroll in education classes each year from “the full range of majors at Vassar—arts, sciences and humanities.”

Having an official correlate will also help students after college, said Director of Career Development Mary Raymond. “Without a doubt, this new correlate will enhance a student’s candidacy for a position in education,” she said. “This correlate will certainly demonstrate commitment on behalf of the students who pursue this field.”

The extra education correlate experience might help students regardless of whether they plan on teaching. “Many students at Vassar are interested in education as a topic of study but are not necessarily interested in becoming certified,” said Assistant Professor of Education Erin McCloskey, who helped organize the correlate. “I think students wanted a correlate in education because they are deeply committed to many of the issues, and a correlate sequence would allow them to develop some depth rather than just amass units.”

But students hoping for an education major will have to wait. “Education is intentionally not a major at Vassar, as we believe that a strong liberal arts education is the foundation for teaching effectiveness in public and private schools,” said Roellke, who does not believe pre-professionalism is his department’s mission, despite the existense of the College’s teaching certification program.

“The large majority of our students are not planning to get certified to teach,” he explained. “Our objective is to be the strongest education department of any liberal arts college in the country—a department that not only prepares outstanding teachers, but also prepares a much wider range of students for work, for graduate school, for whatever they wish to pursue.”

Nevertheless, the department will explore the creation of a major. “New York State Certification requirements are aligned with our philosophy that students should have a strong background in a specific discipline in addition to a strong pedagogical core,” he said. “So our students that wish to become teachers will still need to major in another discipline, even if we do establish a major in educational studies at some point.”

The new correlate sequence during a period of growth for the education department. The department is currently searching for instructors to fill two tenure-track positions. One of these professors will focus on adolescent education and the other will focus on multicultural education.

In Fall 2008, the department will move from its current headquarters in Blodgett Hall to the Maria Mitchell Observatory, which is currently undergoing a $4.5 million renovation (as reported in the 10.26.07 issue of The Miscellany News).

“While I wouldn’t say there is an explicit connection, I do think the two developments are driven by a growing interest in and commitment to education at Vassar,” said Bjork of the correlate and the relocation. “The members of our department are really excited about the changes that are taking place. We feel fortunate to have such strong support from students and the administration.”