School of Education

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Martha E. MacCullough, Ed.D., Dean/Distinguished Professor

Professor

Dianne K. Alexander, Ed.D., Chair, Early Childhood and Elementary Education
C. Richard Beach, Ph.D., Chair, Health and Physical Education
Patricia L. Cook, Ed.D., Chair, Special Education
M. Jean Minto, D.Litt.
Debbie L. Wolf, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Deborah L. MacCullough, Ph.D.
Jason D. VanBilliard, Ed.D., Chair, Secondary Education

Assistant Professor

Paula L. Beach, M.S.
Christopher J. Palladino, M.Ed.
Ann C. Rivera, M.S.Ed. 

Part-time Faculty

Charlotte Gleason, M.L.S.
Diane K. Kloth, M.Ed.
Barbara Underhill, M.Ed.

Adjunct Faculty

Rebecca Benjamin, B.Mus.
Victoria Chandler, M.Ed.
Rachael Joye, M.A.
Sue Knickerbocker, M.Ed.
Melody Nichols, M.Ed.
Linda R. Paskell, M.Ed.
Judy E. Severns, M.Ed.

The School of Education exists to prepare reflective and highly skilled educators of academic excellence and Christian character for the teaching and educational leadership professions.

Teachers must be able to orchestrate experiences that lead to student learning in an environment that fosters the development of the whole person. Teachers must be knowledgeable in their subject areas and must understand human development and learning. They must be able to put this knowledge to use in skillful lesson planning, decision making, and interactive methodology. Teachers must be motivators, facilitators, counselors, curriculum planners, diagnosticians, evaluators, human relations experts, disciplinarians, record-keepers, effective thinkers and learners, and reflective professionals seeking ongoing improvement and excellence. It is important that teachers be role models: people of unquestionable moral character, enthusiastic about life and learning, and committed to the high values of the teaching profession. The Christian educator must be committed to a Christian worldview and should apply these principles in service. The School of Education at PBU seeks top quality entrants for the teacher preparation programs.

The School of Education, Undergraduate Division, has developed a set of competencies that, when fulfilled and/or accomplished, will produce a teacher marked by excellence. These competencies may be found in the School of Education Undergraduate Handbook.

Programs

Early Childhood/Elementary PK-4 Education Program leads to the PK-4 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and the Standard ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) certificate required by many Christian schools worldwide. This program leads to two degrees: B.S. in Education and B.S. in Bible. This program may be blended with K-8 Special Education, which leads to K-8 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and Standard K-8 ACSI certification in special education.

Elementary/Middle Level 4-8 Education Program leads to the 4-8 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching, and the Standard  ACSI certificate for Christian school teaching. This program leads to two degrees: B.S. in Education and B.S. in Bible. This program may be blended with K-8 Special Education, which leads to K-8 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and Standard K-8 ACSI certification in special education.

Secondary Education: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Social Science Programs lead to the 7-12 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and the Standard 7-12 ACSI certificate for Christian school teaching. These programs lead to two degrees: B.S. in Education and B.S. in Bible.

Health/Physical Education Program leads to the K-12 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and the Standard K-12 ACSI certificate for Christian school teaching. This program leads to two degrees: B.S. in Education and B.S. in Bible.

Music Education Program leads to the K-12 Pennsylvania Instructional I certification for public school teaching and the Standard K-12 ACSI certificate for music education.  This program leads to two degrees: B.S. in Bible and B.Mus. (Under the administration of the School of Music and Performing Arts together with the School of Education)

Preschool-Kindergarten Program leads to state private school licensure for nursery/kindergarten teaching and Standard ACSI Early Childhood (nursery/kindergarten) teaching certificate. This four-year program is designed to prepare the student for a professional career in the field of preschool education and leads to the B.S. in Bible degree.

Secondary Education: History and Bible Program leads to the Standard 7-12 ACSI certificate for Christian school teaching and the B.S. in Bible degree. The Commonwealth of PA does not certify in history. Social studies should be selected if certification is desired.

Bible: All Levels, K-12 Program leads to Standard K-12 ACSI certificate for Christian school teaching and the B.S. in Bible degree. A student may opt to take the 7-12 Bible Teaching instead of the K-12 with slight adjustments.

TESOL Program leads to the add-on ESL certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be added to any of the above certificate programs. It prepares the student to teach English as a second language in several contexts with local schools being the focus.

Special Education K-8 or 7-12 Program leads to dual certification in special education with PK-4, 4-8, or 7-12. Transfer students with 60 or more credits may enter the N-12 Special Education program.

Dual-Level B.S. in Bible/M.S. in Education 
Students who qualify may enter one of the dual-level programs and earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in a reduced amount of time (normally five years and one summer). Seven of the above certification programs are available to be taken in this format (Early Childhood/Elementary PK-4 Education; Elementary/Middle Level 4-8 Education; Health/Physical Education; and Secondary Education: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, or Social Science). A specialization for the M.S. Ed. is selected from either International Education or TESOL by the student.  

Requirements

Requirements for admission to and completion of a Teacher Education program are found in detail in the School of Education Undergraduate Handbook and the School of Education Student Teaching Handbook. Briefly, these include the following:

Admission to a Teacher Education Program
Admission to a Teacher Education program is a two-step process involving declaration of the student’s intent to become a member of the School of Education, followed by application for a specific program of certification.

Membership in the School of Education
Membership in the School of Education begins with admission to PBU as a student meeting all published entrance requirements. A student may then declare for the School of Education by choosing a degree program in the School.

Application for a Specific Teacher Education Certification Program
The student applies during the third or fourth semester (after completion of 48 semester hours) for acceptance into a specific program of certification. Acceptance is conditioned upon the following:

• Minimum overall GPA of 2.8 at time of application
   
• Successful completion of Field Observation (as part of Foundations of Education)
   
• Completion of English Composition and one American or British literature course with demonstrated competence of “C” or above
   
• Completion of two mathematics courses with demonstrated competence of “C” or above.
   
• Recommendation by the Office of Student Life 
   
• Recommendation by the University advisor
   
• Completion of the PRAXIS I (Basic Skills Test) with passing scores in all three parts
   
• Completion of an oral communication assessment
   

Program completion

The student must:

1. Obtain a minimum GPA of 3.0. 
2. Complete all courses in the chosen curriculum. 
3. Successfully complete Student Teaching measured by the PDE-430 evaluation process. A grade of “C” or above is required. A student earning a lower grade must take an additional student teaching experience after a semester intervention. 
4. Be approved for certification by the Teacher Education faculty.
    

Certification

The student must meet all program completion requirements as noted above. Public school certificate candidates must also pass the PRAXIS II Exam Series specific to their area of certification.

Specializations

Urban Specialization
The urban specialization includes an integrated set of experiences and seminars designed to specifically prepare men and women for teaching in an urban context. The program includes over 200 hours of pre-student teaching experiences in the city and well over 300 hours of student teaching in urban private and public schools. The program adds three semester credits in content pertinent to urban education. Any Teacher Education major may apply for the Urban specialization after completing a questionnaire designed to determine suitability.

International Education Specialization
This specialization includes an integrated set of experiences and seminars designed to prepare the future teacher for ministry in an inter-cultural setting such as an international or “missionary kids” (MK) school in another country working with TCKs (Third Culture Kids). The program includes pre-student teaching experiences in schools that are very diverse in population, and more than 200 hours of teaching in a mission or international school in one of several regions of the world. A minimum of seven weeks will be spent out of the country. Three additional semester hours must be added to the regular education program in inter-cultural studies. These may be taken at one of PBU’s international sites or during the winterim on the main campus. (Also available is the Dual-Level B.S. in Bible / M.S. in Education program with an International Education specialization and study abroad.) Any Teacher Education major may apply for the International Education specialization after completing a questionnaire designed to determine suitability.

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