Wednesday, December 05, 2001

By Kim Cano, PR Intern

Wilmington, NC – UNCW’s Watson School of Education has received notice from the

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) that re-accreditation has been granted for all of the basic and advanced professional teacher education programs.

The NCATE team, the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education, visited UNCW April 21 – 25, 2001. During the evaluation visit, the team talked with students, faculty, and personnel from school systems in southeastern North Carolina. Dr. Cathy Barlow, dean of the Watson School of Education, commented that the NCATE accreditation process “compares us to national standards and gives students a more versatile degree, enabling graduates to obtain certification in other states because they have met those standards.” Professional accreditation is one way to assure the public that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s classrooms. UNCW’s Watson School of Education has proven its commitment to producing quality teachers for our nation’s children by achieving re-accreditation this past month under the performance-oriented standards of NCATE, Barlow noted.

UNCW is one of 60 schools of education that received either initial or continuing accreditation from NCATE’s Unit Accreditation Board during its meeting in October. NCATE accredits 525 institutions nationally, and these institutions produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. Another 100 institutions are candidates or pre-candidates for accreditation. UNCW’s School of Education was first accredited by NCATE in 1982, a significant development in its history.

NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public. Teacher candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they plan to teach, as well as the pedagogical skills to ensure that students learn. The college or university must carefully assess this knowledge and skill to determine that candidates may graduate and become licensed teachers. The institution must have partnerships with P-12 schools that enable candidates to develop skills necessary to help pupils learn. Candidates must also be prepared to understand and work with diverse student populations. The Watson School of Education was praised for the quality of its partnerships with local schools, as well as its participation in diverse settings.

NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research in order to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today. In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focuses on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered, to a data-driven performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do. The new system expects teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom. Multiple types of performance assessment are expected throughout the program of study. Candidate qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate competence is assessed throughout the program as well as prior to student teaching/internship work, and before completion of the program.

Meeting NCATE accreditation standards also helps institutions prepare new teachers for new, more rigorous licensing standards in many states. NCATE accreditation standards incorporate the model state licensing principles developed by a task force of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

About the UNCW Watson School of Education

Through its 25 programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels, the Watson School of Education strives to develop highly competent professionals to serve in teaching and educational leadership roles in southeastern North Carolina, the state and the nation. It currently produces 315 new teachers each year, the third largest number of any college or university in the state. Based on performance reports compiled for all 47 teacher preparation institutions in North Carolina, the Watson School of Education has consistently been ranked among the top teacher preparation programs in the state based upon measures including Praxis Specialty Area Scores, faculty collaboration with public schools, student surveys, and NCATE accreditation status.

Currently occupying King Hall, the Watson School of Education has been the university’s top building priority for the past two years. Using funds from the 2000 Higher Education Facilities Bond Issue, construction will begin in winter 2002 with completion and occupancy of the new education building scheduled for early 2004.

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For more information about UNCW’s Watson School of Education teacher education program, visit the Web site at www.uncwil.edu/ed. More information about NCATE is available at www.ncate.org. Dean Barlow may be reached at (910) 962-3354 or via email at barlowc@uncwil.edu.