Introduction

The Elementary Education program at Delaware State provides outstanding career preparation for K-6 teachers. Students learn to teach all academic subjects, with extra emphasis on literacy and multicultural / multiethnic classrooms. The program emphasizes direct, hands-on experience in real-world classrooms and incorporates the most current theories in learning, assessment, and child development.

Delaware State has a growing reputation for excellence in teacher education. Our graduates have an extremely high job-placement rate within the state and are also recruited by out-of-state districts.

Professional Preparation

All graduates become licensed teachers in the state of Delaware. The college has campus chapters of professional teaching organizations such as Kappa Pi Delta and the Council for Exceptional Children.

Students will develop professional teaching skills in

• academic instruction
• classroom management
• lesson planning
• assessment
• child intellectual and psychological development
• special education
• communication with parents and family members
• the use of technology in the classroom
• music and art
• literacy development

Faculty

Faculty in the College of Education, Health and Public Policy offers more than academic instruction. They act as mentors, taking a personal interest in students to help them meet challenges in the classroom, the professional world, and in life. COE professors represent a diversity of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and have an impressive list of achievements in research and writing, as well as excellent connections within the education community.

Research and Experience

The Elementary Education major requires dozens of hours of direct classroom observation and student teaching experience, spread across three years of the program. The process begins in the sophomore year, with more than 20 hours of early field experience (EFE), and concludes with a 12-week student-teaching placement during the senior year.