Chapter 14 Accreditation: Responding to a culture of program evaluation

Abstract

The School of Education at Utah Valley University has grown relatively quickly from a limited teacher education program to an elementary and secondary education licensure program with over 800 juniors and seniors. Growth on this level is accompanied by significant change, particularly with reference to programmatic requirements, assessment, and accreditation. The School of Education faculty has worked over several years to define its mission and philosophy, determine the program structure and evaluation procedures, and pursue accreditation. Developing a culture that responds to accountability requirements, while staying true to the school's philosophic beliefs and practical restrictions, has been an on-going effort. However, these “tensions of change” have resulted in a faculty who work as a team to act in response to issues revealed by observation and assessment, to continually advance our mission-to prepare excellent teachers for our community's schools.

Citation

Pierce, L.E. and Simmerman, S. (2010), "Chapter 14 Accreditation: Responding to a culture of program evaluation", Erickson, L.B. and Wentworth, N. (Ed.) Tensions in Teacher Preparation: Accountability, Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 231-251. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3687(2010)0000012017