Education
Department
The Faculty
Members of the Department of Education bring years of teaching experience — from pre-school through graduate school — to their classrooms. All full-time faculty have doctoral degrees in education and maintain high standards of teaching and learning in their courses. Because classes are small, students and faculty develop and maintain long-lasting professional relationships that extend beyond undergraduate or gradduate graduation from Centenary College. In fact, many undergraduate alumni return to Centenary's Department of Education to continue working with talented faculty in pursuit of master's degrees in elementary education, secondary education, school administration, or instructional supervision.
About the Major
Centenary College builds upon its rigorous and comprehensive arts and sciences program required for all Centenary students to prepare outstanding classroom teachers who are certified, qualified and in demand by local, statewideand out-of-state school systems. The professional education gained throughthe Department of Education coupled with the broad liberal arts educationgained through other departments at the College produces teachers with a sense of their place in society and the world, with comprehensive knowledge and with refined pedagogical skills to be effective K-12 educators.
All pre-service teachers take courses in the foundation of education, educational psychology, human growth and development, and special needs children. Elementary pre-service teachers take additional courses in reading, language arts, social studies and science methods of teaching. Secondary candidates take courses in secondary methods and content area reading. Pre-service teachers begin their experience in the classroom through frequent observations in local schools monitored by professors of sophomore-level introductory education courses.
The junior year for elementary education majors includes many hours of actual classroom teaching experience at our Professional Development School, E.B. Williams Stoner Hill, near the Centenary campus. Secondary pre-service teachers have similar experiences in PDS Youree Drive Middle School and C.E. Byrd High School, as well as other local middle and high schools during their junior year. Seniors complete 600 hours of student teaching before completing the program. All education majors must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA in their course work in education, and must pass all parts of the PRAXIS Exam prior to student teaching.
Career Opportunities
Centenary students who graduate with certification to teach are in great demand. Many students are able to accept offers of teaching positions before graduation; others secure employment shortly afterwards. Reciprocity between states allows Centenary graduates with Louisiana State Teaching Certificates to teach anywhere in the United States and in many other countries. Some students elect to continue their studies at the graduate level and have no difficulty participating in and completing prestigious graduate programs throughout the United States and abroad.
