School of Education and Psychology

Debbie Muthersbaugh, Dean; Austin Archer, Maria Bastien, Peter Gleason, Brian Hartman, Linda Ivy, Neria Sebastien.

The School of Education and Psychology offers programs leading to a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in elementary education, psychology, and forensic psychology. The school also offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology. Minors are available in education, special education, and psychology, and preparation is provided for State and Adventist Education Certification in both elementary and secondary education.

For a description of programs leading to a master's degree in Education, see the Graduate Bulletin.

Mission: The School of Education and Psychology at Walla Walla University supports the mission of the University and assists students as they acquire knowledge and expertise in their fields of study within the context of Christian faith. To this end our faculty and students are committed to:

•   Quality in scholarship and research;

•   The development of social, moral, and spiritual values;

•   The integration of learning, faith, and service.

Teacher Preparation Programs: WWU offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Teacher certification is also available to those who wish to teach in various content areas at the secondary school level. Additional information can be found at https://wallawalla.edu/academics/areas-of-study/education-and-psychology/education/

The Teacher Certification Program is made up of a relatively small number of candidates, thus allowing more interaction with faculty and staff.


Admission Requirements:

•   Completion of all Phase 1 classes.

•   Minimum GPA of 2.75 in all course work that applies to Phase 1.

•   Passing score in all required sections of the WEST-B/ACT/SAT or a combination thereof.

•   Formal application, law enforcement background check, and moral character clearance.

•   No grade less than C in all Phase 1 classes.

For a complete description of the teacher preparation program, see https://wallawalla.edu/academics/areas-of-study/undergraduate-programs/education-and-psychology/education/teacher-certification/

Accreditation:

•   Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges

•   Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges, and Universities

•   All of the University's teacher preparation programs are approved by the State of Washington Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB).

Contextual Information

Best Practices:

•   In order to blend theory and practice, teacher certification candidates spend between 93 and 231 clock hours observing and assisting in K-12 classrooms prior to student teaching.

•   Methods-of-teaching courses are aligned with national Common Core State Standards and Washington state Standards.

•   Portfolios are used formatively and summatively to portray excellence of educational practices in the K-12 setting.

Notable Features and Accomplishments in 2016-2017:

•   Sixteen teacher certification candidates were awarded the Eleanor Schofield Memorial Teachers' Scholarship.

•   Two elementary education majors received the Doreen Paulson-Evans Memorial Scholarship.

•   One elementary education major received the Appreciation of Elementary Education.

•   One elementary education major received the Dan and Mary Morrison Necker English Scholarship.

•   Two elementary education major received the David James Liu Memorial Foundation Scholarship.

•   One elementary education major received the Outstanding Senior Award.

•   One psychology major received the Outstanding Senior Award.


School of Education and Psychology Statistics

Total number of students in the School of Education and Psychology, all specializations, in academic year 2016-2017:  144
Number of Elementary Education majors: 65
Number of Secondary Certification: 59
Number of teacher candidates in supervised student teaching:  21
Number of Forensic Psychology majors 15
Number of Psychology majors 49
Number of Psychology minors 25

Full-time faculty in School of Education and Psychology  7
Part-time faculty not otherwise employed by the institution:  4
Total university clinical supervisors:  8
The student/faculty ratio, based upon faculty FTE was:  8.8:1
Teacher candidate/university supervisor ratio:  2.63:1
Minimum total number of hours required for student teaching:  450