February 2, 2009

College of Education awarded national accreditation for middle school program

SEARCY, Ark.— The National Middle Schools Association recently awarded full recognition to Harding University's Cannon-Clary College of Education.

Karen Wright, director of accountability for the college, said, "We meet the high standards and are recognized, so now we can offer licensure at the middle school level."

This recognition opens doors for Harding education majors who wish to teach at the middle school level. This spring, 20 students are currently enrolled as middle level education majors. Last year, 115 students applied for teaching licensure at all levels.

Dr. Jan Morgan, chair of the teacher education program, and Penny McGlawn, an instructor in the college, were instrumental in writing and submitting the report to the Special Professional Association in charge of middle school accreditation.

The process of writing, editing and rewriting took place over the course of a year.

The new writing focus for the Special Professional Association ensures that a unit has assessments in place that meets standards on the rubrics for those assessments.

Though the College of Education has successfully met those standards, they will continue to assess and analyze the data to provide an ongoing evaluation of their program.

Morgan said, "I have written many Special Professional Association reports. This writing was unique in that we as a unit had to provide specific evidence through several assessments that our teacher candidates could provide evidence of their students' learning."

Writing the report was a good opportunity for the College to take a fresh look at its program and make necessary changes to ensure that the program met National Middle School Association standards.

A few major changes were made to the middle school program in order to meet national standards. The Cannon-Clary College of Education created sections for several courses that are specific to middle level education. They also revised assessments and rubrics to ensure that they were directly correlated to National Middle School Association standards.

"I have learned that assessment is an ongoing process and that data must be continually collected and analyzed," said Morgan.

McGlawn stated, "I learned through this process the importance of working within a team to ensure our students receive the best possible training to be able to positively affect their students' lives. We cannot have a successful program because of one person. It takes a dedicated team of competent, courageous, compassionate and confident individuals."

Harding had a record enrollment this year of more than 6,500 students from 48 states and 52 foreign countries. It is the largest private university in Arkansas and attracts more National Merit Scholars than any other private university in the state. Harding also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France/Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Zambia.