Teacher Preparation and Educational Leadership

The following programs prepare qualified candidates to fill the needs of schools:

Educator Preparation Programs Leading to Initial Teacher Certification

• Inclusive early childhood education – Students earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a recommendation for a Nebraska teaching certificate in the endorsement (Birth to Grade 3).
• Elementary education – Students earn a B.S. in education or a Master of Arts with a recommendation for certification to teach in grades K-6.
• Secondary education – Students earn a B.S. in education or a Master of Arts with a recommendation for certification to teach in grades 7-12.
• Special education – Students have a choice of dual major in elementary education and special education (K-6) or a special education (7-12) degree. Both are B.S. degrees with a recommendation for certification.

Advanced Level Educator Preparation Programs

Five CEHS departments are engaged in preparing our future educators.

• Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education (TLTE) – preparing undergraduate and graduate students for teaching careers in elementary and secondary education. Graduate students can earn master’s, Ph.D. and Ed.D. degrees. Additional endorsement programs leading to recommendation for licensure are also available.
• Special Education and Communication Disorders (SECD) – preparing undergraduate and graduate students for careers in special education endorsement programs. Graduate students can earn master’s and Ph.D. degrees in special education. SECD also prepares students to become speech-language pathologists and audiologists with master’s and Au.D programs.
• Child, Youth and Family Studies (CYAF) – preparing undergraduate students to serve children birth to grade 3 with a bachelor’s degree in inclusive early childhood education. CYAF also offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Family and Consumer Sciences Occupational. Both programs may lead to recommendation for teacher certification.
• Educational Administration (EDAD) – offers master’s and doctoral degrees as well as specialist degrees and added endorsements in a variety of grade configurations within P-20 school educational administration.
• Educational Psychology (EDPS) – prepares graduate students to be school psychologists through either an educational specialist degree or Ph.D. in a nationally certified program. EDPS also prepares graduate students to be school counselors through a master’s in counseling psychology.

Every CEHS program that leads to certification is accredited by a national accrediting agency. Accreditation helps separate UNL from other teacher preparation programs. More than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide offer teacher preparation programs, but only 300 are accredited. It makes a difference.

Why?

• It helps assure quality in educator preparation through external peer review
• Sets standards for what new teachers need to know and for clinical training, which allows teachers to enter the classroom ready to teach effectively
• Promotes ongoing self-assessment of programs
• Connects with national and state accountability systems
• Elevates the profession

Accrediting Organizations

• Educator Preparation Programs – Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and Nebraska Department of Education.
• School Psychology – The Ph.D. in school psychology is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association, and the Ph.D. and Ed.S. in school psychology are approved by the National Association of School Psychologists.
• Speech Language Pathology – The M.S. in speech-language pathology and the Au.D. in audiology are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

See our accreditation page for more information.

NDE Approval Documents

• UNL Letter of Findings

CAEP Approval Document

• CAEP Accreditation Approval Letter

The EPP uses multiple measures to assess the instructional effectiveness of our program completers after the completion of their first year of employment as professional teachers. Two of these measures, the First Year Teacher and First Year Teacher Administrator Surveys, were constructed and are administered by the Nebraska Department of Education. Results from these two surveys (which provide EPP evidence to address CAEP standard 4.2) are reported back to each teacher preparation program accredited by the State of Nebraska.

In 2021-2022, the EPP has phased in a research plan to address CAEP standards 4.1 and 4.2. Research was conducted by the EPP through a pilot study with one secondary special education teacher located in an urban area and one early childhood teacher located in a rural area. In 2023-2024, the EPP implemented the research plan using an existing mechanism (e.g., master's level courses) through which first- or second-year teachers conducted an in-depth self-study examining the impact of their practices on P-12 student learning.

Program completers generate a creative or scholarly product (i.e., a completer-conducted action research project) that demonstrates their impact on P-12 student learning. This project requires program completers to integrate the knowledge of content and pedagogy acquired throughout the program in their classroom, develop assessment plans, collect, and analyze student data, and synthesize, interpret, and reflect on students' learning to further make improvements on their teaching practices.

Program completers collect relevant evidence from their own work in the classroom over time (e.g., mid-year and end of year during their 2nd year of teaching) and use the evidence to interpret and synthesize what their students are learning and how they are making progress as a result of the completer's instruction. Program completers are asked to create an online portfolio that includes the following components.

Part I: Program completers are asked to provide an introductory statement regarding content and pedagogical knowledge that includes the theme selected. Questions vary depending on the needs of the students as well as the program completers' goals.

Part II: Program completers are asked to provide student work samples that represent student learning over time and write a reflective narrative that illustrates how their pedagogical knowledge, skills, and strategies influenced their teaching practices and enhanced student learning.

Part III: Program completers are asked to provide a summary statement concerning their impact on student learning and what steps they might undertake to enhance student learning in the future.

A sub-committee of our PEC serves as the lead in refining and enacting this plan, and analyses of data herein are shared with members of the PEC. All EPP impact data sources are reviewed by the CEHS Professional Education Committee (PEC; fall and spring semesters). The PEC is comprised by representative EPP faculty and relevant members external to CEHS (as defined in our Quality Assurance System).

2023 First-Year Teacher Survey on Perceived Effectiveness in Applying Professional Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

First-year teacher satisfaction was assessed on a 4-point scale (i.e., 1=below standard/unacceptable, 2=developing, 3=proficient, 4=advanced). Our EPP completers reported that, on average, 99.2% of them perceived to meet standards toward the end of their first year of teaching (range = 96 to 100%, N=95).

2023 Principal Survey Data on First-Year Teachers

Employer satisfaction was assessed on a 4-point scale (i.e., 1=below standard/unacceptable, 2=developing, 3=proficient, 4=advanced). Employers of our EPP completers reported that, on average, close to 100% of our EPP completers were meeting standards toward the end of their first year of teaching (mean = 99%, range = 95 to 100%, N=110).

2023 Candidate Competency at Completion

EPP completers' teaching effectiveness was assessed on a 4-point scale (i.e., 1=unacceptable, 2=developing, 3=proficient, 4=advanced). The expected levels of performance are 3 (proficient) or 4 (advanced), and data revealed that, on average, 95% of our EPP completers are at or above the 'proficient' level on all competencies (range = 92% to 98%, N=342).

Each year, we have approximately 1-2% of candidates who fail to meet licensing requirements and graduate without certification. That means that 98-99% complete our EPP program and successfully meet licensing requirements.