About Us

Philosophy of Graduate Programs

Consistent with its history, tradition and mission statement, King’s College has designed its graduate programs to prepare and develop professionals for business, industry, government, health care and education who possess the desire, skills, and education to accept management responsibilities and creative leadership positions in regional, national and international organizations.

King’s College seeks to train those individuals to make inquiring, effective, responsible action their ultimate aim by:

(a) providing a theoretical foundation in specialized fields of study,
(b) by fostering their ability to obtain, understand and accurately assess information and ideas, to think critically and independently, and to speak and write intelligently and effectively, and
(c) by developing their abilities to adapt to the increasing complexity and constant change of organizational life in a complex and competitive global environment.

King’s College also seeks to offer high-quality education in specialized fields of study which not only enhance the student’s technical background, but also maintain a balance between the qualitative and quantitative methods, and the technical and socio-economic approaches to current issues.

Objectives of Graduate Programs

Skills and Abilities
King’s College seeks to hone its graduate students’ appreciation of, and facility in undertaking, effective research in their specialized field of study. King’s College seeks to enhance the student’s ability to formulate appropriate solutions to problems in his or her field of study.

Understanding/Knowledge
King’s College seeks to improve its graduate students’ understanding of their field of study through advanced graduate study employing a variety of instructional techniques. King’s College seeks to enhance its graduate students’ competency in advanced, graduate-level study and to integrate that knowledge with critical analysis and ethical inquiry. King’s College seeks to develop in its students an appreciation of, and the foundation for, continuing graduate education and advanced professional development.

Values
King’s College seeks to develop in its graduate students an appreciation for the role that ethical values play in organizational decisions and to improve their ability to make sound, ethically responsible judgments throughout their careers.

Bridging the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
There is a seamless transition between the undergraduate and graduate programs in education with complementing goals and philosophies.  The full-time faculties of the undergraduate and graduate programs meet monthly.

King’s College Education Department Mission Statement

The mission of the Education Department is to prepare reflective practitioners who are recognized for their vision, motivation, knowledge, skills and dispositions as they develop, manage and monitor communities of learning in a diverse and complex world. This mission is built on the foundational tenets of a broad-based liberal arts education in the tradition of King’s College and the Congregation of Holy Cross and the best professional practices of teacher education.

King’s College Graduate Programs’ Mission Statement

The mission of the Graduate Division at King’s College is to develop professionals for business, government, health care and education through specialized graduate programs whose aim is to prepare graduates for positions of responsibility and creative leadership in regional, national and international organizations. 

King’s College Education Department Vision Statement

The Education Department of King’s College will be recognized for its ability to effectively reflect upon and revise its own practices, and will be perceived as a leader in educational innovation and reform.  We will be a leader in developing productive partnerships with our professional colleagues who represent the educational spectrum from early childhood education through higher education. Our program will be viewed as exemplary in the preparation of outstanding teachers who reflectively integrate disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge, professional skills, and personal dispositions to meet the challenges found in the 21st century classroom.

This philosophical perspective that frames the initial teacher preparation and graduate programs is realized through the knowledge, dispositions, and skills that we believe effective teachers demonstrate. The King's College Model presented below is a visual representation of the organizing framework for each program that prepares professional educators. The Model represents a wheel that informs and supports the process of developing professional educators.

The charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross, cultivation of the mind and heart, provides structure for the preparation of our graduates as well as our vision for how they will teach. The center of the wheel, Reflective Practice, is the core of our model symbolizing the development of habits of mind that foster understanding of the “interrelationships between teachers learning and development and the context of teachers learning” (Hammerness, et.al.2005, p.389).

The spokes of the wheel represent the tools used to achieve our goals and build on reflective practice.  Our programs coherence and alignment with professional standards shape our curriculum and field experiences. Best Practices, represents the commitment to identify and incorporate exemplars of “learning in and from practice” (Ball and Cohen, 1999).   Each of the components Integrating Knowledge and Practice (symbolized by Knowledge), Understanding Learners, Developing Learning Communities and Monitoring Learners represent the Unit’s goals and demonstrate the components of developing professional educators.

King’s College Education Department: A Model for Developing Reflective Practice

Graduate Education Goals

Goal 1:  Integrating Knowledge and Practice

Graduate Candidate Proficiencies

  • The candidate describes the major curriculum theories and beliefs and is able to demonstrate how to effectively apply them when teaching diverse students.
  • The candidate demonstrates an understanding of the pedagogies used by effective teachers and is able to demonstrate the ability to use those pedagogies to teach diverse students.

Goal 2:  Understanding Learners

Graduate Candidate Proficiencies

  • The candidate demonstrates an understanding of how diverse students learn and an ability to differentiate
  • instruction so that students with varying degrees of abilities and learning styles can reach their full
  • potential.

Goal 3:  Developing Learning Communities

Graduate Candidate Proficiencies

  • The candidate exemplifies professionalism when modeling effective teaching strategies and when using family and community resources to encourage positive practices both inside and outside of the school.
  • The candidate demonstrates leadership behaviors to promote academic development for all students.

Goal 4:  Monitoring Learning

Graduate Candidate Proficiencies

  • The candidate uses multiple assessment strategies in order to diagnose student strengths and weaknesses and develops teaching methods that are specific to student needs.
  • The candidate uses technology effectively to research, teach, and communicate with diverse constituents, and they are able to judge when the use of technology is appropriate

Goal 5:  Reflective Practice

Graduate Candidate Proficiencies

  • The candidate locates and uses the latest research and resources.
  • The candidate demonstrates how to critically evaluate research.
  • The candidate demonstrates how to use current literacy research to identify and develop innovative interventions/teaching methods designed to improve the skills of diverse students and demonstrates the ability to continue their professional development throughout their careers.

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