COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Scot Rademaker, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
Office: 220 Polk Hall
Phone: 985-448-4325

Mission

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is dedicated to preparing high quality teachers, educational leaders, school and psychological counselors, school psychologists and human service professionals who effectively meet the diverse needs of Louisiana and the global community. The College is strongly committed to service in area school systems and community agencies. The mission of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is accomplished by a faculty committed to teaching, community service, professional service and research.

Conceptual Framework

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, through the theme of “Responsible Leaders Engaging in Professional Practice,” supports the University’s mission within a conceptual framework that prepares candidates in the core knowledge and skills needed to educate candidates to develop and maintain the dispositions that promote positive change in the community and profession, who are open to diversity and innovation, and who are culturally responsive. The College’s core components and dispositions represent the University’s commitment to transforming the lives of students by working to ensure that all students become successful life-long learners. Responsible educators possess the knowledge and skills needed to study and use the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perceptions of the region’s diverse population as a means for effective educational practice. Through culturally responsive inquiry, educators are better able to build conceptual bridges over which they can lead their students to connect informal, locally situated knowledge with the formal, global disciplinary knowledge represented by the content area disciplines.

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Unit Outcomes (Candidate Proficiency)

1. Candidates will demonstrate collaborative leadership in the school and the community to promote the healthy development of all students (Responsible Leaders).
2. Candidates will possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of their professional discipline and engage in lifelong learning (professional Practice).
3. Candidates will advocate in the school and the larger community to promote access, equity and success for all students (Promote Positive Change).
4. Candidates will respond effectively to the needs of diverse learners (Open to Diversity and Innovation).
5. Candidates will examine and modify their beliefs and practices in response to the emerging research and the changing context of schools and communities (Promote Positive Change).
6. Candidates will demonstrate an understanding of how cultural differences influence student development and accommodate for individual needs (Culturally Responsive).

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DEGREES AWARDED

  • BACHELOR OF ARTS
    • Psychology
      • Pre-Counseling Concentration
  • BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
    • Birth to Five/Early Interventionist Education
    • Elementary Education (1-5)
    • Human Performance Education (K-12)
    • Secondary Education (6-12)
      • English Concentration (SEEN)
      • Family and Consumer Sciences Concentration (SEFC)
      • General Science Concentration (SEGS)
      • Social Studies Concentration (SESS)
  • ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE DEGREE
    • Child Development and Preschool Management

Accreditation

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is fully accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The School Psychology Program is fully accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling Program are fully accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

General Information

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences prepares teachers, resource and support personnel, and administrators for educational service. The College’s programs focus on the needs of individuals interested in teaching within the traditional elementary and secondary school environments. Candidates are prepared for all areas of education from pre-school through adult years in both the public and private sectors. The knowledge and skills necessary for effective learning and teaching are provided to prospective teachers and other school personnel. In addition to programs of study leading to its degrees, the College offers credit and non-credit workshops designed specifically to meet the unique needs of area school systems.

Programs of study in the College are based on a conceptual framework that the professional educator is a responsible leader. This knowledge-base provides for a broad general education, mastery of the content of instruction, and professional skills, dispositions, and competencies. The relative emphasis placed upon each of these aspects of the total education for teaching varies in accordance with the purpose of each program.

Besides insuring a broad general education and sound professional background and competence, the curricula offered provides valuable foundational education in psychology.

The College works closely with local and state groups to foster quality teaching and higher professional standards.

Additional purposes of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences are to offer:

  • A Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology
  • Psychology courses for candidates enrolled in other degree programs
  • Human Performance Education courses for candidates enrolled in other degree programs
  • Graduate programs as described elsewhere within the Catalog
  • A diversity course for candidates enrolled in other degree programs

Facilities

Observation and candidate residency experiences are provided in teacher preparation centers located in South Central Louisiana as well as in Polk Hall and other campus buildings. The programs of these schools are influenced by such factors as available plant facilities, materials, equipment, established curriculum patterns, community attitudes, and the imagination of the professional personnel. Supervising teachers are selected based on the high quality of their teaching, their indicated competence to guide pre-service teachers and certification in supervision of student teaching (masters degree, three or more years of teaching, and EDAS 511). Effective 2002, certified teachers in Louisiana who have been trained as assessment evaluators are also eligible to supervise residency candidates. Effective 2004, teachers who have achieved National Board Certification are also eligible to supervise residency candidates.

Louisiana Center for Dyslexia and Related Learning Disorders

Office: FACS Room 6
Phone: 985-448-4214
Director: Karen Chauvin

The Louisiana Center for Dyslexia and Related Learning Disorders is housed in the FACS Building and Peltier Hall. The state Center provides direct service to Nicholls State University students and area residents, conducts psycho-educational assessments for children and adults, prepares teachers to serve individuals with dyslexia, disseminates information about dyslexia, contributes to state policy regarding dyslexia, and conducts research that will contribute to the study of dyslexia.

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Teacher Certification

Louisiana Teacher Certification Requirements

Upon completion of all academic requirements including graduation, candidate teaching  and passing of the Praxis Examination or N.T.E. equivalent (if taken prior to September 1, 1999), the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences will submit all of the candidate’s credentials to the Louisiana State Department of Education at the request of the candidate for initial certification. However, a teacher already certified should see his or her employer to add-on a certification.

Praxis Examination Requirements

All Praxis examinations are available at www.ets.org/praxis/la. All minimum scores are two points higher for entering freshmen to a University of Louisiana System institution effective Fall 2004, including Nicholls State University.

All parts of the NTE/PRAXIS required for Louisiana certification must be passed prior to candidate residency. (Information on minimum passing scores available in the Dean’s Office as well as the link provided.) NTE scores taken after September 1, 1999 are not valid for certification in Louisiana. As of September 2006, candidates who have a composite ACT score of 22 or higher or a combined verbal and quantitative SAT score of 1030 are exempt from the Praxis I requirement.

Certification Only Program

The Certification Only Program is an alternative path to teacher certification for elementary grades (1-5),  secondary grades (6-12) within specific content areas, or human performance education (K-12). It is a 27-33 credit hour program that combines undergraduate and graduate course work (21 hours) and a two-semester residency (six credit hours).

Admission to the Certification Only Program – Candidates who meet all the minimum requirements listed below will be issued a program prescription, which signifies full admission to the program:
1.  Have a bachelor’s degree within a field other than education from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.
2.  Have a Grade Point Average of 2.5 or greater on last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework.
3.  Successfully pass Praxis I series (based on the University of Louisiana System requirements – See Praxis Examinations Requirements above) and the respective Praxis II content exam specific to the area desired certification.

Departments

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