The Education Department

To embrace the challenges embodied within our theme, the faculty must fully understand how the theme translates to effective performances within the schools where the candidates and educators will serve. Therefore, the theme of the education unit is made explicit through the following: (1) the mission statements of the college and the education unit, (2) its stated philosophy, purposes, professional commitments and dispositions, (3) the knowledge bases including theories, research, wisdom of practice, and education policies that provide the background and development of the goals and outcomes of the programs, (4) the goals and the performance outcomes of the programs, and (5) an assessment system by which each candidate's performance is regularly assessed and the data are used systematically to evaluate the education programs. As members of the education unit, faculty are also part of a wider professional and learning community at Iona College. Therefore, the conceptual framework - designed for preparing teachers and educators for the 21st century - evolves, develops and parallels the mission of Iona College that follows.

Mission Statement of Iona College

Iona College is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence in the tradition of the Christian Brothers and American Catholic higher education. We commit ourselves to education within the rich heritage of these legacies, especially intellectual inquiry and the values of justice, peace and service.

• ethical and skilled decision-makers and problem solvers motivated to leadership, service and civic responsibility;
• independent thinkers informed and enriched by a liberal arts education;
• lifelong learners skilled in and adaptable to new information and technologies; and
• individuals who integrate the spiritual, intellectual, civic, emotional and physical dimensions of their lives.

The Iona College Community will achieve these goals by dedicated teaching enhanced through creative research and scholarship, internships, career development and by participation of students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and board members in the many centers of excellence at Iona College.

- Adopted September 25, 2008

The Mission of Iona College functions as the unifying thread woven through the education unit's shared vision as well as its mission statement and philosophy of teaching and learning. The outcomes for all Iona College graduates, as described in its mission statement above, have been carefully used to design the goals and the outcomes for all teacher candidates and educators who have been accepted into an education program. The goals and outcomes of the education unit, on pages 17-18, have become our standards for all education programs, because they reflect the performances of effective teachers and educators who are needed to serve the diverse students in our 21st century schools.

The Mission of the Education Department

In keeping with the mission of the college and the demands of the teaching profession, the education department at Iona College is committed to preparing teacher candidates who will be:

• committed to the service of others as the fundamental condition of educational practice, and to social justice as its guiding principle;
• directed by the needs of diverse communities of learners and the belief that every child can learn;
• motivated to excel as lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers as well as leaders in their classrooms and communities.