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The Unit’s full Conceptual Framework can be found at http://soe.ku.edu/ncate/conceptual-framework. A shortened version follows. Its shortened version follows.
The University is committed to offering the highest quality undergraduate, professional and graduate programs, comparable to the best obtainable anywhere in the nation. It attains high levels of research productivity and recognizes that faculty are part of a network of scholars and academicians that shape a discipline as well as teach it. Research and teaching are mutually reinforcing with scholarly inquiry underlying and informing the educational experience at undergraduate, professional and graduate levels. The University first serves Kansas, then the nation and the world through research, teaching, and the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. It is dedicated to preparing its students for lives of learning and for the challenges educated citizens will encounter in an increasingly complex and diverse global community.
The University is committed to excellence. It fosters a multicultural environment in which the dignity and rights of the individual are respected. Intellectual diversity, integrity and disciplined inquiry in the search for knowledge are of paramount importance.
The primary mission of the School of Education is to prepare educators as leaders. As stated in the School Code:
Within the University, the School of Education serves Kansas, the nation, and the world by (1) preparing individuals to be leaders and practitioners in education and related human service fields, (2) expanding and deepening understanding of education as a fundamental human endeavor, and (3) helping society define and respond to its educational responsibilities and challenges.
The components of preparing educators as leaders that frame this mission for our initial and advanced programs are Research and Best Practice, Content Knowledge, and Professionalism. These interlocking themes build our Conceptual Framework. Within the framework, our programs combine a strong liberal arts and sciences education tradition with field-based pedagogical experiences that together foster thoughtful inquiry about schools, classrooms, labs, studios, all student learners, and the enterprise of schooling.
Our programs, initial and advanced, pursue excellence in the preparation of candidates who are capable of serving as leaders in their schools and community. The following statements illustrate our core values.
Figure 1 represents the unit’s conceptual framework. The circle at the diagram’s center symbolizes the primary focus of our program’s mission and vision – preparing educators as leaders. The middle circle illustrates our understanding that program improvement is guided by a cyclical process, including performance, assessment, evaluation and enhancement. The outer circle in the diagram identifies the three themes that constitute our understanding of preparing educators as leaders – research and best practice, content and pedagogical knowledge, and professionalism. The diagram is designed to emphasize that these themes are articulated throughout the unit’s activities, and that they comprise a whole. Accordingly, the unit’s conceptual framework outlines what intellectual commitments we share, how we strive to address those commitments and how we ensure success and continued improvement through performance, assessment, evaluation and enhancement.
The unit defines our efforts around three interlocking themes: (1) begin with what is known from research on the best practices; (2) develop and teach this research-based content knowledge to candidates who then can apply this knowledge; and (3) ensure that all our candidates uphold and demonstrate the highest level of professionalism. The interconnectedness of these themes serves as a framework for preparing educational leaders.
The unit has identified and has continued to build its programs based upon: 1) research and best practice; 2) content and pedagogical knowledge; and 3) professionalism. These three interlocking themes are paramount to the framework that permeates our academic programs of study. In the following section, we briefly articulate the importance of these themes with research that aligns and supports our assumptions, values and beliefs for preparing educators as leaders.
Theme One: Research and Best Practice. The Unit believes that knowledge and application of both formal and informal research lead to effective, informed practices. Continuous review and incorporation of empirically-derived, successful methodology enhances (teaching) practices and leads to successful learner outcomes and informed decision making. Informed by research and theory, professionals are “ultimately about practice” (Shulman, 1998). Professionals translate their knowledge into skills and strategies that enable them to serve their constituencies effectively.
Effective leaders establish productive learning environments. They continually evaluate student understandings, attitudes, and abilities to inform teaching decisions. High-quality programs prize inquiry; they establish supportive learning environments where candidates build personal and professional relationships, are invited to explore, and are encouraged to take risks and to question as part of their decision-making processes.
Theme Two: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge. . In the unit, knowledge refers to both specific subject content and pedagogy. Darling-Hammond (2005) supports, through review of related research, the position that the single most important determinate of what students learn is what their teachers know. We believe it is essential that all candidates master both types of knowledge.
Borko and Putnam (2000) describe pedagogical knowledge as including (a) the educator's overarching concept of purpose and nature of content; (b) knowledge of potential understandings and misunderstandings; (c) knowledge of content, curriculum and materials; and (d) knowledge of strategies and representations for practice. Knowledge of pedagogy in our initial programs is acquired over a multi-year sequence of professional education courses with field-based experiences. At all levels, our candidates acquire an in-depth understanding of the evolving body of professional knowledge in their field. The unit shares a belief in and a commitment to the value of knowledge acquired through field-based experiences.
Theme Three: Professionalism. Our programs advocate the goal of initiating our candidates into a community of professionals who demonstrate our core values and standards of practice. As such, our candidates know what it means to be a professional and exhibit these qualities as members of an educational community. Candidates are engaged in professional learning that expects a commitment to ethical and caring practice in which continued learning and professional development are paramount.
Our candidates learn the importance of a strong commitment to working with professional colleagues about issues of professional practice, engagement with families, and working with communities. Part of being a professional is being committed to self-directed growth, being passionate about learning, and honoring the complexity of the education profession.
