NOTE:The Elementary Education Major as described below is no longer available.  Students who had already declared the Major before fall 2005 will be able to finish the program described below.

Undergraduate students who are interested in education now have the option to choose among three minors, the Elementary Education Concentration, the Seccondary Education Concentration (either of which can lead to certification after a 9th semester of student teaching) and an Urban Education Policy, Research, and Practice Concentration for students especially interested in these issues, or who intend to submatriculate into the elementary or secondary masters degree program at GSE. For more information go to "Undergraduate Programs" under Special Programs, in the column to right.

Penn’s Elementary Education Program prepares teachers to see themselves as leaders and reformers who can challenge the status quo and change life’s chances for all children. Students in Penn’s Elementary Education Program learn to view themselves as teacher leaders. The program is also committed to issues of equity and social justice in schools—our students learn to interrogate their own knowledge, draw upon their own resources to solve problems, and develop new perspectives on teaching and learning. In this way, our student teachers are prepared to negotiate the sensitive issues related to race, class, culture, and gender.

Penn’s Elementary Education Program educates and trains its teachers through a combination of classroom experience and coursework. Integrated into the course of study are supervised student teaching experiences in nearby public or independent schools, and at least one of these experiences is in an urban setting. As part of a close intellectual community, our students learn to think like teachers—to understand children as individual learners who bring their own strengths and resources to the classroom. Our program’s student teachers learn to be effective, mature, and sensitive problem-solvers.

Education graduates from the University of Pennsylvania are excellent candidates for teaching positions in this era of school reform. Through their coursework and classroom experience, our students learn how to play important roles in shaping the ways that schools educate children.

Education majors graduate with a B.A. degree and Pennsylvania certification in Elementary Education through a joint interdepartmental program of the College and the Graduate School of Education. Our program’s courses integrate knowledge of Pennsylvania and national content and performance standards.

The Elementary Education Major Program
At the Graduate School of Education, students explore a broad range of topics for teacher preparation, such as language, human growth and development, and the role of education in society. Students analyze the theory and practice of teaching in each of the following curricular areas: reading/language arts, mathematics, science, citizenship education (social studies), expressive arts and children’s literature. In addition, some students are eligible to take graduate-level education courses.

Beginning in their sophomore or junior years, students pursue a sequence of three semester-long fieldwork experiences in a variety of school settings. With the support of mentors from both Penn and local schools, students gradually take on responsibility in elementary classrooms. This sequence culminates in a full-time student teaching experience during spring of the student’s senior year.

1. Requirements for the major:
Minimum 14 c.u.

Foundational courses:
EDUC. 250 Observing Children
EDUC. 202 Urban Education or
240 Education in Am. Culture
245 Child Development
EDUC. 414 Children’s Literature

Methods Courses:
EDUC. 317 Reading/Language Arts I
EDUC. 417 Reading/Language Arts II
EDUC. 418 Teaching and Learning Mathematics in the Elem. School
EDUC. 420 Teaching Citizenship Education in the Elementary School
EDUC. 421 Teaching Science in the Elementary School

Seminar and Fieldwork
EDUC. 316 Directed Field Experience I
EDUC. 419 Directed Field Experience II
EDUC. 422 Supervised Student Teaching (this course is three c.u.s)

2. Pennsylvania requires that student teachers demonstrate knowledge of English literature, writing, and mathematics through a variety of means. Consult the Elementary Education Program to determine how these requirements pertain to individual programs of study.

3. In fulfilling the General Requirement of the College, students are encouraged to choose one of their electives from Biology, Chemistry, Geology, or Physics.

4. Formal admission to the elementary education major requires at least a GPA of 3.0. For purposes of certification by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, students must exit with the minimum GPA required for acceptance into the major. Students should contact Maureen Cotterilll in the Graduate School of Education, 3700 Walnut Street; 215-898-7364 or via e-mail at maureenc@gse.upenn.edu for an informational or advising session.