Teacher Education Program Requirements | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

It is advised that students seeking teacher licensure complete University Core Curriculum requirements and general education requirements (Education Core Courses) prior to beginning courses involving specialization. For more information about IBSE and licensure requirements, please consult www.isbe.net.

In addition to general University and School of Education requirements, students must meet all requirements prerequisite to student teaching.

SIU students seeking Illinois teacher licensure must meet licensure requirements in effect at the time of their graduation. Licensure requirements are determined by the Illinois State Board of Education and are subject to change. Teacher licensure candidates are urged to consult the current SIU Carbondale Undergraduate Catalog and materials published by the SIU School of Education Office of Teacher Education for updates to Illinois teacher licensure requirements.

Course Fees

Some courses have fees attached to their registration. These fees cover such items as laboratory fees, field trips, printing of materials, and supplies. These fees are published in the class schedule but are subject to change. For the correct fee, contact the School that offers the class or the Registrar’s Office.

Teacher Education Program Licensure Areas

All initial teaching licensure programs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE/CAEP) and approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. Spanning the entire University, the Teacher Education Program is administered through the School of Education and includes majors from the School of Education, the College of Agriculture, Life, and Physical Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts. Teacher education programs approved by the Illinois State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are offered at the undergraduate level in these areas: preschool/primary, elementary education, special education, secondary education (Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, English, Mathematics, and Organizational Learning, Innovation, and Development), and in art, music, physical education, and foreign languages for grades K-12.

The Unit Accrediting Coordinating Council (UACC), composed of program coordinators for all campus-wide undergraduate and graduate majors with teacher licensure, and the Advisory Board for Teacher Education (ABTE), composed of faculty, area teachers, administrators, Regional Office of Education and a member of the Illinois Board of Education, serve in an advisory capacity on policy matters related to teacher education.

Only those teacher candidates who complete an approved Teacher Education Program earn entitlement for initial teacher licensure.

Admission Policy

All qualified new students are admitted to the School of Education with a specific major or as an undecided student. The same policy applies for reentering students and for teacher candidates enrolled in Teacher Education Program majors in other colleges in the University. Admission to the School of Education does not guarantee admission to the Teacher Education Program. ALL teacher candidates seeking state teacher licensure must first be admitted to the Teacher Education Program. Specific requirements for admission are listed below. Application information is available in Wham 135 or online at: teachereducation.siu.edu.

Teacher candidates are admitted two times a year to the Teacher Education Program. Deadlines for completed applications are January 10 or previous business day for spring semester admission, and August 15 or previous business day for fall admission into the TEP. Completed applications will be accepted in the Office of Teacher Education, Wham Education Building, Room 135 or at tep@siu.edu after the following criteria are met:

1. When candidate is ready to begin four continuous clinical experiences;
2. An overall grade point average of at least 2.75 (4.0 scale);
3. An unofficial transcript documenting completion of ENGL 101, ENGL 102 with a grade of “C” or better;
4. Approval by major program if required;
5. Students are encouraged to declare a particular teaching field early in their undergraduate careers by contacting their advisor or the program in the School in which they wish to specialize. Transfer students are encouraged to contact academic advisors in the School of Education, at least one semester prior to enrolling at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Retention Policy for Teacher Education

This retention policy applies to all teacher candidates enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

1. Teacher candidates who wish to change majors after being admitted to the Teacher Education Program must reapply and be admitted in the new major before they can enroll in EDUC 301. Teacher candidates who change their major may be required to take additional hours of clinical practice to meet the required clinical hours in their major.
2. Teacher candidates may not enroll in EDUC 301 more than two times. After two failures, teacher candidates must demonstrate through external experiences with children/youth of the age they plan to teach that they have the potential for a successful third placement. This will require at least one semester of external experience and written documentation from the administrator of the school and from the person who provided direct supervision.

In order to remain in the program and complete the requirements for graduation and for licensure, teacher candidates must maintain a 2.75 grade point average in the major and receive program approval of the candidate’s Gateway Portfolio. This requirement must be met before final clearance can be given for student teaching. All teacher candidates must pass their Illinois content area test(s) prior to beginning their student teaching.

Collegiate Warning and Dismissal from the Teacher Education Program

The Teacher Education Program expects and requires adequate progress of all its teacher candidates throughout the program. Once admitted, candidates will be monitored for applications of learning in their clinical practice. The Teacher Education Program defines performance in each clinical practice aligned to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, in a rubric with defined behaviors and skills. The rubric is specific and detailed, designed to guide candidates and clinical supervisors in fair, consistent assessment of performance. This rubric is presented to candidates at the beginning of their clinical practice.

At any time during their Professional Education Sequence, field supervisors (Cooperating Teacher, Clinical Supervisor, or School Administrator) may determine that the teacher candidate is at risk of not meeting the defined performance standards. The supervisor will forward evidence of “Inadequate Progress” to the Director of Teacher Education, who will, in turn, forward the evidence to the Program Coordinator. Each Program has on file in the Dean’s Office a formal plan of remediation for its candidates. The Program Faculty, in consultation with the Office of Teacher Education, may decide what level of consequence to implement.

The ultimate responsibility for retention of a candidate in the Teacher Education Professional Education Sequence belongs to the Director of Teacher Education.

Teacher candidates who are on collegiate warning and do not earn a 2.75 grade point average in courses required by their major in a subsequent semester will be placed in a status of collegiate dismissal. Teacher candidates registered in other colleges who are in the Teacher Education Program who do not meet this requirement may be dismissed from the Teacher Education Program. A teacher candidate who has been placed on collegiate dismissal may seek transfer to another program if the teacher candidate has an overall grade point average of 2.00 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Teacher candidates who are placed on collegiate dismissal and have less than an overall 2.00 for work completed at the University but have not been suspended from the University will be counseled regarding other possible majors.

Dispositions in Teacher Education

A candidate must have good character, sound mental and physical health, and must demonstrate the skills, dispositions and behaviors necessary for working with children and/or adolescents, as applicable.

Dispositions adopted by the School of Education Teacher Education Program are:

• Professionalism: dependability and reliability; honesty, trustworthiness, ethics; enthusiasm, love of learning and commitment to the profession.
• Valuing human diversity: showing respect and sensitivity to the learning needs and abilities of all individuals, and to their diverse cultures, languages, races, and family compositions; striving for best practices to address the diverse learning needs and abilities of all individuals and to address their diverse cultures, languages, races, and family compositions; and collaboration with diverse peers, professional colleagues, staff and families.
• Professional development: ongoing acquisition of knowledge; development of research-based practices; assessment of one’s own performance and reflection on needed improvements.

Upon admission to the Teacher Education Program, candidates are informed of the dispositions expected of SIU’s teacher education candidates in a group session. The teacher candidates are then formally assessed regarding their professional dispositions as part of all clinical practice in the schools and during program coursework. In addition, at any time during the program, a faculty member or cooperating teacher may identify a teacher candidate who is experiencing difficulty regarding the development of desired dispositions and complete a unit dispositions form that is forwarded to the coordinator of that teacher candidate’s program major. The program reviews any difficulties and develops an action plan with the candidate to address them. A candidate who does not make progress toward ameliorating the difficulties in professional dispositions discusses a remediation plan with benchmarks for improvement with their program coordinator. Teacher candidates who do not make adequate progress in the remediation plan may be dropped from the program.

Teacher Education Program Degree Requirements

Each degree candidate in a Teacher Education Program (see exceptions below) must complete the requirements listed below:

• All requirements of the student’s major.
• The University Core Curriculum.
• EDUC 211, EDUC 214, EDUC 301, EDUC 302, EDUC 303, EDUC 308, EDUC 313, EDUC 319, EDUC 401A, in the professional education sequence (with a grade of C or better).
• ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 with a grade of C or better. (The two composition courses are a prerequisite for admission).
• Teacher candidates must receive a grade of C or better in all courses in one’s major and endorsement area(s) to receive entitlement for teacher licensure.
• CI 360 is required of all secondary teacher candidates unless otherwise specified in the major.

Professional Education Sequence Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements			Credit Hours
Depending on major				30-32
Basic Professional Preparation: EDUC 211; EDUC 214; EDUC 313; EDUC 319; EDUC 308			15
Courses with Clinical Practice EDUC 301; EDUC 302; EDUC 303			3
EDUC 400 (SPED only)			6
Professional Semester of Student Teaching EDUC 401A			12
Total			15-20
An undergraduate major in special education completes EDUC 400 in lieu of EDUC 308 and EDUC 303.

Student Teaching

Student teaching constitutes a total professional commitment on the part of the teacher candidate and is a full semester of clinical practice in the public school classroom carrying 12 hours of credit. Enrolling in coursework during student teaching is strongly discouraged. Teacher candidates must have a 3.0 grade point average or better and special permission of the Office of Teacher Education to enroll in an extra course during student teaching.

The student teacher must follow the same daily schedule as the cooperating teacher with whom the teacher candidate is placed. The student teacher remains in the school for the entire day, and participates in extracurricular activities required of the cooperating teacher.

Teacher candidates majoring in elementary education will be assigned to work with a cooperating teacher in grades 1-6. Teacher candidates majoring in early childhood education will be assigned to work with a cooperating teacher in a kindergarten to grade 2. Teacher candidates who major in secondary education will be assigned to work with a cooperating teacher in grades nine through twelve, whose teaching assignment is consistent with the teacher candidate’s teaching major. Teacher candidates are expected to teach all subject areas taught within the specific major.

Special education majors will be assigned to work with a cooperating teacher in a cross-categorical area in order to receive LBS I licensure.

Teacher candidates who wish to enroll in the student teaching professional semester must file an application with the Office of Teacher Education in the School of Education one semester in advance of the semester during which they wish an assignment. Teacher candidates who wish to student teach in the Belleville or Chicago suburban schools must request such placement considerations one year in advance. Student teaching is limited to the schools approved by the Office of Teacher Education as partnership schools.

Placement of Student Teachers

Student teaching under the supervision of Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty is conducted in teaching centers with affiliated schools located in southern Illinois as well as specific locations in Belleville and suburban Chicago. Off-campus programs in Elementary Education and Special Education may be available at the Rend Lake College Marketplace, or University College of Lake County. A current listing of specific schools to which student teachers may be assigned is available on the School of Education Teacher Education website. Cooperating teachers for student teachers must be highly qualified in their grade level and subject area, have prior experience with clinical practice teacher candidates, be recommended by building administrator for effective mentoring and instructional coaching capabilities, and have earned a rating of proficient or higher on their latest evaluation.

Teacher candidates will be assigned to one of the SIU clinical sites. To help ensure an unbiased performance and evaluation, student teachers will not be placed in a school in which they have worked or family members currently work. Although every consideration is made to place student teachers within 45 minutes of their home, no guarantees of a close placement can be made. Student teachers are responsible for their own transportation to and from student teaching sites.

Student Teaching Prerequisites

1. Teacher candidates must have submitted a completed student teaching application form.
2. The teacher candidate is responsible for having all transcripts of credit earned at colleges or universities other than Southern Illinois University Carbondale submitted to the university prior to the first day of the semester for which the teacher candidate is applying.
3. The teacher candidate must have completed all clinical practices with a C or better.
4. The teacher candidate must have a minimum cumulative average of 2.75 in the major before beginning work in student teaching.
5. The teacher candidate must have completed with a C or better all methods class(s) required for the major prior to the professional student teaching semester, as well as in all EDUC courses and courses in one’s major and endorsement area(s). No incompletes will be accepted prior to student teaching.
6. Teacher candidates must pass their respective Illinois content test(s) before being permitted to student teach.
7. Every student teacher must have a health clearance and TB test performed by the Health Center or
   by their own medical doctor and evidence of Mandated Reporter Training. A record of these documents must be on file in the Office of Teacher Education.
8. Student teachers are required to have an FBI fingerprint based background check on file with the
   district in which they are student teaching and confirmed by the Office of Teacher Education.

The Office of Teacher Education

The Office of Teacher Education serves as the Licensure Office for all teacher candidates and will verify that the candidate has:

1. Their degree awarded and posted to their official SIU transcript;
2. Passing scores posted to their ELIS account on the applicable content test(s), and edTPA; and
3. Completion of all requirements of the approved Illinois educator preparation program for the type of endorsement sought.

The Office of Teacher Education then enters the entitlement via Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS) indicating that the candidate has completed all requirements. A message appears on the home screen of the candidate's personal ELIS account. In ELIS the candidate may then complete the process to claim and register their teaching license.