The English Education major at the University of Delaware is an NCATE-accredited program for students interested in teaching English in secondary schools (grades 7-12). At UD, the secondary English Education major is housed within the Department of English and the College of Arts and Sciences. Upon completion of the coursework, Praxis tests, and student teaching, students will have the necessary requirements for licensure in Delaware and other states that have comparable requirements.

 

 

 

The UD English Education program is a four-year undergraduate major and is distinguished by a strong faculty and a rigorous program of study. All three full-time English Education faculty are committed to equity-oriented teaching and scholarship; they have won awards honoring their excellence in mentoring as well as their research accomplishments. All English Education faculty conduct research that examines the relationships between the teaching of literacy and race/ethnicity and social class: most recently, one faculty member studied race-based conversations in a middle school classroom; another studied student and teacher retention in diverse school districts; and another studied the writing of teachers and students in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

 

 

Our program is designed to prepare students to teach adolescents with cultural awareness, adaptability, and relevance. Our first commitment is to prepare future teacher professionals of quality so that they can reach every adolescent. Second, our program prepares students with a broad and deep knowledge not only of English language and literature but also of pedagogical theories that emphasize quality, relevance, and cultural awareness. Students take courses in writing, linguistics, oral language, a wide range of literature in various genres, adolescent development, diversity, and methods of teaching English.

 

 

Students completing our program are eligible for certification as a secondary school English teacher in Delaware; other states may require additional coursework. UD students wishing to teach in states other than Delaware should research the certification requirements of the state(s) of interest. Please be aware that states often offer a probationary license for one year to anyone graduating from a secondary education program with the understanding that the individual will have to complete the additional requirements within one calendar year. See, for example, http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/, http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/license/, http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/, and http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/certification/certification_branch/.

 

Our students have been extremely successful in finding teaching positions immediately following graduation. Students receive job counseling and pre-professional preparation as part of the program and through various job fairs on and off campus.

 

 

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