Why Major in English Education?

​​“UD English Education (XEE) majors stand out wherever they go. Our program produces enthusiastic, knowledgeable, equity-oriented, anti-racist middle and high school English teachers who are quickly snatched up by school hiring committees. Often, later in their careers, graduates of our program go on to take leadership roles as English Department chairs, assistant principals, principals, school board members, district administrators, Department of Education leaders, or professors. UDXEE faculty and alumni are educational change-makers to the core."

​​​- Professor Deborah Bieler​

​Experiences and Opportunit​ies Map for English and English Ed Majors​

Finish in Four​

​For English Education majors, completing your coursework and certification requirements in four years is a financial benefit. Many universities require education majors to complete a fifth year in order to master both content and pedagogy, but at UD, you can compl​ete your degree and licensure (grades 7-12 ELA) in four years. Or, you can choose a 4+1 program to become dual certified in both English and a second area, such as Special Education or Teaching English as a Second Language, in five years.​​

Get a Job​

UD English Education graduates are highly sought after. From 2016-2020, 91% of XEE alumni survey respondents were employed as full-time teachers; approximately 5% were employed in other fields, and the rest were full time graduate students.

“As an Instructional Coach on the ACCESS Project in the Center for Disabilities Studies at UD, I coach educators in several districts on implementation of Universal Design for Learning. I also lead a project that provides professional development on standards-based IEP implementation statewide, with a focus on improving both individualized and broad-scale outcomes for students. UDXEE prepared me for my current role by keeping high-level, rigorous expectations while maintaining flexibility in terms of allowing teacher candidates to demonstrate their understanding and ability in a wide variety of ways. UDXEE's focus on teaching evidence-based pedagogy and effective methods of evaluation gave me the base that I needed to have fruitful coaching discussions with other teachers now."

​-M​​ackenzie S​hane, clas​s of 2011​​

English Education majors work for social justice and equity​

​Graduating on time is important, as is getting a job. But more than that, teaching is a powerful way to make a difference in the world. The English Education Program at UD is committed to preparing a new generation of secondary English teachers who are highly knowledgeable about English, are able to plan for and carry out effective instruction, and seek to reflect on their pedagogical practice. They also demonstrate a knowledge of and responsiveness to their students' home cultures, implement anti-racist pedagogy, and work for equity beyond their own classrooms--in their schools, districts, and communities.

“XEE taught me to center and acknowledge the humanity and criticality of this work. Empathetic and equity-based teaching was not only studied but modeled by the remarkable professors of this program, enabling me to enter into urban secondary education with the necessary tools to develop rigorous curricula, implement differentiated instruction, build genuine student connections, and work in team-oriented spaces."

-Edwar​d Benner, class of 2021

Want to know more about being an English Education major? Contact the English Education program coordinator.​​

English Education majors take dynamic classes and start working with secondary students early on​

​Our carefully designed, innovative, nationally-accredited program prepares teacher candidates with a broad and deep knowledge of English language, literature, and pedagogy and includes courses in young adult literature, literacy and technology, writing, linguistics, public speaking, grammar, adolescent development, special education, and diversity. Further, we immerse UD English Education majors in teaching early and often, starting with their first year in our introductory course, in our partnership with Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington. At Howard, we have worked alongside students and teachers in different ways over the years, helping students improve their SAT scores, write and perform spoken word poetry as part of a Howard Renaissance project, and design their Howard Cares project to impact a local community. Over the course of their time in the major, UD English Education teacher candidates graduate with at least 5 field experiences on their résumés.

“Since I'm a Howard High School of Technology alumna, going back to Howard was a great experience and a great reminder of why I went into education. The Howard placement was so hands-on; it helped me get a sense of what teaching will really be like. Placements over the four years were challenging, and they helped me solidify my goals as an educator."

-Lisa Alexander, class of 2022​​

​Profess​or Deborah A. Bieler is a former high school English teacher and college writing center director whose scholarship, teaching, and activism focus on the preparation and retention of equity-oriented, antiracist secondary English teachers. Along with many peer-reviewed journal articles, she is the author of The Power of Teacher Talk: Promoting Equity and Retention Through Student Interactions (Teachers College Press, 2019), which received the 2020 Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division K. Her other awards include the UD College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award (2019), the UD Excellence in Advising Award (2009), and the UD E.A. Trabant Award for Women's Equity (2010).​

​Professor Jill Ewing Flynn taught middle and high school English for nine years before coming to UD, where her research and teaching interests center on critical multicultural education and equity, primarily on how teachers can engage with students in productive discussions about race. She won the university's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020, as well as the College of Arts and Science's Advocacy Award (2020) and Advising Award (2017). In addition to research articles, she has published a co-edited volume on women's experiences in higher education, Feminism and Intersectionality in Academia (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2018) and worked with Bill Lewis and two XEE program alumni, Casey Montigney and Taria Pritchett (both XEE '12) on the resource toolkit Using Quad Text Sets to Teach for Social Justice and Equity in ELA Classrooms.​

​​Professor William Lewis, whose primary appointment is in UD's School of Education, taught high school English in Pennsylvania public schools for 20 years before coming to University of Delaware, where his teaching and research focus on secondary disciplinary literacy, argumentation, and English language arts methods. He won the University's Excellence in Teaching Award (2019), the College of Education and Human Development's Excellence in Teaching Award (2017), and the School of Education's Outstanding Faculty Award (2015). Along with numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, he is the co-author of two books on adolescent literacy instruction: Cracking the Common Core: Choosing and Using Texts in Grades 6-12 (Guilford, 2014) and Literacy Instruction with Disciplinary Texts: Strategies for Grades 6-12 (Guilford, 2021).​

​​Assistant Professor Kisha Porcher has served as a high school English Language Arts teacher, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Senior Educational Consultant and Assistant Professor of Professional Practice. She holds a B.A. in English and Secondary Education from Spelman College, M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Teachers College Columbia University, and Ph.D in Teaching and Teacher Education from George Mason University. Her research focuses on three interrelated areas: (1) archeology of the self (Sealey-Ruiz, 2019) as foundational to teaching and learning, (2) exploration of assets and conditions of Black and Brown students and communities, and (3) centering Blackness in community-engaged learning and teaching. ​​

​We need critical thinkers who are curious, courageous, and empathetic.

We need teachers who are deeply prepared, committed to their students, and well equipped to advocate for equity.

The world needs English Education majors!​​