Following a five-day visit on October 21-25, a State of Hawaii Board of Education accreditation team issued their preliminary report indicating the BYU Hawaii School of Education U.S. licensing teacher education program meets the standards required of all such programs in Hawaii. The final seven-year accreditation report is expected in May 2007.
Dr. John Bailey, Dean of the School of Education, explained the state has recently adopted the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. He added the eight-person accreditation team included two members of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, four from other teacher education programs and two Department of Education teachers, five of whom are NCATE examiners.
"To recommend students for teaching licenses for Hawaii, which are accepted under reciprocity agreements in more than 40 other states in the U.S. and some overseas countries, we need to be a state-approved teacher education (SATE) program. Education is a state issue, so all accreditation of teacher education programs is regulated by the state," Bailey continued.
He pointed out the School of Education, which produces approximately 60 graduates annually, actually began preparing for the accreditation process in 2000 with the restructuring of teacher education courses and field experience assessments. Early this year "we began preparing for this visit by writing a preconditions book. Basically, we had to show that we were organized, we had a conceptual framework, and that we're the authorized teacher education organization on campus. We included the Faculty Handbook, Praxis exam scores, as well as program admission and exit criteria."
Bailey said the school also sent in five program self-study reports, followed by a unit self study report, "all before the team visit. It's a big process."
"For example, under the NCATE process you need to have a conceptual framework of why you operate the way you do. Our conceptual framework includes the Savior, the temple, BYU-Hawaii and PCC. This is the context that we operate in, and on their first day, I took them to all of those sites."
Bailey said the team also met that evening in a dinner with cooperating teachers, graduates, faculty and adjunct field service faculty, and spent the next day reviewing "evidence" that "showed we met the six NCATE standards." The standards include: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions; Assessment System and Unit Evaluation; Field Experiences and Clinical Practice; Diversity; Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development; and Unit Governance and Resources.
Over the next two days the team finished their review of the evidence and also interviewed teachers at schools, eight principals, the DOE Windward District Superintendent, graduates working in the schools, BYU-Hawaii administrators and faculty, field adjunct faculty, and undergraduate education students from all levels.
"They found that we're doing a great job and producing excellent graduates," Bailey said. "We showed that we prepare teachers to focus on the learner through the themes of head, heart and hands, which line up with content knowledge, professional dispositions and pedagogical skills."
He added NCATE standards also require "assessments along the way that tell you how well your system is working, and if you're using those assessments to improve your system. Our assessment plan begins with admission to the university and the School of Education, followed by two levels of course work, two major field experiences — O&P and student teaching, and ending with Hawaii licensing and placement."
"We hoped to make the accreditation team's visit a celebration of the high quality of graduates of the School of Education as evidenced by records and interviews, but also an opportunity for the team to feel the spirit not only of our campus but the Church and community as well. We believe we accomplished both," Bailey said.
"Instead of an accreditation, we wanted this to be a celebration of the good work that happens in the School of Education. It came out that way."