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Quality teacher education places great emphasis on a strong liberal arts foundation. The interactive relationship among liberal arts, disciplinary area of study, professional education, and communication skills uniquely prepares one for a career in teaching concurrent with preparation for lifelong personal growth.

M.Ed. Program Details
M.A.Ed. Program Details

 Teacher Education at Benedictine University

Private colleges and universities are uniquely qualified to provide a diverse academic preparation with special attention to each individual student. Benedictine University has a long history of preparing teachers for careers in public, parochial and private schools in Illinois and across the nation.

The Teacher Education Program at Benedictine University dates back to 1963, when approval was received from the Illinois State Board of Education to prepare elementary and secondary teachers. Today the University prepares individuals for three different certificates, Elementary, Special Education and Secondary, which spans eleven subject areas. As recently as 1998, the entire Teacher Education Program was approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Market Considerations

In Illinois, the most recent statistics suggest that the state is experiencing an increase in total teacher demand. Areas of teacher shortage which have been identified include mathematics, biological and physical science, reading, early childhood education, bilingual education, social and emotional disorders, speech and language impaired, English as a second Language(ESL), and languages. Areas of relative excess include health education, physical education, and the social sciences.

It is universally supported that there is a shortage of quality educators, and that raising standards for certification will ultimately increase teacher status and attract more qualified candidates. Benedictine University desires to attract quality candidates and contribute to the profession by training quality educators.

The overall placement profile for teacher education graduates from Benedictine University for the past decade indicates that a high percentage of those graduates who desired to teach have been successful.

Program Accreditation

Benedictine University is a teacher accredited institution. Having initially received approval by the Illinois State Board of Education in 1963, the program was most recently approved in 1998. During 1992-93 the program underwent its regular review.

As an accredited institution, the University is approved to provide programs leading to teaching certificates in elementary school, junior high/middle school, secondary school, and special education subject areas. When a student successfully completes one of the eleven available programs, the University recommends to the State that the individual is "entitled" to received a teaching certificate (pending passage of the Illinois tests in basic skills and subject matter competency). This recommendation is referred to as "Certification via entitlement."

Applications and Handbooks

TEP Application - Undergraduate

TEP Application - Graduate

Teacher Education Handbook

Preclinical Application

Preclinical 1 Handbook

Preclinical 2 Handbook

Preclinical 3 Handbook

Student Teaching Application

Student Teaching Handbook

Thesis Handbook

For more information on the Illinois State Board of Education Certification Tests (Basic Skills Content Area and Assessment of Professional Teaching), please go to the following sites:

Illinois State Board of Education

Illinois Certification Testing System